Gentle by nature and with a strong connection to the often harsh environment where they make their home at the top of the world, the Inuit are one of the last hunter-gatherer societies to live off the land. Some didn’t give up their nomadic lifestyle and move into settlements until the late 1960s, and many still hunt and fish to help feed their communities.

Before I landed on Iqaluit, NU’s icy runway when I first went north in 1990, I had already lost my heart to this stark landscape. From 2,000 m (6,562 ft) up, icebergs littered an inky Arctic Ocean and the tundra was polka-dotted with pothole lakes shimmering in blues from turquoise to indigo. And once I’d spent time with the Inuit, I was smitten by their unpretentiousness, sense of humour and generosity with the shank of caribou that squats on every home’s kitchen counter…

• The Inuit are Canada’s northern First Nations people who live throughout the country’s Arctic and subarctic regions. Inuit land reaches from Labrador and northern Quebec (where they call their home Nunavik) across the territory of Nunavut—where they make up 85% of the population—and along the Arctic Ocean coast of the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Collectively, these areas are known as Inuit Nunangat.

• Inuit were once called Eskimos, but the term is no longer used in Canada. They live in modern housing in small communities, many accessible only by boat and plane or by snowmobile in winter across the frozen sea.

• They are a coastal people, surviving primarily on fish, seal and whale, as well as caribou and muskoxen. Traditionally, Inuit lived in igloos in winter and in sod houses in summer. They travelled with the seasons to hunt and fish, often following man-shaped stone route markers called inuksuit (the singular is inuksuk). They used dog teams to pull komatik (strong, flexible sleds) in winter. In summer, some paddled kayaks, an Inuit creation.

• Although Inuit now primarily use snowmobiles, trucks and power boats, and hunt with rifles instead of harpoons, many still hunt and fish to supplement costly store-bought (flown-in) food. They still feel a very strong attachment to the land—and it’s not unusual for entire families to head out “on the land,” living in big tents or at far-flung cabins for the entire summer.

• The Inuit are patient, calm and often shy people of few words. It is not always easy for “southerners” to interact with locals apart from their tour guides or interpreters. Bathurst Inlet Lodge and Elu Inlet Lodge in Nunavut are both run by Inuit families and provide a deeper glimpse into their land and lifestyles.

• The Inuit’s strong culture includes the ancient practices of drumming on a stretched caribou skin and female throat-singing (such as that of popular siren Tanya Tagaq), which is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary music. Inuit athletic games, such as the high-kick, are practiced for competitions like the Arctic Winter Games. Northern art and music is celebrated at Inuvik, NWT’s Great Northern Arts Festival and Alianait in Iqaluit, NU.

• Canada’s most famous serpentine and soapstone carvers are the Inuit of Cape Dorset, NU, whose sculptures have been presented to presidents and popes as official national gifts. Cape Dorset’s Kinngait Studios is also renowned for a half century of Inuit printmaking. In Pangnirtung, the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts produces not only prints, but finely crafted tapestries as well.

• Take a dog-sled ride across the tundra under the aurora borealis, a.k.a. Northern Lights. Kayak by icebergs along the Arctic Ocean shore beneath the 24-hour midnight sun. Head to the frozen floe edge to spot whales, birds and polar bears on an Arctic-style safari. Cruise the Arctic Ocean, watching for wildlife and stopping in at communities along the way, with Cruise North Expeditions, an Inuit-owned company with local guides.

• Sample local Arctic char and caribou, learn how to build an igloo or skin a seal at the spring Toonik Tyme festival in Iqaluit, NU, and get to know locals up close and personally on a homestay with an Inuit family during a dog-sled racing weekend.

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video
Inuit Culture in Gjoa Haven