Cultural status of the hunting experience Hunting has always been an important aspect of the Greenland Inuit culture: : "The Inuit culture is the most pure hunting culture in existence. Having adapted to the extreme living conditions in the High Arctic of the
North American
continent for at least four thousand years, Inuit are not even
hunter-gatherers. Inuit are hunters, pure and simple." (
Henriette Rasmussen, Minister in
Greenland Home Rule Government) Even today hunting is important as stated by the Greenland Home Rule Government: : "Hunting is the heart and soul of
Greenlandic culture.... Hunting is also very important from a cultural perspective. In a society such as Greenland, which for centuries was based on
subsistence hunting (until about 50 years ago), hunting is still of great cultural importance. Irrespective of the fact that most live like wage-earners in a modern industrial society, many Greenlanders' identity is still deeply rooted in the hunting." Reindeer hunting has a special status in the hearts of the populace. Shooting a
musk ox provides four times as much meat as a reindeer, but "Greenlanders would much rather have caribou or reindeer meat than musk or ox meat," says Josephine Nymand. "But the experience is just as important as the meat," points out Peter Nielsen, Head of Office at the Ministry of
Environment and Nature. "It is simply the most wonderful part of the year. The trips in for the caribou hunt in the beautiful autumn weather have a great social and physical meaning for people's
wellbeing. It has many functions." being made to get it placed on
UNESCO's
World Heritage List. The identity of the Inuit is closely tied to their
geography, history and their attitudes toward hunting – "For Inuit,
ecology, hunting and culture are synonymous". Their identity as hunters is under attack. Those attacks are "viewed in the Arctic as a direct assault on culture, identity as well as sustainable use", and Inuit are reacting: : "... for the Inuit,
animal rights campaigns are just the latest in a long litany of
religious, industry, and
government policies imposed by outsiders – policies which ignore Inuit
values and realities, and threaten the survival of one of the world's last remaining
aboriginal hunting cultures." Therefore, the
circumpolar peoples and their organizations are actively engaged in attempts to protect their welfare, identity, interests, and culture, including their hunting culture. The "
Kuujjuaq Declaration" addressed perceived attacks on their
autonomy and
rights, and recommended that the
Inuit Circumpolar Council "undertake a comprehensive study on how best to address global forces, such as the 'animal rights' and other destructive movements that aim to destroy Inuit sustainable use of living resources, and to report back to the next General Assembly on its findings." The
International Arctic Science Committee shares these viewpoints and therefore one of its objectives is to study the "sustainable use of living resources of high value to Arctic residents."
Controversy As valued as it is, traditional hunting in Greenland is under tremendous stress. Pressure from environmental and conservation groups has led Greenland's Home Rule Government to set hunting limits for most species. In January 2006, a 150 animal limit was set for the most prized of all Greenlandic animals, the
polar bear.
Climate change Another pressure for Greenland's hunters is
climate change. According to the
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the largest study ever conducted on the effects of warming in the Arctic, winter temperatures above the
63rd parallel north have increased on average, by 2 to 5 Celsius over the past 50 years and could rise by yet another 10. That increase is having a dramatic effect on the wildlife, environment and culture of the high Arctic. In an interview for the Arctic I.C.C.E. Project, Savissavik hunter Simon Eliason said hunters are spending more time in the fjords (rather than on the sea ice) because there is less sea ice on which to hunt seal, walrus and polar bear. He also said that hunters who net seals under the ice in winter must pull in those nets within hours after an animal is caught.
Worms and
parasites that the hunters have never seen before rapidly riddle and destroy the carcasses if they are left in the water very long. Eliassen says he believes the parasites have moved north with the warmer water. == Traditional skills at risk ==