The Arctic World [antikvár]

PrefaceMINNIE AODLA FREEMANOVER THE YEARS (and not because I am married to one), I have come to respect scientists a great deal. Some remind me of my grandmother, who was a sciendst in her own right, through her traditional way of learning and through experience. I can still hear her today: "Minnie, do not walk on hard-looking snow, you will only waste your energy; do not eat polar bear liver, your hair will fall out; do not eat too much fresh muktuk (whale skin), your throat will itch." Like any other child I used to wonder how she knew these things. Sadly, my grandmother had no way of writing down her knowledge, for everything was passed on verbally.The people of the arctic regions have survived for thousands of years through their knowledge of the environment. Using their own methods to learn the behavior of the animals that they hunt, they have been able to predict abundance or severe shortages. They have learned over the years what kind of winter or summer conditions they will experience through observations of the land and sea, cloud formations and animal behavior. Today, scientists (though unfortunately not enough) are learning and writing about the Arctic its weather, its land, its fauna and its people. The knowledge we have gained through the years then, comes both from scientists who went to school and from those whose understanding is derived from traditional sources of knowledge. The information in the following pages has been written by people who have dedicated themselves to studying, testing, researching and writing down their findings. The Canadian Arctic and neighboring circumpolar regions have much to gain from and much to contribute to our knowledge of the far north.