The Meaning of Ice People and Sea Ice in Three Arctic Communities

About this book

The Meaning of Ice is about the Inuit relationship with sea ice. Focusing on three communities, the book presents the annual cycle of ice and associated activity, discusses the meaning of sea ice for each location, and compares the ways in which each group of people has adapted to their environment and is now adjusting as that environment changes.

The Meaning of Ice was written by a team of researchers, including local residents, who spent time together in Barrow, Alaska; Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada; and Qaanaaq, Greenland. In each place they traveled on the ice, learned about local ice terminology and dynamics, and shared stories and ideas. The format of the book reflects the various ways the team members know sea ice, through the words and images of local residents organized around themes such as "home", "food", and "freedom". Maps, calendars, and the rich Inuit vocabulary for sea ice provide additional insights into the Inuit relationship with sea ice.
 

Contents

- Contributors
- Introduction
- About This Book
- A note on reading The Meaning of Ice
- Acknowledgments
- THREE ARCTIC COMMUNITIES
- Barrow
- Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River)
- Qaanaaq
- Change
- Home
- Food
- Freedom (Travel)
- Tools and Clothing
- The Language of Sea Ice
- About the Siku-Inuit-Hila Project

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Biography

Shari Fox Gearheard is originally from southern Ontario, Canada. She is a geographer and researcher with NSIDC, University of Colorado Boulder, and lives full time in Kangiqtugaapik, Nunavut. Lene Kielsen Holm is from Qaqortoq, South Greenland. She is a researcher and project leader with the Greenland Climate Research Centre, at Pinngortitaleriffik, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, in Nuuk. Henry Huntington grew up on the east coast of the United States. He lives now in Eagle River, Alaska, and studies human- environment interactions in the Arctic. Joe Mello Leavitt is a whaling captain and subsistence hunter from Barrow, Alaska. He is a wellrespected expert on sea ice and frequent collaborator with other researchers on sea ice projects. Andy Mahoney, originally from Devon, England, is an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, specializing in sea ice. Margaret Opie is a whaler and subsistence hunter from Barrow, Alaska. She is retired from a professional career with the local government, the North Slope Borough. Toku Oshima is a full time hunter, fisherwoman, and sewer from Qaanaaq, Greenland. She is also a trained electrician. JOELIE SANGUYA is a hunter, qimuksiqti (dog teamer), experienced researcher, and filmmaker from Kangiqtugaapik, Nunavut.