Inuit Hunters Research Articles

Two millennia of climate change, wildfires, and caribou hunting in west Greenland

Changing climatic conditions is a perpetual circumstance for mankind. In this study, we investigate local environmental and climatic changes near Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland. Our reconstruction is based on a lake sediment core and methods include chemical proxies and a palynological analysis. The investigated site is located 15 km from the Aasivissuit Inuit summer hunting ground, which has been in use for caribou hunting for more than 2000 years. The presented climatic reconstruction covers the time from c. 560 CE to present time. We identify three distinct periods of climate regimes: From c. 560–1100 CE conditions were stable, warm and humid, and summer temperatures were 1.5–2°C warmer than today. 1100–1600 was a period of cooler and very arid conditions with more sea ice, corresponding to the Neoglacial cooling. In this period, we detect two wildfire events and subsequent temporary caribou abandonment of the area. From 1600 to present we find increasingly warmer conditions with more precipitation and less extensive sea ice cover, gradually approaching today’s climate regime in Kangerlussuaq. We review the existing literature regarding the Aasivissuit summer hunting ground, which was first used concurrently with the detected cooling. Despite climatic deterioration, the hunting ground was regularly in use throughout the Neoglacial and onwards, with peak hunting intensity in the early 1700s. The detected wildfires and reindeer abandonment are interpreted to be localized events at the coring site and did not affect the hunting ground. Our findings highlight the resilience of the Inuit hunters to climatic changes as well as the advantages and limitations of local environmental reconstructions.

A MIXED METHOD TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE STUDY OF COASTAL FACTOR CORRELATION TO DECLINING SEA ICE IN RESOLUTE BAY, NUNAVUT

Canadian Arctic environments suffer severe consequences from global climate change. As sea surface and air temperatures rise, sea ice extent and thickness continue to decline, resulting in longer ice-free seasons. Due to the remote nature of Canadian Arctic communities, there are limited quantitative data available for calibration of predictions. However, local Inuit hunters, trappers, and elders hold a plethora of knowledge on the sea ice and coastal environment within their communities. This study seeks to answer the question, can coastal factors be correlated to declining sea ice through scientific and traditional knowledge methods. The present study examined (1) historical trends in, (2) lived experience and traditional knowledge of, and (3) correlation between, sea ice and the coastal environment in Resolute Bay, Nunavut Canada.

Roy's love for dogs

SummaryIn this “hundreds” honoring Kathleen Stewart, I tell a story about an Inuit hunter and his love for dogs.

Occurrence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella species and potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli in free-living seals of Canadian Atlantic and eastern Arctic waters.

Seal populations in Canadian waters provide sustenance to coastal communities. There is potential for pathogenic and/or antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to transfer to humans through inadvertent faecal contamination of seal products. The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence and potential antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes in faecal samples collected from grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and from ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in Frobisher Bay and Eclipse Sound, Nunavut, Canada. Grey seals were harvested during commercial hunts or during scientific sampling; ringed seals were collected by Inuit hunters during subsistence harvests. Virulence genes defining pathogenic E. coli were identified by PCR, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on recovered isolates. In grey seals, E. coli was detected in 34/44 (77%) samples, and pathogenic E. coli (extraintestinal E. coli [ExPEC], enteropathogenic E. coli [EPEC] or ExPEC/EPEC) was detected in 13/44 (29%) samples. Non-susceptibility to beta-lactams and quinolones was observed in isolates from 18 grey seals. In ringed seals from Frobisher Bay, E. coli was detected in 4/45 (9%) samples; neither virulence genes nor antimicrobial resistance was detected in these isolates. In ringed seals from Eclipse Sound, E. coli was detected in 8/50 (16%) samples and pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC and ExPEC/EPEC) in 5/50 (10%) samples. One seal from Eclipse Sound had an E. coli isolate resistant to beta-lactams. A monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium was recovered from 8/50 (16%) seals from Eclipse Sound. All Salmonella isolates were resistant to ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole and tetracycline. L. monocytogenes was not detected in any sample. These findings suggest that seals may act as important sentinel species and as reservoirs or vectors for antimicrobial-resistant and virulent E. coli and Salmonella species. Further characterization of these isolates would provide additional insights into the source and spread of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in these populations of free-living seals.

On the Intermittent Formation of an Ice Bridge (Nunniq) across Roes Welcome Sound, Northwestern Hudson Bay, and Its Use to Local Inuit Hunters

Ice bridges are unique features that form when sea ice consolidates and remains immobilized within channels. They form in many locations throughout the Arctic and are typically noted for the polynyas that form on their lee side. However, ice bridges also provide a temporary platform that may be used by both humans and wildlife to cross otherwise impassable channels. For generations, Inuit in Coral Harbour, Nunavut, have used an ice bridge to cross Roes Welcome Sound and expand their hunting territory, though they report that the bridge only forms approximately every four years. Of interest both to Inuit and the scientific community is why the bridge forms so intermittently, by what mechanisms, and whether the frequency will change with ongoing warming and sea ice loss. Using satellite imagery, we determined that the bridge formed during 14 of the past 50 years (1971 – 2020). Generally, the bridge forms between January and March, during a cold period that coincides with neap tide, and after surface winds have rotated from the prevailing northerly (along-channel) winds to west-northwesterly (across-channel) winds. This rotation compresses the existing ice pack against Southampton Island, where it remains stationary because of the calm along-channel winds and low tidal range, and coalesces under cold air temperatures. Breakup occurs between mid-June and early July after the onset of melt. Overall, the bridge forms when a specific set of conditions occur simultaneously; however, a warming climate, specifically a reduction in very cold days, and shorter ice season may affect the frequency of bridge formation, thereby limiting Inuit travel.

Inuit youth and environmental research: exploring engagement barriers, strategies, and impacts

Community leadership in Arctic environmental research is increasingly recognized as one of many pathways to Indigenous self-determination in Nunavut, Canada. While experienced Inuit hunters, trappers, and other recognized environmental knowledge experts are commonly included in research, similar opportunities for Inuit youth to meaningfully engage in environmental research remain limited. Finding ways to increase scientific literacy, particularly among Inuit youth, has been identified as an important step in the continuation of high-quality Arctic environmental research. This paper examines community perspectives on the roles and contributions of Inuit youth in environmental research in Nunavut, barriers that Inuit youth face in becoming meaningfully engaged in field-based environmental research, and strategies for enhancing Inuit youth engagement. Our study was conducted in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, and used interviews, workshops, and observation to gather stories and knowledge from community members about field- and land-based experiential learning pathways. This study found that a complex set of barriers, including a lack of credentials and support systems, among others, may inhibit meaningful Inuit youth engagement in environmental research. Key findings from the study support the view that collaborative land-based research activities can be an effective and meaningful method of enhancing scientific literacy among Inuit youth.

Sila qanuippa? (how's the weather?): Integrating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and environmental forecasting products to support travel safety around Pond Inlet, Nunavut in a changing climate

AbstractAs Inuit hunters living in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, we (Natasha Simonee and Jayko Alooloo) travel extensively on land, water, and sea ice. Climate change, including changing sea ice and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, has made it riskier and harder for us to travel and hunt safely. Inuit knowledge supporting safe travel is also changing and shared less between generations. We increasingly use online weather, marine, and ice products to develop locally relevant forecasts. This helps us to make decisions according to wind, waves, precipitation, visibility, sea ice conditions, and floe edge location. We apply our forecasts and share them with fellow community members to support safe travel. In this paper, we share the approach we developed from over a decade of systematically and critically assessing forecasting products such as: Windy.com; weather and marine forecasts; tide tables; C-CORE’s floe edge monitoring service; SmartICE; ZoomEarth; and time lapse cameras. We describe the strengths and challenges we face when accessing, interpreting, and applying each product throughout different seasons. Our analysis highlights a disconnect between available products and local needs. This disconnect can be overcome by service providers adjusting services to include: more seasonal and real-time information, non-technical language, familiar units of measurement, data size proportional to internet access cost and speed, and clear relationships between weather/marine/ice information and safe travel. Our findings have potential relevance in the Circumpolar Arctic and beyond, wherever people combine Indigenous weather forecasting methods and online information for decision-making. We encourage service providers to improve product relevance and accessibility.

Do Wild Polar Bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) Use Tools When Hunting Walruses (<i>Odobenus rosmarus</i>)?

