I saw a beluga whale, but not really in a good way

We were on our way to the library today when Tony, our own Inupiat logistic contact, came on the radio telling anyone listening that beluga whales had been spotted. I radioed him back asking where, and he answered, somewhat unhelpfully, that boats were chasing them around. We continued driving, and soon spotted some boats out on the ocean, and several people nearby on the road. We parked and jumped out just in time to see a guy on the shore lifting a gun and shooting into the shallows. The bullets made a huge splash, but I couldn't see anything in the water. A boat or two zipped around in the distance. We hung around for a bit, and heard another gunshot way off, but nothing much else happened, and it was cold, so we continued on to the library, and dropped off our checked out items. The road follows the shoreline, and on our way back we saw a boat driving slowly parallel to the shore. It sat heavy in the water, and at an angle, as if it was pulling something obscured by the wake. Pretty soon, we were standing with a group of onlookers, watching these native guys trying to haul this eerily white skinned animal up onto the sand with big trucks that kept getting stuck in the sand. At some point I noted similarities between modern rednecks and the culmination of thousands of years of Inupiat traditions.

And then I hopped around with my camera taking video and pictures, and even posted them on the internet. They are somewhat graphic, so please don't look at them.

Here's the photo album:  BelugaOffersItselfToInupiats

Added: If it's not already apparent, I would guess these are the worst and therefore also most visible examples of Inupiat traditional hunting rights.