Introduction: Community-Based Whaling in the North

The papers in this volume were presented during the 1991 annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The topic of the two-day symposium was Sustainable Whaling in contemporary context, and though not all papers presented at the symposium are published in this issue of Arctic, the ones appearing provide a representative cross-section of research on whaling being carried out in different disciplines at this time. ..

Science and Ethics in the North

In this present paper I will comment upon and evaluate the initial report of the Working Group on Science for the North entitled Ethical Principles for the Conduct of Research in the North (MAB 1977a)

George Weetaltuk (ca. 1862-1956)

The historic Inuit occupation of the James Bay region is largely associated with the name of one man, George Weetaltuk. This Inuit leader was a respected Hudson's Bay Company pilot, boat builder, and artist, as well as patriarch of the Cape Hope Island Inuit community. His reputation and accomplishments are attested to in various written sources, and his many drawings comprise the earliest extensive collection of Canadian Inuit graphic art. One of the earliest and most widely reproduced of Weetaltuk's sketches is his 1910 map of the (then unknown to map-makers) Belcher Islands archipelago in Hudson Bay. This remarkable map, drawn about twenty years after Weetaltuk had left the Belcher Islands to live in James Bay, led Robert Flaherty to search for and subsequently explore the Belcher Islands during the years 1914-1916. ... Between 1930 and 1950 Weetaltuk gained fame as a canoe and boat builder. He had constructed a sawmill and a steamer on the island for shaping wood, and there he built the renowned Cape Hope Island canoes, which are still being made today in Poste de la Baleine, Quebec, by his descendants. However, especially noteworthy were the three large, masted boats he built; the largest, the Carwyn, was over 50 feet long and was built in 1944 when Weetaltuk was more than 80 years old. The first large boat he built was resold by the Hudson's Bay Company to the Roman Catholic missions, who renamed it Notre Dame de l'Esperance, and under that name it sailed the East Main and Labrador coasts for many years. ... Weetaltuk's woodworking skills resulted in the arrival of many orders for handmade furniture, from cities and towns all over Canada and the United States. The Anglican churches at Old Factory, Quebec, and Moose Factory, Ontario, commissioned him to carve their ornate bishop's chairs. The Cape Hope Island community consisted, for the most part, of Weetaltuk's descendants, and was the most southerly Inuit community in Canada until its relocation in 1960. The community enjoyed harmonious relations with adjacent James Bay Cree communities, and all the Inuit spoke Cree (several spoke French and English too). ..

An Ecological Study of Mobility and Settlement Patterns Among the Belcher Island Eskimo

Settlement composition of these islands is based on co-residence of male siblings after marriage; seasonal or annual changes are mainly a result of economic pressures. Location and mobility of settlements is controlled by availability of food, dog-food, and fuel (driftwood, lichens). Acculturated groups migrate in winter to the west where foxes are abundant, in summer to the east for wage employment. Seasonal location of traditional settlements conforms to biogeographical features, viz: coastal characteristics which influence the number and availability of seals.Étude écologique de la mobilité et du dessin des établissements chez les Esquimaux des îles de Belcher. Dans les îles de Belcher, un complexe de facteurs écologiques favorise le développment de techniques individuelles de production; c'est pourquoi la formation des établissements humains ne résulte pas des nécessités d'une activité économique collective. Les facteurs économiques sont les principaux responsables des changements dans la composition et la localisation des établissements, bien qu'en certaines saisons, les pressions sociales aient aussi une forte influence. La composition des établissements est largement basée sur la parenté, bien que des facteurs de la personnalité jouent aussi un rôle important. L'acculturation a une influence tant sur la mobilité que sur le dessin des établissements

