GREENLAND 76°28’15.7”N 69°11’00.1”W
TIINA ITKONEN
“For generations, they had thrived among the frozen beauty of their land, their lives connected to the rhythms of nature and the spirits that watched over them.”
in the far north village of savissivik , Olennguaq, a father of seven, hunts on the sea ice with his 18-year-old son Qaaqqutsiannguaq. They both have their own dog teams, 35 dogs in total. Every once in a while, Olennguaq climbs on top of the iceberg to observe the surroundings with his binoculars. We stop regularly to warm up, drink coffee from a thermos, and have a snack. The sun is already setting, and still no catch. All of a sudden, there is a polar bear up ahead. Olennguaq shouts to his dogs, “nanorruaq” (“great polar bear”), and the dogs go wild. He sets 10 dogs loose. They run after the bear. The rest of the dogs pull the sled furiously toward the prey. Near the glacier, the sea ice is bumpy, and the sled bounces wildly. I can hardly stay aboard. Olennguaq says that if he falls off the sled, I have to jump off too. In a moment, we catch up with the polar bear, which now is surrounded by Olennguaq’s dogs. Inughuit hunters in North West Greenland still travel by dog sleds in winter. A dog team is hitched to the sled in a fan shape, with each dog on its own harness line. The relation- ship between the Inuit and their sled dogs is deep-rooted, and no other animal can help them navigate through the uneven terrain of the Arctic. Dogs can also help with hunting by localizing seals, bears, and other wildlife as well as potential danger. A successful hunt rewards a hunter with hundreds of pounds of meat, a hide for sew- ing hunting clothes, and something no less important—respect, identity, and reciprocity within the community. Their survival depends on the animals; a deep understanding of their behavior is essential for successful hunting. The Greenlandic government has set hunting quotas for polar bear, walrus, and nar- whal, and the quotas are strictly followed. Subsistence hunting, like it is done here, does not pose a threat to the polar bear population. The locals hunt to feed their community. The skill and courage of Greenland’s hunters have kept Inuit people alive and fed for more than a thousand years. Here in the ice-covered far north, where farming is impossi- ble, hunting seals, walrus, and other Arctic animals is still a vital part of life and a primary food source for many households. A land dominated by ice and snow, where darkness is constant through the long and harsh winter and where the sun never sets during the sum- mer. In winter, the gentle glow of lamps illuminate the elderly faces who tell stories and share wisdom through it. Inuit legends and history are passed on from one generation to the next. Children learn from a young age to take responsibility for themselves and nature; they learn to read the signs of shifting ice and a changing environment—the movement of nature.
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MOTHER VOLUME TWO
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