George W. Wenzel

From TEK to IQ: Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and Inuit Cultural Ecology

From ethnographies of hunting to sophisticated harvesting and ecological research, human-animal interaction has been a long-standing primary focus of research on Canadian Inuit. The methodological and analytical formulations (principally from within wildlife management, ecological and economic anthropology, and evolutionary biology) that now frame much contemporary work in this area of study and influence northern conservation and management policy also all make selective use of Inuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Notable by its absence, however, is information about how Inuit conceptualize human-animal relations and how this may affect their use of wildlife. The emergence of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) as a guiding principle within the Government of Nunavut raises the possibility that for the first time this cognitive element may influence wildlife management policy in the territory. This paper first examines the content of IQ and then speculates on its potential in relation to research on Inuit cultural ecology.

Clyde Inuit Settlement and Community: From before Boas to Centralization

Presently, the terms “settlement” and “community” are used virtually interchangeably as identifying referents for contemporary Inuit residential places, especially those that are the result of past Euro-Canadian resettlement policy. This paper revisits Chang’s (1961) conceptualization of these terms in which “settlement” expresses spatial, geographic and, to a degree, temporal provenience, while “community” is conceived of as having strict social meaning with regard to place. Chang’s conception of each term is tested through examination of ethnohistoric information about Inuit occupation and use of the Clyde region of eastern Baffin Island before the formation of modern Clyde River. This examination begins with historical and informant information about the nineteenth century regional presence of Inuit and then is followed by detailed Inuit memories of people and places during Clyde’s Contact-Traditional Period (ca. 1923–1970). It concludes that Chang’s discriminating use of “settlement” and “community” are relevant to the history of Inuit occupation in this area during this later time, but that his formulations about Inuit settlement and community within his larger circumpolar typologies are weak and with regard to community inaccurate.

Linking tourism and art in Canada's eastern Arctic: the case of Cape Dorset

The Inuit of Canadas eastern Arctic are increasingly turning to tourism as a source of much-needed income and employment. The government of the Northwest Territories, in conjunction with local communities, is attempting to develop a ‘sustainable’ form of tourism in the region, with an emphasis on maximizing local economic linkages while minimizing negative socio-cultural and environmental impacts. One key strategy for increasing the ‘downstream’ benefits of visitor expenditure has been an attempt to forge better links between tourism and the regions arts sector. This paper examines some of the key issues and problems that face the implementation of such a strategy in the Baffin Island hamlet of Cape Dorset. It commences with a profile of the community, its arts sector, and its nascent tourism industry. It then presents findings from a household/business survey designed to gauge resident attitudes towards tourism and provide information on the links that exist between the industry and the arts sector. The data reveal that while residents are supportive of further tourism development there is considerable disagreement among different interest groups about the amount of interaction that should occur between tourism and the local arts sector. In conclusion, the paper outlines some approaches that may allow the linkages between these two important components of the local economy to be strengthened.

Review of Nuussuarmiut—hunting families on the big headland. Meddelelser om Grønland: Man & Society 35 , by Keld Hansen

Nuussuarmiut is based on research conducted by the author from 1966 to 1968 in the community of Nuussuaq, in the Upernavik District, West Greenland. As Hansen explains in a much appreciated Introduction cum prologue, his career interest at the time he began this fieldwork was in material culture. This is amply evidenced by the numerous, highly detailed sketches and scale drawings that, along with archival and the author’s own photographs, are integral to almost every chapter.

Do Glaciers Listen? Local Knowledge, Colonial Encounters, and Social Imagination, by Julie Cruikshank

In undergoing this life, many people always try to do and get the best. New knowledge, experience, lesson, and everything that can improve the life will be done. However, many people sometimes feel confused to get those things. Feeling the limited of experience and sources to be better is one of the lacks to own. However, there is a very simple thing that can be done. This is what your teacher always manoeuvres you to do this one. Yeah, reading is the answer. Reading a book as this do glaciers listen local knowledge colonial encounters and social imagination and other references can enrich your life quality. How can it be?

Allen P. McCartney's Contributions to Canadian Archaeology: A Photo Essay

Over his forty-year career, Allen’s contributions to the archaeology of the North American Arctic were many, and his research extended from Thule times to the present and from the Aleutian Islands to North Alaska, and Hudson Bay to the Canadian High Arctic. The papers in this volume by our Alaskan colleagues pay excellent tribute to his work in the western Arctic, but Savelle and Habu, Friesen, and Wenzel provide only a glimpse of Allen’s “other” side. It is our hope that this brief essay will provide readers with a broader appreciation of both his very substantial contributions to Canadian Inuit prehistory and the influence he (gently) exerted on many of us working in the area.