For generations, Yup'ik women have gathered for "throwing parties" in the coastal villages of Western Alaska to celebrate firsts (like the first seal caught by a young family member). In late April, a group of women gathered for a throwing party in the village of Mertarvik to help Mildred Tom celebrate her daughter's graduation and the recent accomplishments of her grandchildren. Emily Schwing for NPR hide caption Traditionally, throughout many Indigenous coastal communities in Western Alaska, when a young family member hunts their first seal of the season, their family hosts a party to distribute that fresh catch to women and elders in their community.
They’re known as “throwing parties," "seal parties,” or — in Yugtun , the predominant Indigenous language spoken in Western Alaska’s Yup’ik region — “uqiquq.” Over the years, the tradition has expanded to celebrate all kinds of firsts: graduations, the birth of a child or grandchild, a wedding — and the wide array of gifts has also expanded beyond subsistence food to include candy, kitchen and household utensils and little toys and trinkets. The villages of Western Alaska are roadless, reachable only by airplane and people here rely heavily on birds, fish and marine mammals for food.
The season for subsistence hunting and fishing kicks off in the springtime, with the arrival of migratory birds and returning fish runs, and that’s cause for celebration. Mildred Tom recently hosted a throwing party in Mertar.