Since the late 1700s, reports of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) using tools (i.e., pieces of ice or stones) to kill walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) have been passed on verbally to explorers and naturalists by their Inuit guides, based on local traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as well as accounts of direct observations or interpretations of tracks in the snow made by the Inuit hunters who reported them. To assess the possibility that polar bears may occasionally use tools to hunt walruses in the wild, we summarize 1) observations described to early explorers and naturalists by Inuit hunters about polar bears using tools, 2) more recent documentation in the literature from Inuit hunters and scientists, and 3) recent observations of a polar bear in a zoo spontaneously using tools to access a novel food source. These observations and previously published experiments on brown bears (Ursus arctos) confirm that, in captivity, polar and brown bears are both capable of conceptualizing the use of a tool to obtain a food source that would otherwise not be accessible. Based on the information from all our sources, this may occasionally also have been the case in the wild. We suggest that possible tool use by polar bears in the wild is infrequent and mainly limited to hunting walruses because of their large size, difficulty to kill, and their possession of potentially lethal weapons for both their own defense and the direct attack of a predator.

An update on Inuit perceptions of their changing environment, Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin Island, Nunavut)

The Inuit of Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin Island) have developed a deep respect for their natural environment and are able to report not only changes in weather, ice, and natural resources but also changes in their communities as a result of climate change. The objective of this study was to shed light on how the impacts of climate change are currently perceived in the communities of Kanngiqtugaapik, Pangniqtuuq, and Qikiqtarjuaq. In order to construct a shared knowledge base, we conducted qualitative video interviews and participated in a hunting camp with multigenerational and multigender Inuit hunters and fishers. First, Inuit continue to see the world in which they cohabit with other living things, particularly animals, as a world that they cannot control on their own—a world they must adapt to, passing learning from one generation to the next. Second, they report that changes in the ice have been among the major and most important transformations to have occurred in recent decades. Observations made by these local populations also indicate changes in hunted species, with fewer caribou and narwhal, more birds, insects, and fish, including from more southerly regions, and an uncertainty about polar bear populations. Seal hunting remains stable, and this meat is still the most popular and healthy food, physically and psychologically. Third, sociological and economic changes (e.g., lifestyle change, monetary economies, quotas), in addition to environmental changes (e.g., climate change, species change), have had a significant impact on food harvesting activities as well as food consumption in the region. A final perspective concerns the needs of the Qikiqtaaluk communities to further develop collaboration with scientists. This need for partnership is not only perceived as a scientific necessity but also recognized by Inuit as essential to their communities, with some local leaders ready to work toward a fruitful collaboration.

Connecting understandings of weather and climate: steps towards co-production of knowledge and collaborative environmental management in Inuit Nunangat

Inuit hunters and meteorologists alike pay close attention to weather and weather changes, with deep understandings. This paper describes a long-time research project based in Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavut, where a research team of Inuit and visiting scientists have combined information and knowledge from a community-based weather station network, on-going interviews and discussions, and extensive travel (both Arctic fieldwork and visits to southern universities) to co-produce knowledge related to human–weather relationships and weather information needs and uses in one Nunavut community. The project uses the concept of “HREVs”, human-relevant environmental variables — complex, synthesis variables that, used in conjunction with a host of social variables, assist in informing safe land travel and activities. This work, including linking Inuit knowledge and environmental modeling, can be expanded to not only understand human–weather relationships more broadly and in other locations but also provide insights into the process of building diverse research teams and knowledge co-production. Inuit angunasuktiit amma silalirijiit tamarmik ujjiqsuttiasuunguvut silamit amma silaup asijjiqpallianingani, tukisiumaniqarjuaqłutik. Una paippaangujuq unikkaarivuq akuniujumi qaujitasaqtaunirmut piliriangujumi Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavummi, qaujisaqtiujuni katinngajuni Inungni amma pularaqtunut qaujisaqtiujunut katirisimajuni uqausiksani amma qaujimaniujumi nunalingni−tunngavilingmi silalirivvingmi tusaumatittiniujumi, apiqsuqtaunginnaqtuni amma uqallangniujuni, amma aullaaqsimarjuaqłutik (tamakkit Ukiuqtaqtumi iniujumi piliriniujumi amma pulararniujunut qallunaat nunanganni silattuqsarvigjuangujunut) saqqitittiqatigiingnirmut qaujimaniujumi pijjutiqaqtumut inungnut−silamut piliriqatigiingniujuni amma silamut uqausiksani pijariaqarniujunut amma aturniujunut atausirmi Nunavummi nunaliujumi. Piliriangujuq atusuunguvuq isumagijauniujumi “HREVs”, inungnut-atuutilingnut avatimut ajjigiinnginniujunut – nalunaqtuni, katinniujuni isumagijauniujuni aaqqiksinirnut piliri−jusiujumi ajjigiinnginniujuni, atuqatiqaqłuni ilagijaujumi inuuqatigiingujunut ajjigiinnginniujunit, ikajuqsuisuunguvuq aaqqiksuinirmi attananngittumi nunami aullaarniujumi amma qanuiliurniujunut. Una piliriniujuq ilaqaqtumi kasuqatiqarnirmi inuit qaujimajanginni amma avatimut uukturautiqarnirmi, angigligiaqtaujunnaqpuq tukisiumanituangunngittumi inungt-silamut piliriqatigiingniujumi tauvunngaujjiniujumi ammalu asinginni iniujunut, kisiani tunisijunnaqpuq tukisirjuarniujuni piliriniujuni sananirmut ajjigiinngiruluujaqtuni qaujisaqtiujunut katinngajuni amma qaujimanirmut saqqitittiqatigiingniujumi.

The News at the Ends of the Earth: The Print Culture of Polar Exploration

The writings of polar explorers, those fur-clad figures of lithographs and daguerreotypes, have attracted much attention from scholars for the past twenty years. While explorers described the polar world as a place of solitary adventure, scholarship has shown something different. The high latitudes were alive with plants, animals, and—in the Arctic—peoples with complex cultures adapted for extreme conditions. Far from being solitary figures, explorers depended upon networks of people at home and in the field: commercial patrons and advertisers, urban readers and lecture goers, and Inuit hunters and guides. While scholars have made good use of explorers’ published writings, Hester Blum observes, they have not given much attention to the printed ephemera of expeditions: the shipboard newspapers, menus, and playbills that crewmembers produced for themselves. Nor have they examined other ephemeral writings—messages buried in cairns, hoisted on silk balloons, or stuffed into bottles cast at sea—by which explorers attempted to communicate with the outside world. These texts read very differently from the heroic, embellished prose of published narratives. Polar crews had no interest in reading about the sublimity of the polar world; their newspapers were filled with lighthearted jokes and satires. Here, officers recognized, was an activity useful in focusing the attention of idle men during the grim months of winter.

A Tale of Two Seal Hunts: Contesting the Conflation of Canadian Sealing Activities

The Canadian commercial seal hunt that occurs annually in Atlantic Canada has attracted international criticism for decades, primarily due to animal welfare and wildlife conservation concerns. Although the Atlantic sealing industry is an entirely separate and distinct activity from Inuit sealing occurring in Canada’s Arctic, the two practices are regarded by many as one and the same. The conflation of Inuit and commercial sealing has been a deliberate effort on the part of industry, government, and interest groups that have propagated a misinformation campaign on the subject. This article compares Inuit and commercial hunting activities, highlighting the differences between the purpose, practices, and scale of these hunts. With the distinctions between the two practices made clear, it explores the historic and ongoing ways in which the commercial sealing industry and federal government have perpetuated the conflation of the two. By failing to acknowledge the differences between Inuit and commercial sealing practices, special interest groups have been complicit in perpetuating this conflation as well, although several of these groups have recently worked to clarify the distinction between the two. As a result of the muddied dialogue on commercial and Inuit sealing, both food security and the survival of culture and livelihoods has been compromised in Inuit communities. Despite these ramifications, some Inuit support the commercial hunt because of how anti-sealing campaigns have adversely affected Inuit hunters. At the same time, other Inuit believe that the industry constitutes a wrongful appropriation of their sacred, cultural hunt, and are seeking to reclaim the practice as their uniquely protected right. This article unpacks the distinctions between commercial and Inuit sealing practices, and explores the historic and ongoing implications of their conflation.

No plastics detected in seal (Phocidae) stomachs harvested in the eastern Canadian Arctic

Through collaboration with Inuit hunters, we examined the stomach contents of 142 seals (ringed seals [Phoca hispida; n = 135], bearded seals [Erignathus barbatus; n = 6], and one harbour seal [Phoca vitualina; n = 1]) hunted between 2007 and 2019 from communities around Nunavut to assess whether seals in the eastern Canadian Arctic ingest and retain plastics in their stomachs. The seals in this study ranged from juveniles to adults of up to 30 years of age, and 55% of the seals were males. We found no evidence of plastic ingestion in any of the seals suggesting that seals in Nunavut are not accumulating plastics (>425 μm) in their stomachs. These data provide important baseline information for future plastic pollution monitoring programs in the Arctic.

