Chapter 16: Lessons From Man: A Course Of Study

It is ten below zero in early March. On the sea ice of Pelly Bay, a few miles from the Arctic Circle, Itimagnark, a highly-skilled seal hunter, unhitches his two dogs from his skin sled and searches the frozen landscape for a seal’s breathing hole. Blowing snow has obliterated any surface evidence, but the dogs soon sniff out the location of a recent visitor. Itimagnark is a Netsilik Eskimo, a people particularly renowned for their seal-hunting prowess. He knows that seals must surface for air frequently, and that an individual seal regularly visits twenty or more breathing holes. During the harsh months of winter, when food is particularly scarce, Netsilik hunters collaborate to increase the likelihood of a kill. The survival of the whole community is linked to the success of the hunt during this bitterly cold time of year.