20TH-CENTURY CHANGES IN BELUGA WHALE HUNTING AND BUTCHERING BY THE KANIGMIUT OF BUCKLAND, ALASKA

Since the late 1920s, the Kanigmiut of Kotzebue Sound have increasingl y relied upon modern technology to hunt beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). This reliance has introduced changes in hunting practices and has coincided with changes in social structure, beliefs about man's r elationship to marine mammals, and the symbolic value of the beluga. T he beluga hunt continues to be characterized by the Kanigmiut as an an nual event during which hunters participate in a structured set of pra ctices requiring the cooperation of nonhunting community members. Yet, in recent years, the beluga hunt has also incorporated a newer set of practices favoring non-cooperative actions and individualized decisio n making. These changes in hunting practices have coincided with a dra stic reduction in the number of beluga in Eschscholtz Bay. Exploration of the historical development of beluga hunting and butchering practi ces by the Kanigmiut suggests that while the adoption of new technolog y has contributed to changes in community structure, it has also led t o a transformation of beliefs about the significance of hunting practi ces for animal behavior.