Geographic variation in ringed seal (Pusa hispida) growth rate and body size

We summarize geographical patterns in ringed seal (Pusa hispida (Schreber, 1775)) body length and girth growth using 3012 samples collected by Inuit hunters in the eastern Canadian Arctic from 1990 to 2016. Spatial structure was detected using cluster analysis of environmental variables separating a northern region in the eastern Canadian High Arctic and a southern region in Hudson Bay. The north was characterized by more fast ice, multiyear ice, greater snow depth, colder temperatures, and greater sea-ice concentration in the spring seal breeding season. Hierarchical Bayesian models described length and axillary girth growth of northern seals as slower than in the south, reaching asymptotic size 5–7 years later. Northern females were larger than males (asymptotic length of 149 versus 140 cm, respectively) and both were larger than southern seals (males and females 126 cm). We conclude that environmental variation was best represented by regions rather than latitude, regional body size differences were driven by differential growth rates, and northern ringed seals may be characterized by reverse sexual size dimorphism.

North by North

[Extract] Seven centuries of cartographic convention has placed north at the top of maps, and by logical extension at the top of the world. This convention has been closely aligned with another, known as the Mercator projection. Devised by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1659, this system of map-making has been uncritically handed down through the centuries to the present time and continues to be the cartographic standard in many parts of the world. Mercator’s projection not only points northward but exaggerates northern landmasses at the expense of the south. For example, it magnifies Greenland to be approximately the same size as Africa, which is actually fourteen times larger. The Greenland example is one of many northern amplifications and conceits that belittle the south. The specific contrast with Africa was presented with deadpan humour and devastating effect in a 2012 episode of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing. Cartographers for Social Equity lobby President Bartlet’s White House to withdraw all Mercator maps from US schools and replace them with Gall-Peters maps. The Gall-Peters projection represents with greater fidelity and accuracy the relative proportions of the world’s landmasses. The Cartographers for Social Equity fail in their representation but, coincidental or not, five years after the screening of The West Wing episode Gall-Peters maps began to be phased in at schools in two American states. North and south are cardinal directions and polar opposites that refer to exact locations at either end of the globe. Within ice-bound regions, the North Pole defines the Arctic, an old term derived from Latin and Greek to mean north. By contrast, its antithesis—the Antarctic—is a negative term that means opposite to north. It is defined by the South Pole. This linguistic preference suggests that north is the one while south is the other.

Inuit Methods of Identifying Polar Bear Characteristics: Potential for Inuit Inclusion in Polar Bear Surveys + Supplementary Appendix Tables S1 to S5 (See Article Tools)

As a result of their close proximity to and frequent interactions with polar bears, Inuit hunters are aware of changes in polar bear population ecology and characteristics. This valuable information could contribute to any polar bear research or monitoring program. Understanding how Inuit gather ecological information on polar bears and how this knowledge is shaped by individual experiences can also overcome any barriers to Inuit inclusion in bear monitoring and management. On the basis of interviews in four Nunavut communities, we report Inuit hunting experiences and methods of identifying polar bear sex, age, body size, and health status. Across communities, Inuit share techniques in identifying and distinguishing bear characteristics that overlap with scientific methods, suggesting that Inuit could provide immediate and inexpensive information to polar bear research programs. Hunting preferences are shaped by individual experiences with polar bears (e.g., through hunting or bear encounters), as well as familiarity with polar bear research and management. Identifying and incorporating community perspectives in management will be necessary to sustain local support for programs that affect Inuit knowledge formation and persistence.

Inuit Knowledge of beluga whale (Delphinapterusleucas) foraging ecology in Nunavik (Arctic Quebec), Canada

The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) is expected to be influenced by changes in the environment. In Nunavik, the Arctic region of Quebec, Nunavimmiut (Inuit of Nunavik) have depended on beluga for centuries, developing an extensive understanding of the species and its ecology. Forty semidirective interviews were conducted with Inuit hunters and Elders from four Nunavik communities, who had a range of 28–47 years of beluga hunting experience. Interviews followed an ethnocartographic format and were analyzed using a mixed methods approach. Hunters most commonly reported prey species from the sculpin (Cottidae), cod (Gadidae), salmon (Salmonidae), and crustacean families; regional variations in prey and in foraging habitat were found. Hunters identified significant changes in body condition (i.e., blubber thickness), which were associated with observations about the seasonality of feeding. The timing of fat accumulation in the late fall and winter coupled with the understanding that Hudson Bay is not known as a productive area suggest alternate hypotheses to feeding for the seasonal movements exhibited by these whales. Inuit Knowledge of beluga foraging ecology presented here provides information on diet composition and seasonality of energy intake of the beluga and can be an important component of monitoring diet composition for this species into the future. An Inuttitut version of the abstract is available ( Appendix A ).

