Inuit
Finding the Terror
Last week a Canadian research team announced that they had found a sunken ship, the Terror, from the lost Franklin Expedition and that the knowledge of an Inuit man had prompted the discovery. Crew members of the research vessel Martin Bergmann found the wreck at the bottom of Terror Bay, located at the southwestern corner […]
A Luxury Liner Visits the Inuit
A large luxury cruise liner is following the Northwest Passage from Alaska to Greenland, allowing over 1,000 passengers to visit some Inuit communities and to view glaciers, icebergs, and wildlife along the way. The ship left Seward, Alaska, on August 16 and is due to end the voyage in New York City on September 17. […]
Inuit Family Unity
Kangiqsualujjuaq, an Inuit village of 900 people, has the highest rate of children living in foster care of any place in Nunavik. The mayor and the other leaders decided to do something to address this dismal fact about their community. According to an article in the CBC last week, Hilda Snowball, the mayor of Kangiqsualujjuaq, […]
Inuit Culture and Climate Change [journal article review]
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) held by indigenous peoples is slowly gaining recognition by scientists as an alternative way of looking at environmental processes over time. In a recent study, researchers used TEK as a means of increasing our understanding of climate change in the Arctic. In order to carry out the study, lead investigator, Alain […]
Winnipeg Conference on Violence against Indigenous Women
A recent conference focusing on missing or murdered indigenous women and girls held in Winnipeg sought to stem the violence perpetrated against Inuit females. The round table meeting, held February 24 – 26, included government and Inuit leaders plus the families of victims. Participants spoke about the importance of finding resources that would end the […]
New Inuit Dictionary Preserves a Rarely Spoken Dialect
While Jean Briggs’ book Never in Anger successfully portrayed the Utku Inuit approaches to controlling displays of anger, her latest book may help them preserve their culture. A news story published in Nunatsiaq Online on January 15th reported on the publication of a massive dictionary of the language spoken by the Utkuhiksalingmiut Inuit people (Briggs […]
Inuit Woman Revitalizes Sharing
Sharing with others is a very strong ethical value in the cultures of many peaceful societies, including that of the Inuit. A news report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation posted on December 24 illustrated that tradition, but with an up-to-date twist.
Inuit Throat Singing Helps Heal Social Problems
Last week in Minneapolis, Tanya Tagaq, a prominent Inuit throat singer, used her vocal skills to accompany and enhance showings of the pioneering silent film “Nanook of the North.”
Climate Change Affects the Inuit
Global climate change is harming the Inuit way of life, especially in the village of Umiujaq, in northern Canada. Catherine Hours, an AFP reporter, visited the village and wrote last week in a story carried by Yahoo News that conditions in the village are changing due to warming temperatures—more so than in many other places. […]
Walrus Skulls Used as Soccer Balls
The tradition of hunting walruses in some Inuit communities, such as Igloolik and Hall Beach, remains an important, even a vibrant aspect of their culture. Desjardins (2013) points out that for millennia walruses, particularly on the perimeter of the Foxe Basin, which is on the Arctic Circle just south of Baffin Island, have provided an […]
