Abstracts
Abstract
The harvesting of narwhals by Baffin Island Inuit represents an important relationship in terms of the continuous utilization of an indigenous marine resource. However, research on Inuit hunting with respect to narwhals has been mainly confined to harvest counts despite the major role narwhals play in the local northern Baffin subsistence system. The present research examines Pond Inlet Inuit foraging behaviour for narwhals in the spring floe-edge environment. While sea ice is one of the most dominant features of the arctic marine environment for much of any year, it is in the spring that the dynamism of its physical and biological characteristics is most notable. This was especially evident at the fast ice-open water interface, or floe-edge, where rapid physical change in the condition of the ice is frequent and summer migratory marine mammals and birds are present in large numbers. In this paper, analysis of 14 observed hunts indicates that Inuit utilization of the spring floe edge for narwhal hunting, in contrast to most other hunt types, follows a sit-and-wait mode of foraging. The study also explicates aspects of Pond Inlet hunters traditional ecological knowledge necessary to travel and conduct harvesting operations successfully in this complex environment.
Résumé
La chasse au narval par les Inuit de la Terre de Baffin représente une relation importante en terme d’une utilisation continue d’une ressource marine indigène. Cependant, la recherche portant sur la chasse au narval par les Inuit a surtout été limitée aux dénombrements des récoltes, malgré le rôle majeur que les narvals jouent dans le système local de subsistance. La présente recherche explore le comportement alimentaire des Inuit face aux narvals dans l’environnement printanier de la lisière des banquises (floe-edge). Tandis que la glace marine est l’aspect dominant de l’environnement arctique marin pendant la majeure partie de l’année, c’est au printemps que le dynamisme de ses caractéristiques physiques et biologiques est le plus notable. Ceci est particulièrement évident à l’interface rapide de la glace et des eaux dégagées, nommément la lisière des banquises, où le changement physique rapide dans la condition de la glace est fréquent et où les mammifères marins et les oiseaux migrateurs estivaux sont présents en grand nombre. Dans cet article, une analyse de 14 voyages observés indique que l’utilisation par les Inuit de la lisière des banquises au printemps pour chasser le narval, comparativement aux autres types de chasse, suit un mode de chasse à l’affût (sit-and-wait). Cette étude expose les aspects du savoir écologique traditionnel appartenant aux Inuit de Pond Inlet, nécessaire pour voyager et conduire les opérations de chasse avec succès dans cet environnement complexe.
Appendices
References
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