Tikigaqmuit, the people of Point Hope, are part of the broader group of Inuit people of the circumpolar lands of Greenland, Northern Russia, Canada, and Alaska. Ninety percent of the village population is Alaska Native or Part-Native.

Long before the influences of outside cultures, the Inupiat built a world that centered on their interdependence with the land and sea.

Traditional life in Point Hope has centered around hunting and gathering from the land and sea and these relationships remain an important part of cultural identity. Although increased economic opportunities have emerged in the last century, including oil development on the North Slope and the formation of Alaskan Native Corporations, Point Hope residents still rely heavily on subsistence hunting and fishing and continue cultural traditions of cooperation and sharing.

Households depend on a mixture of employment and subsistence for economic survival. Full time employment is generated by city, borough government and Native corporations. Some local residents generate self-employment income through arts like baleen baskets, whalebone masks, ivory carvings and traditional clothing.

Inupiat people continue to meet the harsh challenges of the Arctic climate with a combination of traditional knowledge and modern technology. As the spring whaling hunt approaches, contemporary ways are temporarily put on hold as the community prepares for the hunt. The village’s two clans and feasts of traditional foods are intrinsic traditional whaling activities for both men and women.

The community embodies its cultural values and seeks to continue traditions of hunting, dance, song, stories, legends arts and crafts and food. The knowledge and wisdom of elders is highly regarded and is an important means of teaching cultural traditions and values.