Households and hunters were able to recall quite accurately the number and sex of caribou taken as well as the approximate time and location of the harvest.
Kaktovik hunting parties are often composed of members from several households. Thus a convergent group knowledge exists on the success of a particular hunting effort. Due to this, it was determined that households interviewed were able to report on the number of animals taken by hunters from other households with which they had hunted. Such leads were followed up on by contacting the particular hunter or his or her household, when possible. In general, second-hand information was found to be quite reliable. The reason for this may be that when a hunter returns with caribou it is not long before most of the villagers know about his or her success and hunters tend to be very precise when it comes to subsistence-related information. . . .
In the past, pack dogs and air boats were used by Kaktovik caribou hunters to follow rivers inland during summer (P. Akootchook pers. comm., 1982). According to field data, neither of these methods have been used in the last decade. Historically Kaktovik people made extensive use of pack dogs (P. Akootchook pers. comm., 1982; D. Akootchook pers. comm., 1982; W. Soplu pers. comm., 1982).
Snowmachines are used for caribou hunting during winter when there is sufficient snow on the ground for snowmachine travel and the coastal waters are iced ever, usually from mid-October to late May. The most extensive land use associated with caribou hunting occurs at this time. Travel along the coast or on the coastal plain is virtually unrestricted by terrain, and snow conditions are usually suitable for snowmachining in any direction away from Kaktovik. In the foothills region there are some areas unsuitable for snowmachine travel due to snow accumulations or general terrain features. Snowmachine travel in the Brooks Mountain Range is by and large restricted to the river valleys and low passes. . . .