IN THE
PAST THREE
DECADES,
THE THICKEST
(AND OLDEST)
ICE THAT
SUPPORTS THE
ARCTIC MARINE
ECOSYSTEM
HAS DECLINED
BY 95 PERCENT.
Tagoonak Qavavauq,
an Inuit elder, teaches
children how to make a
bread called bannock
on a school field trip.
Ancestral knowledge
about how to survive
on the frigid land is
disappearing with the
elders. Many are deter-
mined to pass down
traditions, particularly
to children whose fam-
ilies no longer hunt or
go camping. Learning
how to live with lim-
ited resources is key
to survival at a time
when food insecurity
and poor nutrition are
increasing problems in
Inuit communities.138 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC