Tom Akeya

Snow Goggles is a carving created by Tom Akeya before 2014. The main materials used are both leather and ivory. This carving was carved based on the utilitarian snow goggles that were used by his people during winter. These goggles helped Alaskan Natives navigate around winter while avoiding being blinded by snow.

Bowhead Whale Tracking is a project that was started in 2006 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, Whaling Captain's Association of Barrow, Kaktovik, Gambell, and Savoonga, the Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk Hunters and Trappers Committee, the North Slope Borough, the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. The purpose of starting the project was to help the communities involved better understand and preserve Bowhead Whales since they are the main form of sustenance for these groups. Akeya helped track 2 specific bowhead whales in 2012. The two whales that were tagged by Akeya and his crew were the first whales ever to be tagged near St. Lawrence Island.

Tom Akeya (born November 9, 1960) is an Inuit ivory carver. His work has been sold in multiple places.

Tom Akeya was born on November 9. 1960 into Siberian Yupik Eskimo descent in Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. He attended elementary school in Savoonga, middle school at Nome-Blitz Junior in Nome, and high school at Senior High School which is also located in Nome. At the age of 9, Akeya learned to carve from his father. As Akeya grew older and became more skilled, he began to use skills as a means of self-sustenance. Carving became Akeya's main source of income and helped supplement his traditional subsistence lifestyle.