EXTINCTION AFFECT AND THE CASE OF THE POLAR BEAR

The paper connects affect studies with Indigenous Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and the emergent field called extinction studies or climate change studies. Claire Colebrook’s two 2014 Deleuzean books on extinction argue for a “theory beyond theory,” where affect would have no place: theory would think beyond human extinction. The paper examines two important categories of discourse around the polar bear, that poster creature for climate change, those of Inuit hunters and elders and those of scientists. The Inuit freely express emotions, the scientists do not. The Inuit see themselves and the polar bear as kin; the scientists’ concern for the bears is not articulated. Nonetheless, for both of them, the bears are what the science and technology studies scholar, Bruno Latour, calls a “matter of concern.” Non-Inuit artistic responses to the possible extinction of the polar bear reveal a strong affective response, unlike the scientific accounts. Perhaps Latour’s suggestion for a “parliament of things” where non-human entities that have become “matter of concern” are represented might help connect these disparate discourses. Although Latour may be too optimistic, Colebrook’s stance seems require an impossible denial of human affect. Even the rational scientific accounts evidence concern based on affect, however buried. One approach that seems useful is that of Theo van Dooren, who looks at how threatened species and humans are connected in an account that examines affect as part of a study that also draws on science.

Skraelings by R. & S. Qitsualik-Tinsley

Qitsualik-Tinsley, Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley. Skraelings. Illus. Andrew Trabbold. Iqaluit, NU: Inhabit Media, 2014. Print.This volume is the first in the Arctic Moon Magick series. In it writing duo, Rachael and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, have recreated an Inuit world at the time of Viking contact, presented through the eyes of a young Inuit hunter, Kannujaq. In his travels, he comes across people of the Tuniit culture, of whom he has only heard legends. He meets Siku, a boy-shaman, whose name means “ice” and is named for his blue eyes. The Tuniit have been attacked in the past by Vikings from Greenland. They return each spring and Kannujaq finds himself in the middle of a battle, where he becomes a reluctant warrior. The title Skraelings, which means “Weaklings”, is a Viking taunt to the Tuniit.This is a well written chapter book for ages 12 and older and the language is age-appropriate. There are a few black and white drawings that complement the text. While much of the story proceeds logically along the plot line, occasionally, the authors break in, not as narrators, but simply to give the reader additional information. For example: "Oh, we forgot to tell you: Shamans were pretty clever when it came to the things that plants and other natural materials could do" (p. 26). While this is unusual in a novel and breaks the flow of the story, it is completely in keeping with oral storytelling and is rather endearing. However, this book should not be mistaken for simple story. It is an engaging read, culminating in a final plot twist that demonstrates the authors’ broad and compassionate understanding of the regional history of the Eastern Arctic. This is an excellent work and unique in young adult Arctic literature. It should definitely be included in junior high and middle school libraries and public libraries everywhere.Recommendation: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

Mitochondrial coupling and capacity of oxidative phosphorylation in skeletal muscle of Inuit and Caucasians in the arctic winter.

During evolution, mitochondrial DNA haplogroups of arctic populations may have been selected for lower coupling of mitochondrial respiration to ATP production in favor of higher heat production. We show that mitochondrial coupling in skeletal muscle of traditional and westernized Inuit habituating northern Greenland is identical to Danes of western Europe haplogroups. Biochemical coupling efficiency was preserved across variations in diet, muscle fiber type, and uncoupling protein-3 content. Mitochondrial phenotype displayed plasticity in relation to lifestyle and environment. Untrained Inuit and Danes had identical capacities to oxidize fat substrate in arm muscle, which increased in Danes during the 42days of acclimation to exercise, approaching the higher level of the Inuit hunters. A common pattern emerges of mitochondrial acclimatization and evolutionary adaptation in humans athigh latitude and high altitude where economy of locomotion may be optimized by preservation of biochemical coupling efficiency at modest mitochondrial density, when submaximum performance is uncoupled from VO2max and maximum capacities of oxidative phosphorylation.