This article explores the importance, characteristics, and problems of contemporary Iñupiat bowhead whale hunting in Alaska and Inuit bowhead whale hunting in the Eastern Canadian Arctic by comparing their activities and legal status. Bowhead whale hunting and sharing and feasts related to this type of hunting are important to the contemporary Iñupiat and Inuit people in the context of nutrition, as well as social and cultural perspectives. In addition, determining solutions for the following common issues is crucial for ensuring sustainable whale hunting: appropriate whale resource management, promotion of international understanding about indigenous whale hunting against the anti-whaling movement, control of economic development (such as oil/gas development promoted by contemporary climate warming), and securing monetary resources to sustain whale hunting. Among the aforementioned problems, securing monetary resources is related to the concept of “subsistence.” The current article suggests that if a subsistence activity serves as a notable method of sustaining indigenous social relationships and culture, cash elements (such as selling whale meat within and between indigenous communities) should be included in the concept of current subsistence activities.