The disappearing world of the last of the Arctic hunters

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Stephen Pax Leonard
The Observer, Sunday 3 October 2010

Living in the most northern permanently inhabited settlements in the world, the Inughuit people, or polar Eskimos as they are often known, have eked out an existence in this Arctic desert in the north-west corner of Greenland for centuries. The Inughuit are one of the smallest indigenous groups in the world, with a population of just 800 spread across the four settlements that make up the Thule region.

A thousand miles away from the capital, Nuuk, and occupying an unfeasibly remote corner of our world, the Inughuit enjoy their own distinct subculture based on the hunting of marine mammals. Unlike other Inuit populations across the Arctic, the Inughuit have maintained where possible their ancient way of life, using kayaks and harpoons to hunt narwhal and travelling by dog-sled in winter.

This unique way of life is now under threat. A tiny society whose basis is just a half dozen families, some of whom are descendants of polar explorers Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, say they are being "squeezed" out of existence. Draconian hunting quotas have been imposed by politicians in the south, many of whom have never ventured this far north. The hunting restrictions have pushed up the cost of sea mammals and some Inughuit are switching to a western diet of imported food.

Even if they can afford to eat their traditional diet, certain environmental groups advise them not to do so. The levels of mercury in some marine mammals are thought to pose a health hazard, and the risks of radioactive contamination from the nearby nuclear accident in 1968, when a US Air Force B-52 crash-landed with four hydrogen bombs on board, are still unknown.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/last-of-the-arctic-hunters

[applegrove]

1. That is so sad.