Maktak soap

This soap has been crafted to resemble one of the traditional foods of many people from the coastal whaling villages of North and Western Alaska and beyond.

Also styled as maktaaq, muktuk, mungtuk, and mangtuk in various Indigenous languages and dialects, this soap is meant to resemble maktak made from the bowhead whale, an important subsistence animal to coastal villages to this day. Maktak consists of skin and blubber from these sea mammals, and it is a rich source of vitamin C and vitamin D.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 established regulations to ensure that coastal Indigenous communities have continued access to their traditional food sources.