Our Ancestors

A brief history of the Inuit people and Inuit Art.

The only pre-Dorest artwork found
Ivory replica by Henry Mike

The first Palaeo Eskimo people known to have occupied the northern region of Canada are the Dorset or Tuniit people. They are thought to have come to this region over the Bering Straight and lived here from 800 BC to 1300 AD. The Dorset were large and timid people who first used snow houses (igloos) which they warmed with kudlik (special lamps for burning oil.) Carvings were made for shaman and ritualistic purposes.

Ivory replicas of Dorest carvings

Jutanie

Silas

Patrick



Silas

Joe

The Thule people came in the second migration, around 1100 AD. The mongolian descendants are the direct ancestors of today's Inuit people. The Thule were highly developped whalers and had more advanced technologies, such as dog teams, and bow and arrows. Eventually the Thule pushed the Dorset people out and occupied the area were they had lived all the way east to Greenland. Thule carving were made as toys and games and well as house hold items, like tools and combs.

Ivory replicas of Thule carving

Myles

Kaajuk


Rose

Between 1500 and 1700, there was a little ice age. The oceans froze farther out and for longer periods of time. There were changes in the distribution of animals.The Thule who had lived in large groups along the coastlines, were forced to break into smaller groups and move inland to hunt caribou.

Patrick

The beginning of the Historic Period began in the 1700's when outsiders began to arrive in these parts. Explorers, such as Martin Frobisher, arrived but had little influence on the Thule, as they never stayed too long. Whalers from Europe started coming around 1850, settling here during the long winters and relied on the Inuit for food and harsh winter survival. Later, Traders came to collect furs to sell down south. They traded supplies and food for fur pelts caught by the Inuit. Although traditionally hunters where greatly respected in the communities, trapping became the best way to make money.

During the depression in the 1930's, fur was no longer a desirable commodity and trapper needed a new way to make money. They would trade carvings with outsiders to get supplies. This was a transitional period for Inuit culture and art, as carving changed in function and meaning. They were no longer made for amulets, tools or toys. They became art objects. (There isn't even a word for "art" in Inuktitut!) There was a change in the choice and depiction of subject matter. The carvings became larger, free-standing and decorative, illustrating scenes of everyday life, hunting or animals. They also had more protruding extremities (legs, antlers) as they were no longer carried around by nomadic people. Foreign and untraditional subject matter started appearing in Inuit art, influenced from the outsiders, who also introduced new materials (photography, drawing and watercolours.)

Antler etching (scrimshaw) in the style of the Historic Period

Myles

Henry

Jutanie

Kaajuk

Inuit art was introduced to the south in 1949, with an extremely successful exhibition in Montreal. But we'll save the story of James Houston and his promotion of Inuit art for another day!