The Inuit

The harsh and unforgiving climate of the Far North placed special demands on the Inuit, the Aboriginal Peoples of that region.  Inuit hunters fed and sheltered their families with the flesh and skins of sea creatures such as walruses, seals and whales, and land mammals such as caribou that migrated along rivers. 

Reaching such quarry with short-range weapons called for a small, highly manoeuverable boat that Inuit hunters could safely navigate in frigid Arctic waters.  The Inuit also used their kayaks and umiaks for travel and seasonal migration, as they often followed food resources along ocean shorelines and inland rivers.

Kayak types and design features often reflected differences in culture, langauge, geography and the availability of resources.  Skin craft across the Arctic, from Alaska to Greenland, exhibit a wide diversity of sizes, hull shapes, and bow and stern configurations.