Inuit and Newcomers: Trade and Animal Resources in the Kivalliq, 1900-1945
Date
2022-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Between 1900 and 1945, Qallunaat newcomers, predominantly whalers and fur traders, increased their physical and economic presence in the Kivalliq region, bringing them into closer contact with local Inuit groups. These newcomers worked closely with Inuit partners, as the commercial success of their animal-centric ventures relied on the knowledge and skills of Inuit hunters and trappers. While the newcomers relied on Inuit lifeways for success, they also inadvertently and intentionally brought significant changes to the region in the forms of new technology, ideas, economic systems, ways of living, and viral diseases. This thesis argues that despite the changes brought to the Kivalliq by newcomers, Inuit in this period were able to draw what they desired from these developments, while still maintaining a strong hunting lifeway based on a deep connection with the land and the animals that inhabited it. Drawing on both the written records of Qallunaat whalers and fur traders, and the oral testimonies of Inuit people, it explores how the ventures of whalers and traders were successful because they were compatible with the pre-existing beliefs, lifestyles, and skills of Inuit partners. Thus, attempts to modify Inuit lifestyles largely met with only limited success, as Inuit were able to be selective about which Western technologies and cultural elements they accepted, and generally adopted those that were compatible with pre-existing hunting lifeways.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Goodwin, A. L. (2022). Inuit and newcomers: trade and animal resources in the Kivalliq, 1900-1945 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.