In Barrow, Alaska, a whaling captain returns from an unsuccesful hunt as weather conditions worsen during the Inupiat autumn whale hunt.
Alaska's Arctic people now stand at a crossroads between continued benefits from oil industry generated revenues and protecting the marine environment they have depended on for thousands of years. Royal Dutch Shell's plans to drill offshore in the Alaskan Arctic in 2012 has caused a split among the native communities who have traditionally hunted whales for subsistence.