Meet the Inuk who grew up in the Artic eating raw beluga whale meat and lived so remotely she had to travel 15 hours for a Starbucks coffee.
Willow Allen, 24, grew up living in the town of Inuvik, in the Northwest territories of Canada, and lived off the land to survive.
Willow and her family hunt different animals during the seasons to eat – in the spring they hunt geese and caribou, a type of reindeer, and beluga whales in August.
They have 33 days of no sun in the winter – with temperatures dropping to as cold as -40C – and wear traditional mukluks, boots made from seal skin or moose leg and caribou, to keep warm.
In the winter they get around on snowmobiles and by boat in the summer.
Willow’s town has a population of 3,500 people and has two grocery stores with essentials – but is 15 hours away from the closest Starbucks and McDonalds.
Willow, a model and social media influencer, now studying social work in Saskatchewan, Canada, said: “In the winter there, since we are so far up north, we don’t see the sun for 33 days.
“We go up to the coast and hunt beluga whales.
“We eat the skin or fat.
“You can eat it raw, frozen or boiled.
“It has a very strong taste.
“When dried it is like beef jerky in texture.
“It’s not like anything else I have eaten.
“It’s always been a part of Inuvialuit culture. We never take more than we need.”
Only Inuvialuit are allowed to buy and sell beluga whale and Willow has to get a special licence to transport the meat down South.
She said: “People prefer hunting.
“We typically hunt different animals.
“We hunt geese in spring – and freeze it.
“In August, we hunt caribou when they migrate from Alaska.
“We eat caribou soup, and my family would always make this.
“We hunt beluga whales.
“In the winter we hunt moose and go ice fishing.
“In September and October there are berries all over the land.”
Inuvialuit tend to use a range of traditional hunting like harpoons and fishing sticks to catch their food.
As well as hunting for food they use the animals to make their clothes.
Willow has traditional parka coats with a fur-lined wolverine hood, mukluks and seal skin and silver fox mittens.
She said: “Animals like moose, caribou and rabbits have always been something we’ve relied on for food and clothing that traditionally get us through the harsh winters.”
Willow said Inuvialuit are “very community oriented” and they celebrate the end of the winter with traditional games.
She said: “We get together the celebrate the changing of the sun.
“It’s called muskrat jamboree.
“We play games like who can skin a muskrat the fastest and harpoon throws.”
Inuvialuit make traditional medicine such as Labrador tea and tree sap.
She said: “You have tree sap and have that when you have a cold to soothe your throat.
“Labrador tea helps with sore throat, chest congestion, coughs, lung infections and muscle pains.
“We would always make this over the fire. It tastes amazing.”
Willow has now moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, with her boyfriend, Cale Kindra Chuck, 25, a business student, while she is at university but visits her family as often as she can.
She said: “I would love for my kids to know our culture we have in the north.”
