Culture of Greenland
The culture of Greenland has much in common with Greenlandic Inuit tradition, as the majority of people are descended from Inuit. Many people still go ice fishing and there are annual dog-sled races in which everyone with a team participates.
However, Greenland has now become somewhat of a
Inuit
Inuit account for 81% (2005) of the population of Greenland.
Thule region
The northwest corner of Greenland is known as the Thule region. It is roughly the size of Germany, but inhabited by less than 1,000 people. The northernmost year-round communities on earth (Siorapaluk, Moriusaq, Savissivik, Qeqertat, and Qaanaaq) are in the Thule region. Siorapaluk, with approximately 80 residents, is just 730 nautical miles (1,360 km) from the North Pole.
Currently, though most families in the Thule region need at least one member in salaried employment in order to pay for electricity and other modern amenities, hunting remains a revered profession. Traditional foods like
Inuit identity as hunters
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 Greenland Home Rule Government)[2]
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."[3]
Reindeer hunting has a special status in the hearts of the populace. Shooting a
Inuit culture
The long history of mutual dependence between humans and reindeer necessitates continuing efforts to safeguard their relationship and the welfare of both parties. Reindeer hunting – which is also commonplace in many other parts of the world – is considered so vital to the cultural heritage of certain groups that there is an attempt[5][6][7] being made to get it placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.[8]
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".[9] 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",[10] and Inuit are reacting:
- "... for the Inuit, values and realities, and threaten the survival of one of the world's last remaining aboriginal hunting cultures."[11]
Therefore, the
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
Traditional skills at risk
Finally, traditional Thule culture is threatened by development and the growing cash-based economy. Even the smallest settlements in northwest Greenland have electricity today, albeit a small supply of electricity powered by diesel generators. Having electricity, as well as ammunition, hunting rifles and other store-bought products, means that at least one member of every family must be in salaried employment. In most cases, that member is a woman—a wife, daughter or mother. The jobs held by the women allow the men to continue to hunt full-time. But one consequence of this division of labor is that Thule women are losing their knowledge of traditional skills faster than the men. These skills include flensing, treating and sewing skins.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Greenland." CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 6 Aug 2012.
- ^ Rasmussen H. Sustainable Greenland and Indigenous Ideals. Archived 2020-02-06 at the Wayback Machine Henriette Rasmussen, Minister of Culture, Education, Science and Church of the Government of Greenland.
- ^ Hunting in Greenland. Archived 2007-07-15 at the Wayback Machine - Greenland Home Rule Government
- ^ a b Caribou and muskoxen are meat and adventure. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine - The Danish-Greenlandic Environmental Cooperation
- ^ Reindeer hunting as world heritage: A ten-thousand-year-long heritage. Archived 2013-02-22 at archive.today - Reindeer hunting as world heritage
- ^ About the project. Archived 2013-02-23 at archive.today - Reindeer hunting as world heritage
- ^ Børge Brende to chair the World Heritage. Archived 2013-02-22 at archive.today - Reindeer hunting as world heritage
- ^ UNESCO's World Heritage List. - UNESCO
- ^ Wenzel G. "Animal Rights, Human Rights: Ecology, Economy and Ideology in the Canadian Arctic" (1991).
- ^ Alan Herscovici. Forgotten Story: The impact of "animal-rights" campaigns on the Inuit. Archived 2007-04-16 at the Wayback Machine - National Council for Science and the Environment
- ^ The Kuujjuaq Declaration. Archived 2007-08-21 at the Wayback Machine - Inuit Circumpolar Conference
- ^ Kuujjuaq Declaration: Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Proceedings of ICC's 9th General Assembly, 11–16 August 2002. Inuit Circumpolar Conference (Canada)
- ^ Objectives of International Arctic Science Committee. Archived 2002-08-29 at the Wayback Machine - ProClim: Forum for Climate and Global Change; Forum of the Swiss Academy of Sciences