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Bill Hillman's 
EduTech Research Project
Presents
John Tyman's
INUIT ~ People of the Arctic
Unit II: FOOD SOURCES
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Part 3: Hunting
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Caribou
47. Though large migratory herds are common in summer
in some parts of the Arctic,
in the Boothia Peninsula caribou (in smaller numbers)
are generally available all year-round.
48. Those killed in the spring are good for drying 
as they are lean 
(though their fur is useless then because it's shedding).
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49. The women remove the meat from the bones.
50. It is then cut into thin slices using an ulu (or woman’s knife) ...
51. And either spread out to dry on a bed of clean gravel...
52. Or hung up today from an improvised wooden framework.
53. The bones are kept -- for chewing on, 
making stew, or feeding to the dogs.
54. The remains of two caribou are shown here 
drying on sheets of plywood.
55. The wind keeps the flies away, and nets 
(with birds killed for this purpose) are used to deter gulls.
56. When properly dried the meat, now black and hard, 
will be buried for collection during winter.
Polar Bears
57. Once a source of both food and clothing material, 
bears are now hunted mainly for cash, 
their skins being sold mostly to Americans.
58. The meat is still used, though. 
The carcass is commonly kept outside the house on the roof,
away from dogs, and pieces are sawn off as required.
Wildfowl
59. Very few birds winter in the Arctic 
(as does the ptarmigan referred to later) 
but those that go there in summer to breed 
are an important source of food.
60. In this case it's a snow goose, 
but there are other varieties of geese to shoot...
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61. And plenty of ducks, 
like these King Eiders.

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62. In the absence of trees, birds build nests on the ground
(in this case a phalarope) and eggs can be collected easily. 
However, this is done generally only in the early part of the nesting season,
giving the birds time to lay again and raise young before they fly south. 

BACK TO INUIT CONTENTS PAGE:
Dr. John Tyman
PHOTOS & RECORDINGS

I. Environment:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
II. Food Sources: 
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
III: Clothing/Shelter:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
IV. Family: 
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
V. Community:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
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Text, photos and recordings by John Tyman
Intended for Educational Use Only.
Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University, 2008.
Contact Dr. John Tyman for more information regarding licensing.

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