The North: Blending two cultures
The North is always full of surprises, especially the juxtapositions of southern and northern practices and technology. All reflect the changing North, not only...
Ship Time
Ship time is always a major event in every northern community, usually involving at least three types of ship: the coastguard/icebreaker, the oil tanker...
Fox Trapping – Trade goods for the fashion industry
Foxes were not of prime interest to Inuit in pre-contact times due to their fur being too fragile for external use and were seen...
Inuit Carving – Sharing a culture’s stories
Carving has long featured in the culture of northern indigenous peoples in their production of weapons and utensils in a variety of materials. The...
Caribou People
The Sacred Place Where Life Begins
I sit with Gwich’in hunter Charlie Swaney outside under a classic blue camping tarp, rain silently drumming. Thin, tall,...
An Artifact Mystery
A Netsilik (“Nattilik”) compact qajaq
Museums collect artifacts that tell a story, sometimes in concert with other items, sometimes alone. Unlike a good mystery novel...
Summer Rendezvous – Gathering at Shingle Point
It is mid-summer on the Arctic Ocean and the sun will not set for another 40 days. I’m riding in a motorboat with the...
Polar Bear Sleep Over – Choosing a Camp Site
A polar bear decided to have a sleep over while I was a 15-year-old boy on a summer outing in a canvas tent with...
Diving and dancing – Tales of the hunter’s knife
I think more so then anywhere else in the world knives hold a great fascination for Inuit. The hunters all have their preference and...
A Gathering Place
Piqalujaujaq, which means “the iceberg shaped building,” is a magnificent new building located at the shoreline in the heart of the community of Qikiqtarjuaq,...