Introduction to Arctic Hunts
For the Inuit people of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska and the
northernmost reaches of the Soviet Union, life in the harsh Arctic
environment has always depended on the mammals and fis that live in
the region's waters. Hunting and fishing are more than a
traditional way of life; they are the population's means of
survival.
The Arctic-dwelling beluga and narwhal have long been hunted by the
Inuit peoples, providing blubber oil for lighting and cooking and
food in the form of "muktuk" - the name given to the whale's skin
and adhering blubber - and meat, which is also fed to their sledge
dogs.