‘When Tuluŋigraq woke next morning, he took his harpoon and left by kayak. One day he stopped. He heard something rise. It had come up to breathe. He paddled close and waited. It rose again to breathe. Tuluŋigraq harpooned. He harpooned the animal. It dived with the drag float.’ Told by Asatchaq Jimmie Killigivuk, Point Hope.

A kayak (qayaq; Fig. 1) is a narrow, closed-deck boat for one man – in the past, women did not paddle kayaks. They consisted of a frame of driftwood, covered with seal skin.

Like umiaqs, they were used across the North American Arctic for hunting, travel and for transportation of smaller loads, but they were especially important in the more southerly areas with year-round open water. In the pictorial engravings, kayaks feature prominently for caribou hunting, but are also shown in connection with walrus hunting and bird hunting.

As in other parts of Alaska, the Iñupiat used a single-bladed paddle (afuun). A double-bladed paddle (paafuutik), commonly used in the Eastern Arctic, was only used when extra speed was needed.

There were many different kayak types in Alaska, depending on local environmental conditions, main uses of the kayak, and local and individual preferences. In the engravings, kayak types are characterized by their deck profile, and the shape of bow and stern (Fig. 2).