For many years Inuit traditions were developed and preserved by small nomadic groups and spread over a wide territory. Each group had its own traditions. Frequent and intensive interactions between groups existed as people moved from one group to another, so different traditions influenced each other continually. The arrival of whalers and the Hudson Bay Company stimulated the development of small permanent settlements. In the second half of the last century Inuit were encouraged to settle down in large communities where churches, shops, schools, and medical care could be provided. The old nomadic lifestyle was replaced by a more settled life, affecting the knowledge of the land as well as the attitudes towards it. In this book, two elders—George Agiaq Kappianaq and Cornelius Nutaraq—explain how the Inuit used to travel and live on the land.

Jarich Oosten (1945–2016) was emeritus Professor of the Department of Anthropology at Leiden University and the author of numerous publications.

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Frédéric B. Laugrand is professor of anthropology at Université Laval and FNRS Fellow at Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium, and co-author of Inuit Shamanism and Christianity: Transitions and Transformation in the Twentieth Century. Jarich G. Oos

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