Wade Callow

Ethnographic Film Study

Fred Lamer
January 30, 2014
A Comparative Look at the Inuit Culture of Yesterday and Today
The film, Nanook of the North documented the harsh daily life of
an Inuit family in the upper most regions of Canada. Thanks to the
struggles of this harsh daily life, one much different from that of most
people of this particular day and age, the family developed a different
set of moral standards and interactions within the family than the
model image of the traditional family of the twenty first century. In
fact the family may differ even to that of an Inuit family of the twenty
first century. Thus, this paper will discuss the differences and
similarities of the 1922 Inuit culture using examples displayed in the
film to that of an Inuit culture in todays society.
One of the most iconic symbols of an Inuits life is that of his
Igloo. In the film Nanook and his family spent a majority of their time
living in one of these icy homes. The film showed the construction of
the igloos. The important features within, such as the hearth that kept
them warm, the fur and snow beds that they slept on, the small ice
window created for sunlight. The igloos were much like the R/Vs of
America, a mobile encampment that could be put together at any
time. A feature well displayed by Nanook in the film. The other half

they spent in a village like encampment full of tents made from the
furs and skins. These two encampments were their winter and
summer camps. Both put in place so that the Inuits would always be
in an area close to animals, their almost singular source of food in the
Arctic. (Gardner) This method of nomadic movement has since been
abandoned. After the end of World War 2 and the beginning of the
Cold War, outsiders moved closer to the arctic ring to keep track of
the enemy that was so close in that part of the world. The Inuit then
created permanent places of residence so they could be close to
military bases and supply chains of the two conflicting nations.
(Gardner) ITK an information website of the Inuit people describes an
Inuit village as small with populations ranging from 150 to 5,000
residents. Most have a couple of stores, municipal buildings, an
airport, houses, a school or two, an arena and a health centre.(Inuit
Tapariit Kanatami) This village is much different from both living
arrangements of those seen in the film.
One of the most significant tools to the Inuit family in Nanook of
the North is their dogs. A dog was not known for his speed, but his
resilience, strength, and hard-working demeanor. (Peplinski) Nanook
showed pride in his pack of dogs throughout the film. They were his
tools for survival, his hunting partners, and his only means
transportation on land. Travel, therefore, was central to their lives,
and their dogs indispensable. (Piplenski) The dogs were part of the

Inuit culture of that time and every family, not just Nanooks, had,
bred, and used a team of dogs in their daily life. Dogs of todays Inuit
culture are much more of a recreational need than that of survival.
Most Inuit use snowmobiles as they take less upkeep and make travel
much quicker than that of a dog team. But the biggest difference is
that most Inuit hunters are earning wages instead of hunting for
survival. (Piplenski) Hunting is a mere recreational activity now, a
break from the nine to five. Dog culture, although still prevalent in
Inuit culture and plays a very different role in the lives of an average
Inuit household.
As said above, dogs were a main source of travel on land. But
the Inuit, during Nanooks period, were surrounded by bone chilling
water and icebergs. They had to navigate these watery paths in a
much different way than dogs. That way was with the use of a kayak.
In the film the painstaking process of building the kayak was
displayed. A frame was created and then skins that the hunters had
gathered were stretched across the frame until it was watertight. The
kayaks were so big that an entire Inuit family could fit inside of it, as
shown in the film. But today kayaks are just a traditional watercraft
rarely used except for competitions. Competitions such as the Arctic
Winter games, an event created in 1970 to feature some of the
traditional methods of the Inuit such as dogsled racing and kayak
racing. (Nunavut Supergraphic) The kayak has ultimately been

replaced with a modern, gas engine boat. One source said, The
ubiquitous 18' open boat with a 50hp outboard motor is a common
sight in many Nunavut communities. (A Comparative Look)
The survivalist nomadic hunting culture displayed in Nanook of
the North is wildly different from that of Inuit culture of today. No
longer do they depend on hunting for survival or trade or moving from
camp to camp always searching for the next meal. Some key tools
such as dog teams and kayaks have been replaced by new tech like
snowmobiles and powerboats becoming nothing more than a
companion or a hobby rather than a survival tool. The ever-changing
environment of the arctic through the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries have altered the importance of many things in the lives of
an Inuit man, woman, and family. But, the traditions of storytelling
and dancing remain forever constant. (Gardner) Nanook of the North
and his family may be different from an Inuit today but one thing
stands, they have been and always will be the strong people of the
north, the Inuit.

Bibliography
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"Community Life." Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
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"Nunavut SuperGraphic." U-Haul: SuperGraphics: Nunavut. U-Haul, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
Peplinski, Lynn. "The Dogs of the Inuit: Companions in Survival." The Dogs of the Inuit:
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