Inuit ethnographer story - gloria

 

Lately, I have paid more attention to the Inuit society. Today the remaining Inuit people live in Alaska, Nunavut, Greenland, and Northern Quebec. This area is called the Inuit Nunangat. It is often identified as a tundra and it is almost inhospitable to live there due to its low temperatures. The people who live here usually have some relations to Inuit tribes.

I decided to visit the Inuit Nunangat to learn more about the people and what it’s like to live there. I arrived at Nunavut and was greeted by my guide, a woman who had lived in the area for her whole life. The weather was certainly cold as I was told. As I was guided around the area, I began to study the community. The houses were made from wood planks. Most of them looked the same, running down due to the constant cold weather. The houses were all spaced out amongst the Nunavut. I also noticed that Nunavut seemed untouched compared to America, where we have phones and TVs that we use almost daily. Here, there wasn’t much of that. My guide took me to meet other people who lived in Nunavut. First, she took me to meet a family she grew up with. The house was built lower into the ground to gather in more heat. The mother of the family was kind enough to let us stay and have dinner. Her husband asked me, “Why have you decided to come to Nunavut? We don’t get many visitors here.” The reason I came was because of that. In America, we don’t know much about this way of life. We’ve never experienced it, especially during these modern times. We are used to technology doing things for us. As we were talking, the mother grabbed something that looked like a knife, I asked her what it was. She said it was an “ulu”, something she used to cut fish and occasionally “ mattaq”, beluga whale skin and its blubber. That night I ended up eating dried fish or “arctic char”. I ate it with a side of soy sauce which she had provided. I finished satisfied and went to bed on the air mattress next to the kitchen.