A Documentary Film Series: The Stories of Tuktu

Of all the peoples of North America, the Inuit (Eskimos) are probably the most difficult to understand. Living along a relatively narrow stretch of land extending five thousand miles from the Bering Straits of Alaska across the Arctic to Greenland, these people had virtually no extended contact with Europeans until the latter part of the nineteenth century. Even today they live in places far remote from major economic and governmental centers. Unlike the Native American peoples, who have been interpreted and misinterpreted since the times of Columbus, the Inuit have been a relatively unknown people, living in a land whose terrain is vastly different from that of the rest of North America. However, interest in the Inuit (the word simply means people; the word eskimo is an Amerindian word meaning eaters of meat) has increased in recent years. Upper elementary grades study them in social studies; several collections of folktales have been adapted (although often the renditions are poor) for younger readers; novels like Julie of the Wolves have portrayed their status in a changing world.

The problems of understanding traditional Inuit life are considerable. These people not only lived in remote regions; their old ways also were rapidly destroyed during the last twenty years. Skidoos, televisions, government subsidized housing, and (as if in fulfillment of the old joke) refrigerators have replaced dog sleds, winter story-telling sessions, igloos, and nature's own deep-freeze. The old ways are, however, still accessible to modern students: on film. During the late 1960s, Canada's National Film Board produced a series of thirteen 15-minute films under the general title "The Stories of Tuktu." Using color footage (shot by Educational Services Incorporated) of the Netsilik Eskimos at a time when southern civilization had not disrupted the ways of these people living at the Northwestern edge of Hudson's Bay, the series presents an old man reminiscing about the daily activities of his youth. We learn about the ways in which the Inuit gathered food, made clothing, constructed sleds, kayaks and igloos, and raised their dogs. More important, perhaps, we acquire a sense of the land, harsh and yet beautiful, in which they lived, and of the social and religious customs which made their lives, so difficult and dangerous at times, still so beautiful and joyous.

The Netsilik Inuit live at the edge of the Arctic Sea, the chief source of their food; during the winter they sit patiently at the blow holes of seals, waiting to strike their prey. The seal is their major source of winter food and clothing. During the short summer, they paddle out in their kayaks, fishing and sealing. It is work which requires skill and patience, and, particularly in Spring during the breakup of the ice, it is extremely dangerous. One of the most interesting scenes in the series shows a hunter wriggling across the ice imitating the movements of the seal he is stalking, hoping to get close enough to use his spear. During the summer months, much time was spent inland, picking berries which grow among the small, fragile, but brilliant and beautiful Arctic flowers, and preparing for the annual migration of the caribou.

Not surprisingly, much of the series deals with hunting and preparing the tools of hunting, for the life of the Inuit depended on their skill as hunters. Even as small children, the boys were taught to throw spears at snow statues of bears and were told to wait patiently, watching and learning the skills which would make them good providers when their time came to hunt for their families. Not only did the hunters provide food for the members of the village, but they also provided the raw materials used when creating almost all of their artifacts. Because of the short growing season, the wood and fibres used by many of the Native American peoples of the south did not exist. Therefore, bones and skins were of crucial importance. In several of the films, we see bones of caribou being used as crosspieces for sleds and as bows, sinews being used in place of nails, and...