| Name | Page First Mentioned | Brief description, role |
|---|---|---|
| Sanak | 3 | The book's narrator and protagonist. A 12-year-old Inuit boy. His name is first identified on page 8. |
| Thule | 3 | Sanak's nine-year-old little sister, who is starting her first year of school as the story starts. |
| Mother | 3 | Sanak's mother. |
| Father | 4 | Sanak's father. |
| Unalakleet | 4 | Traditional Inuit shaman/medicine man. |
| Nulato | 5 | Sanak's cousin, who died the previous year while hunting caribou. These events are recounted later in this story. |
| Kwiguk | 5 | One of Sanak's two teachers. An older, very traditional Inuit woman. Name first mentioned on page 8. |
| Joseph | 5 | One of Sanak's two teachers. A modernized Inuit man who considers himself Inuit, but is aware of and supportive of modern technology and knowledge. Name first mentioned on page 7. |
| Anvik | 6 | Sanak's older brother. Old enough that leads his first whale hunt in the story, and is soon to be married. |
| Nenana | 9 | Sanak's classmate. Mentioned frequently. |
| Talkeetna | 9 | Sanak's classmate. Mentioned frequently. |
| Kendi | 9 | Sanak's male classmate. A particularly close friend of Sanak. |
| unnamed bull whale | 24 | A whale (probably a sperm whale) that talks to Sanak's class via translation equipment. Describes the beauty of the sea. Says whales will kill men if men continue to hunt them. |
| Taimyr | 30 | A beautiful young woman. Close friend of Anvik, who intends to marry her. |
| Sedna | 35 | The mythical Inuit god who controls seals and creates the underwater fires that heat the ocean. |
| unnamed sperm whale | 37 | Whale hunted by the Inuit men on Anvik's first hunt. Has been hunted before. Whether or not this is the same whale that was mentioned on page 24 is indeterminate. |
Web page created 5 September 2000.