On the ice and tundra of the Far North live the resourceful Inuit peoples. In a land where food was scarce, they developed strategies for survival to suit their harsh environment. Their lives were shaped by the seasons: the long winter and the short summer. In winter, they lived in igloos—houses made from blocks of ice. In summer, they lived in sod huts, with whale ribs for a frame.
These hardy people hunted seal, walrus, and whale on the coast. Those who lived inland or who migrated there during the summer months hunted caribou, a large mammal that looks like a deer or elk. Whatever they caught, they shared with other members of the tribe. Sharing the hunt was an important tradition, since finding food was so difficult in the Arctic.
Men hunted mostly seal and walrus during the long winter. These sea mammals need air and make holes in the ice for breathing. Hunters would wait on the ice, looking for a seal or walrus to come up for air. After the animal was killed, the hunter would give it a drink of fresh water, showing his thanks.
Every part of these great sea mammals was used. Seals, in particular, could be considered the staple food of this region. The nutritious internal organs were eaten raw. For the native peoples of the Far North, seal liver was an important source of vitamins A and C because there were no vegetables to supply these in their diet. The women cooked the seal meat with blood and blubber to make a thick soup. Because fuel for cooking was scarce, the Inuit also left some raw meat outside their igloos to be eaten frozen.
Although much harder to catch than seals, whales were also important to the diet of these northern natives. Whale blubber, called mattak by the Inuit, was eaten fresh in a ceremony of thanksgiving after the hunt. Whales were not just a supply of food, but of fuel as well. The blubber was boiled in water to render the precious oil. The whale oil was stored to use as fuel, which gave heat and light to homes in winter. Then, the pieces of blubber would be boiled until tender and eaten hot. Boiled whale blubber was considered a delicacy.
Sea mammals were the most important source of food for the peoples of the Arctic, but they also used nature’s other resources to feed themselves. Whenever possible, they fished for Arctic char, or even salmon, in regions farther south. In inland regions, the men hunted caribou, arctic fox, and arctic hare. The women would dry the caribou meat after cutting it into thin strips, like jerky.
During the summer months, the Inuit gathered wild foods, such as blueberries and bearberries. Women and children also collected birds’ eggs and gathered lichens to eat. Iceland moss lichen grows on rocks and soil in the Far North and is a staple in the diet of Northern peoples. The women would boil the lichen in water, dry it, and then pulverize it into flour to use in breads and cakes. Lichen provided the people with important starch and minerals in their traditional meat-based diet.
The peoples of the Far North were some of the last Native Americans to deal with the coming of the Europeans. Early explorers traded with the Inuit in the 16th century, and Russian traders set up outposts on the islands where the Aleut peoples lived in the early 19th century. Because the land of the Arctic was not considered valuable by white culture, only hunters and traders settled there at first. They often adapted native ways of living and eating more than they changed the ways of the native peoples. It was not until the late 19th century that white culture had a real effect on Inuit culture.
Inuit villagers butcher a bowhead whale. The Inuit consider boiled whale blubber a delicacy.
Guns, introduced by white traders, had a huge impact on the lives of the Inuit. For a short time, guns made hunting easier and less dangerous. However, the Inuit weren’t the only hunters. White traders hunted seals for fur, which was popular in the United States and Europe. Eventually, overhunting depleted the food supply. This caused great hardship and even starvation in some areas.
Around the same time, missionaries came to convert the Inuit to Christianity. They encouraged native peoples to give up their nomadic ways of life and live in villages. The missionaries tried to help by offering food and education in exchange. Because the hunting was bad during this period, many Inuit gave up their traditional ways of life. Over time, they no longer lived by the seasons, eating the foods that their ancestors ate.
In more recent times, gas and oil were discovered beneath the traditional hunting grounds of the natives of the Arctic, and oil and gas companies bought land rights to extract the valuable resources. This affected the remaining nomadic Inuit, who were forced to give up their traditional lifestyle when they lost their hunting grounds.
Even today, when a whale is caught in a hunt or when one washes up onshore, banners are hoisted on the boats to show it is time for a Nullakatuk, or thanksgiving ceremony.
In the 1880s, missionaries persuaded the U.S. government to import Siberian reindeer to replace caribou as a food source. The caribou herds had been depleted through overhunting.
Like many Native Americans to the south, who no longer live according to their ancient customs, many of today’s Inuit do not eat traditional foods as part of their daily diet. An Inuit child today is more likely to eat a hot dog than frozen seal meat. Environmental laws now protect the animals that formed the backbone of the Inuit diet. However, traditional foods are still part of important celebrations and festivals. After years of protest, environmental laws that protect sea mammals such as seals and whales have been adjusted so that Inuit peoples can once again hunt and eat the foods of their ancestors. §