Abraham and Joeb Woods

No photo of Abraham Woods available

Abraham Woods was born at Tigvaġiaq Island on June 24, 1924, though his first memories come from Kisium Inaat. His other early memories come from spending the summers sometimes at Foggy Island fishing for qaaktaq and aanaakliq to name some. His younger brother and sister, Lucy and Ira are buried at Foggy Island. In the summer of 1941 his family visited Foggy Island and even now they occasionally visit there. During the winter and spring months his family hunted seals, polar bear and trapped white fox at Napaqsralik (Cross Island), Pole Island and Jones Island. When Abraham was 12 years old his family traveled up inland to Imaiḷaq to hunt caribou and trap. The weather was very calm during winter they spent there, very little wind or snow. The caribou were not really fat during that winter there. After they spend the winter at Imaiḷaq they traveled down to the Kuparuk River area. Here they spend the month of August hunting caribou, because the fur of the caribou was right for making parka at that time of year. They would store the caribou meat under the frozen ground and dig it out later as they needed it for food.

One year later when Abraham was 14 years old his family traveled by dogsled to Beechey Point because the game was getting scarce in the area. They first stayed with another family because they did not have a house. At Beechey Point there was a store where they traded white fox pelts for supplies. The next winter they moved down by Uuliktuq and stayed in a snow house. After spending the winter in the snow house his father built a sod house there, so that they would have a base for hunting in that area. In 1949 his family moved to Niġliq and have stayed there since. Before they settled at Niġliq they went to Henry Chamberlain’s store at Aġliguaġruk to trade furs for supplies.

At Niġliq they have been able to hunt caribou, fish, trap (white fox and wolves) and hung seals all along the coast. At their camp at Niġliq they have a cabin, a storage ice cellar and a smoke house for smoking fish caught during the summer. Abraham has traveled a lot along the cause and up inland since his earliest memories. (pg. 203)

No photo of Joeb Woods available

Joeb Woods was born Foggy Island on September 23, 1934. His first memories are of his family traveling around the Sagvaġniqtuuq river area, where they hunted ducks and netted fish. In the spring his family would sometimes go Foggy Island to hunt for seals. When his family lived near Uuliktuq, they would go camping at Piŋu Island. During the spring and summer while his family stayed at Beechey Point, Joeb remember Abraham Stine’s family and Tukle’s family living there. They hunted caribou in the Kuparuk River area and trapped along the barrier islands, and sometimes went polar bear hunting at Napaqsralik (Cross Island). They also trapped white fox in the Umiat area. “During the spring and summer we fished for iqaluakpik, qaaktaq, iqalusaaq, and sometimes caught iqalugruaq.” Joeb also remember that the large lakes in the Beaufort Sea are had lot of fish in them. (pg. 203)