Indigenous Sea Ice Knowledge and Use

A mid-19th century engraving depicting an Inuit community in northern Canada. Indigenous communities of the Arctic have changed over the past two centuries. Until they were forced to settle down, many indigenous peoples in Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland lived primarily nomadic lives.

A mid-19th century engraving depicting an Inuit community in northern Canada. Indigenous communities of the Arctic have changed over the past two centuries. Until they were forced to settle down, many indigenous peoples in Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland lived primarily nomadic lives.

© Charles Francis Hall

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  • A mid-19th century engraving depicting an Inuit community in northern Canada. Indigenous communities of the Arctic have changed over the past two centuries. Until they were forced to settle down, many indigenous peoples in Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland lived primarily nomadic lives.
  • A view of a traditional igloo interior from the early 20th century
  • A view of Qaanaaq, Greenland. Nowadays Inuit live in modern housing
  • The igloo: a traditional means of housing. Some Inuit still sometimes build igloos for shelter when they go out on the ice for long periods of time.
  • Inuit men in traditional dress on the ice in Nunavut Territory, Canada. Indigenous knowledge has helped Inuit survive in the Arctic for millenia.
  • Using traditional knowledge during a hunt. Inuit knowledge of ice is sometimes uncanny. Many skilled Inuit can even determine from the phases of the moon what ice conditions will be like.
  • A young Inuit man wearing traditional clothing. Clothing made from animal skins is very effective for keeping warm in the harsh Arctic climate.
  • Feeling the qanguti near Cape Dorset, Nunavut Territory, Canada. Gita Laidler, a researcher in ISIUOP, a Canadian research project under SIKU, evaluates the qanguti (frost flowers) on newly-formed sea ice while wearing a seal skin mitt.
  • Hunters chip ice from an iceberg for drinking water near Cape Dorset, Nunavut Territory, Canada
  • Hunting on the ice. Modern day Inuit use a mix of traditional knowledge and modern technology. However some Inuit elders have complained that younger generations tend to rely more heavily on modern technology at the expense of using traditional knowledge.
  • Waiting for a seal at a hole in the ice
  • Checking a weather station on the sea ice. Inuit have been helping to collect meteorological data during the IPY project (n°166), Sea Ice Knowledge and Use (SIKU).
  • A view of Akulivik, Québec, Canada. Travelling by snowmobile across the ice Snowmobiles are a common means of transportation in many parts of Northern Canada. One drawback to travelling by snowmobile is that one goes so fast it can be difficult to judge where the ice is not strong enough to support one's weight.Northern communities can be very remote. Most are reachable only by plane or snowmobile.
  • Travelling by snowmobile across the ice. Snowmobiles are a common means of transportation in many parts of Northern Canada. One drawback to travelling by snowmobile is that one goes so fast it can be difficult to judge where the ice is not strong enough to support one's weight.
  • A hunter with all his gear. The snowmobile is pulling a qamutik (sled) with a boat on top. It is both a safety measure in case the ice breaks and an animal retrieval device.
  • A qamutik full of equipment and supplies, between Clyde River and Pond Inlet on Baffin Island, Nunavut Territorry, Canada
  • A hunting party camps for the night.
  • Out on the water.
  • Hunting for narwhals on Baffin Island, Nunavut Territorry, Canada.
  • A hunting team with a freshly caught narwhal.
  • Cutting up the catch.
  • An Ulu is a traditional knife usually made of bone and sometiems metal. Inuit women use it to skin and prepare animal caracasses.
  • An Inuit woman.
  • Inuit girls.
  • An Inuit Inuit man in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada sporting some traditional sunglasses.
  • An Inuit hunter in a kayak from the early 20th century. Kayaks are a centuries-old means of maritime transportation for the Inuit. They are traditionally made from animal skins stretched over a wooden frame.
  • An Inuit man in a kayak in Qaanaaq, Greenland. Kayaks are still used today.
  • A view of Ililussat (Jakobshavn), Greenland at twilight
  • Drying a bear skin outside in Ililussat, Greenland. Inuit still use animal skins for various purposes, most commonly in making traditional clothing.
  • Travelling by dogsled. North of the Arctic Circle in Greenland, snowmobiles are not allowed to be used on hunting trips. Only traditional means of transportation such as dogsleds are permitted.
  • Feeding time for sled dogs in Qaanaaq, Greenland.
  • Sled dogs having a rest.
  • Young pups.

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