Point Hope

Point Hope, Alaska was first visited by James Cook in 1778 but bears the name given to it by a Royal Navy captain in the early nineteenth century. The Inuit however have inhabited the region for centuries as archaeological excavations have uncovered jade and ivory carvings, tools, weapons used to hunt whales and walrus, as well as other evidence of ancient cultures. The Inuit name for the area is 'Tikarakh,' meaning forefinger, appropriate given the shape of the peninsula. The St. Roch stopped here on its eastward passage on July 16th 1940. The vessel was greeted warmly by the local Natives who came out into the bay in small boats to greet the ship.