Polar Bear Predation on Beluga in the Canadian Arctic

During May 1970, while conducting field work at Grise Fiord in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, a local hunter reported that a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) had successfully caught 3 beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) during March near King Edward VII Point (76°08' N, 81°08' W), the extreme southeast cape of Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories. As none of the fifteen local hunters had ever witnessed such an event, and only one had ever heard of it before, I assumed bear predation on whales to be very rare, and consequently recorded whatever information I could obtain at the time. According to the hunter's narrative, movement of a partially grounded iceberg about 200 metres offshore had prevented freezing of a small area of water surrounding the berg. ... it seems probable that a small number of beluga had endeavoured to pass the winter in the open water alongside this berg. At some time in March a medium-sized female bear had caught and removed an adult female beluga together with another adult and a grey-coloured subadult beluga both of unspecified sex; the adult female beluga was dragged about 7 metres from the edge of the water, the other two a shorter distance only. ... Four days later on reaching the site of the whale kill, only the carcass of the grey beluga remained; apparently movement of the berg had broken up the ice and no trace of the other two carcasses could be found. The remaining carcass was attracting large numbers of glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) and some ravens (Corvus corax) and earlier that day two male bears had been present. The smaller of the two bears had walked backwards dragging the beluga carcass tail-first in a zig-zag course a distance of about 150 metres from an earlier resting place on the ice. Inspection of the carcass indicated loss of all skin and fat, and most of the meat from head and trunk; fracture of the occipital bones had occurred, but it is not known if this damage was suffered before or after death. An eyewitness account of a polar bear killing beluga in Novaya Zemblya however, relates how the bear lies with outstretched paws on the ice and delivers a blow to the head when the whale surfaces within range. ... There appears no reason to doubt that the hunter reporting this event had, as he believed, discovered the beluga shortly after they were caught in March, nor that the tracks of the medium-sized female bear near the carcasses at that time were those of the predator. According to the description given, such a bear would weigh in the range of 130 to 180 kilograms, or about one-fifth the probable weight of each adult beluga it had successfully killed and removed from the water. The only other reports on bears killing beluga I can find in the literature appear contradictory. One asserts that, in the Baffin Bay region, at small openings in the ice where whales are sometimes trapped in winter, "a small flock of bears will congregate and kill a small whale, which they will then drag up on to the ice and eat". The other commentary, relating to the Eurasian arctic, suggests that attacks on beluga by single bears are quite frequent, and that when a bear discovers a pod of trapped whales it remains nearby and successively kills them (up to 13 are reliably reported). This present report of a multiple killing by a solitary bear, substantiated by direct inspection shortly after the event, establishes that there is no difference between Eurasian and North American polar bears in regard to this predatory behaviour

Frequency of Traditional Food Use by Three Yukon First Nations Living in Four Communities

This study documented the frequency of use of traditional food species among 122 adults from three Yukon First Nations. The informants resided in four communities: Haines Junction, Old Crow, Teslin, and Whitehorse. Food patterns were examined in two ways: (1) estimated frequency of household use of traditional food species over a one-year period, and (2) frequency of traditional foods in four daily diet recalls of men and women, collected once per season. On average, Yukon Indian households used traditional foods over 400 times annually. Moose was consumed on average 95 times yearly, caribou 71, chinook salmon 22, Labrador tea 20, cranberries and crowberries each 14, and blueberries 11 times yearly. According to household estimates, traditional foods were consumed almost as often in Whitehorse as in Haines Junction. Teslin surpassed both these, while Old Crow had the highest frequency. Daily diets of adult individuals indicated that traditional foods were consumed on average 1.14 times per day. Traditional foods were reported twice daily in Old Crow diets, once daily in each of Teslin and Haines Junction, and 0.5 times daily in Whitehorse diets. Measured by frequency of use, traditional foods - especially moose, caribou and salmon - remain extremely important in contemporary diets of these Yukon Indian people.Key words: traditional foods, aboriginal foods, Yukon First Nations, Yukon Indian peopleCette étude documente la fréquence d'utilisation des aliments traditionnels parmi 122 adultes venant de trois Premières Nations du Yukon. Les informateurs résidaient dans quatre communautés: Haines Junction, Old Crow, Teslin et Whitehorse. Le mode d'alimentation a été examiné de deux façons: (1) la fréquence d'utilisation des aliments traditionnels au foyer, estimée sur une période d'un an, et (2) la fréquence des aliments traditionnels dans quatre enquêtes par interview sur le régime quotidien d'hommes et de femmes, effectuées une fois par saison. Les foyers indiens du Yukon utilisent les aliments traditionnels plus de 400 fois par an, en moyenne. L'orignal était consommé en moyenne 95 fois par an, le caribou 71 fois, le saumon du Pacifique 22 fois, le thé du Labrador 20 fois, les airelles et les camarines noires 14 fois chacune, et les bleuets 11 fois. D'après les estimations dans les foyers, les aliments traditionnels étaient consommés presqu'aussi souvent à Whitehorse qu'à Haines Junction. La fréquence de consommation était supérieure à Teslin, et elle était la plus grande à Old Crow. Le régime quotidien des adultes indiquait que les aliments traditionnels étaient consommés en moyenne 1,14 fois par jour. On a relevé la présence d'aliments traditionnels deux fois par jour à Old Crow, une fois par jour à Teslin et à Haines Junction, et 0,5 fois par jour à Whitehorse. Lorsqu'on les juge par leur fréquence d'utilisation, les aliments traditionnels - en particulier l'orignal, le caribou et le saumon - demeurent extrêmement importants dans le régime contemporain des Indiens du Yukon.Mot clés: aliments traditionnels, nourriture aborigène, Premières Nations du Yukon, Indiens du Yuko

