Reginald Joule III and his father are practicing the Alaskan blanket toss to preserve a cultural sport rooted in historic whaling practices [1].
The tradition serves as a vital link to Alaska's cultural heritage, ensuring that techniques used by ancestors to spot whales are passed to younger generations [1, 2].
The sport involves participants being launched high into the air from a specialized blanket made of walrus skin [2]. This method was originally developed by whalers to gain a higher vantage point for spotting prey in the ocean [1].
For the Joule family, the activity is more than a sport; it is a shared legacy. The process requires coordination and trust between the person being tossed and those holding the blanket [2].
"I might be a short, little, fat man, but I love to fly," Joule said [1].
The practice continues to be a point of pride for those maintaining the customs of the region. By demonstrating the toss, the father and son keep the physical memory of the whaling era alive in the U.S. [1, 2].
“"I might be a short, little, fat man, but I love to fly."”
The continuation of the blanket toss represents the broader effort to maintain Indigenous and regional knowledge in Alaska. By transitioning a survival-based whaling tool into a cultural sport, practitioners ensure that the technical skills and historical narratives of their ancestors remain visible in a modern context.
