Inuit Geography and Background

The Inuit are a group of people whose ancestors have lived in the cold, harsh climates of the Arctic Tundra, Alaska, Canada and Greenland for thousands of years.It is believed that the Inuit migrated from Asia across a frozen ice bridge into North America over 3,000 years ago. They are often referred to as “Eskimos,” however they prefer the term Inuit, which means “People” in their language.

Traditional Inuit way of life was influenced by the harsh climate and barren landscapes of the Arctic Tundra. Winters can last for more than half the year, during which the sun will rarely rise. But during the summer, the sun will never set!In addition to being very cold, it is also very dry and windy (it hardly ever rains). The Inuit have been able to survive in this environment only because they adapted every aspect of their lifestyle to help them live in this harsh climate.

Midnight Arctic Sun

Inuit Housing

In the Tundra, where the Inuit live, there are not many building materials. No trees grow there, so houses cannot be made from wood. However, during a large part of the year, there is a lot of snow in the Tundra. As it turns out, snow can be a very good construction material. In the winter, Inuit lived in round houses made from blocks of snow called "igloos". In the summer, when the snow melted, Inuit lived in tent-like huts made of animal skins stretched over a frame of driftwood or bones.

IGLOOS

  • An igloo is a dome-shaped shelter made out of snow blocks, usually used as a temporary home.
  • The blocks are cut from the snow, and piled in a spiral shape, leaning in slightly. This gives the igloo its dome shape.
  • Soft snow is used to fill any holes and add extra insulation.
  • The entrance to an igloo is usually underground or curved so that cold wind cannot blow inside.
  • The floor in an igloo where people sleep is raised and covered with fur so that they don’t get wet from the melted ice.
  • Depending on the size of the igloo, it usually took the Inuit 20-30 minutes to build.

Inuit Summer Tent

Inuit Food and Hunting

Because the Inuit lived in places where most plants cannot grow, they were not farmers and instead their diet consisted almost entirely of meat. The Inuit fished and hunted to get their food, often using long spears to kill their prey. Seals, whales, walruses, fish and caribou were staples of their diet.

Because food was scarce, the Inuit could not live in the same place all the time. They had to keep moving to follow the herds for survival. The Inuit used every single piece of the animals that they hunted. In addition to getting their food from the animals, they used the skins, fur and bones for clothes and making tents, boats and weapons. They even used seal blood as glue!

Caribou

Hunting Seal

Using Kayaks for a hunting expedition

Inuit artwork illustrating seal hunting

Inuit Transportation

To travel from one place to another, Inuit used sleds made of animal bones and skins that were pulled over the snow and ice by dogs. Strong dogs with thick fur like huskies were bred by the Inuit to pull their sleds. They used the sleds to travel on long hunting trips or for going to trade.

For the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Inuit would make boats using only animal bones, skins and fur (they had no wood!). Small boats called “kayaks” were used for hunting while larger boats called “umiaq” transported people, dogs, and supplies.

When a very old Inuit man or women was expected to pass away, they would be sent out to sea on a kayak to enter the afterlife.

Dogsleds

Kayak means “hunting boat” in the Inuit language

Inuit Clothing and Staying Warm

Traditional Inuit clothing was made from animal skins and fur. Boots were also made from animal skins. Large, thick coats with big hoods called “parkas” were worn as an outer layer. The Inuit made thick gloves to protect themselves from the sub-zero arctic weather. They rubbed noses to say hello instead of shaking hands.

Since they had no wood to burn for fire, they learned to burn the blubber and oil from seals and whales in order to stay warm. Their igloos were built with a vent in the ceiling to let out the smoke.

Heavy Inuit coats and hoods likely made from Caribou fur

The Inuit built fires from whale and seal blubber (fat)