Use of and Preference for Traditional Foods among the Belcher Island Inuit

To document the extent of use of traditional foods (marine and land mammals, birds, fish, and plants) and degree of preference for these foods in contemporary diets and culture, 102 households (98% of Inuit households) in the community of Sanikiluaq, Northwest Territories, Canada, were studied. During personal interviews, individuals estimated their frequency of use of traditional foods, systematically by season. In addition, 100 adults (from 96% of households) and 64 young people (84% of those in Grades 6-11) rated 41 foods (32 traditional and 9 market foods) for preference on a 5-point hedonic scale. According to respondents' estimates, traditional foods were used by all households, on average 1171±852 times annually. Fish and shellfish were most frequently consumed (523±490 times annually), followed by birds (254±204), sea mammals (184±161), berries (166±115), and land mammals (45±70). Preference ratings showed that most traditional foods were well-liked by both adults and young people, although adults rated 25 traditional foods higher (p<0.01) and 2 market foods lower (p<0.01) than young people did. Traditional foods remain an important part of contemporary Sanikiluaq lifestyle.Afin de documenter l'importance de l'utilisation des aliments traditionnels (mammifères marins et terrestres, oiseaux, poissons et plantes) et le degré de préférence pour ces aliments dans les régimes alimentaires et la culture actuels, on a fait une étude auprès de 102 foyers (98 p. cent de foyers inuit) dans la collectivité de Sanikiluaq (Territoires du Nord-Ouest [Canada]). Au cours d'interviews individuelles, les personnes estimaient la fréquence de leur utilisation des aliments traditionnels, de façon systématique, sur une base saisonnière. En outre, 100 adultes (provenant de 96 p. cent des foyers) et 64 jeunes (dont 84 p. cent scolarisés de la 6e à la 11e année) ont classé 41 aliments (32 traditionnels et 9 commerciaux) selon leur préférence sur une échelle hédonique de 5 points. Selon l'évaluation des répondants, les aliments traditionnels étaient consommés par tous les foyers, sur une base annuelle moyenne de 1171 ± 852 fois. C'est le poisson et les fruits de mer qui étaient consommés le plus souvent (523 ± 490 fois par an), suivis des oiseaux (254 ± 204), des mammifères marins (184 ± 161), des baies (166 ± 115), et des mammifères terrestres (45 ± 70). Le classement par préférence révèle que les adultes comme les jeunes apprécient la majorité des aliments traditionnels, bien que les adultes donnent à 25 aliments traditionnels une cote supérieure (p < 0,01) et à 2 aliments commerciaux une cote inférieure (p < 0,01) à celles données par les jeunes. Les aliments traditionnels continuent à jouer un rôle important dans le mode de vie contemporain de Sanikiluaq