Fred Nayokpuk

Fred Nayokpok is an Iñupiaq fossilized whalebone carver born in the village of Shismaref, Alaska on December 21, 1962. Fred is single, but comes from a large family of twelve siblings. He is the nephew of the late Herbert Nayokpuk, aka the “Shishmaref Cannonball”, a famous Alaskan dog musher.
Fred’s father, Lawrence, was a whalebone carver and his teacher. Fred’s first carvings were made in 1985. His whalebone carvings capture the traditional subsistence lifestyle of the Inupiaq people. Fred’s carvings are accented with inlays of walrus ivory and baleen. Today, his work is in museums and private collection in the United States as well as Europe.