Sedna is the goddess of the sea and sea creatures, especially seals, whales and fish – in other words, all the animals that the Inuit traditionally live off. She is often depicted as the ruler of the underwater world and is a kind of creator or guardian of marine life. Sedna’s Helpers by Ida Karpik […]
Pitsiula grew up in Kimmirut and learned carving as a young boy from both his parents. He started by sanding down his parents’ carvings and when he was almost a teenager, he began to create his own works of art. At first he worked with hand tools, later he learned to use power tools. Pitsiula […]
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) live almost exclusively on pack ice; some of them have never had solid ground under their paws in their entire lives. The animals are perfectly adapted to life in the Arctic. Their thick fur and a thick layer of fat protect them from the icy cold. Skin protrusions on the soles […]
On our first trip to the Arctic, we first visited Kinngait. We spent the first night in a house on the beach before setting off on our journey to an outpost camp. On the way to the camp, we passed floating ice, rock faces covered in birds’ nests and visited Inukshuk Point. Tradition has it […]
In 1996, on our first trip to Canada, we came into contact with this wonderful art created by the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic for the first time in a gallery in Toronto. The energy that radiated from these artworks was immense and left a lasting impression on us. Inuk Sitting (Photo: © Canadian Arctic […]
Kinngait is located on Dorset Island, one of a group of islands off the southern coast of the Foxe Peninsula. In 1913 the Hudson’s Bay Company opened a trading post here and from 1939 to 1949 the Baffin Trading Company operated a competing trade. In the early 1950s, the catchment area of camps trading with […]
After James Houston visited the communities of Inukjuak and Puvirnituq in 1949 and 1950, he turned his attention to Baffin Island. Accompanied by his wife Alma Bardon, James Houston embarked on an expedition to Baffin Island in January 1951, shortly after their marriage. Instead of a conventional honeymoon, they took the chance to explore and […]
Puvirnituq is located on the north bank of the Povungnituk River, four kilometers from Povungnituq Bay and about 400 km north of the tree line. Puvirnituq translates as “place where it smells of rotting meat”. In 1921, the Hundson’s Bay Company opened an outpost near the present-day settlement. The Revillon Frères trading company was also […]
Inukjuak is located on the northern bank of the Innuksuak River near Hopewell Sound on east Hudson Bay. The name of the settlement means “many people”. Ruins of stone houses from the pre-Dorset culture bear witness that this region has a long history of settlement. In the early days of the Colonization it was called […]