Wearing a parka sewn
by her mother, Ashley
Hughes spent her
10th birthday camping
with friends and family
at Ikpikittuarjuk Bay.
Hughes took part in
the Inuit community’s
annual ice fishing com-
petition for arctic char.
Seal hunting is an
essential part of life for
the Inuit. The skin, like
this one from a recent
kill, will be turned into
outerwear. Passing on
knowledge of hunting
and food procurement
helps communities sur-
vive a changing climate.IN THE SPRING, WHEN ANIMALS MIGRATE NORTH and the sun never sets,
Inuit children join their families on weeks-long camping trips across
Canada’s Arctic. They’re taught hunting skills and cultural values passed
down for more than 5,000 years. In the past three decades, multiyear ice,
the thickest (and oldest) type that supports the Arctic marine ecosystem,
has declined by 95 percent. Elders no longer can predict safe travel routes
on thinning ice, and animal migration patterns are changing. The future
of the ice—and those who live on it—is uncertain.
Baffin
IslandARCTICOCEANCANADAASIANORTH
AMERICANGM MAPS