Kayak with Buoy, Two Figures, and a Seal

These six objects reflect the importance of hunting to Arctic peoples. For millennia, Indigenous communities have not only relied on animals for sustenance but also incorporated parts of them, such as tusks and hide,into a variety of art forms.

Some objects, like the fishing lures displayed here, were produced for personal use, while the three stone sculptures were made to be sold. Of the commercial objects, the walrus figurine and the hunters in a model kayak are naturalistic, while the sculpture of a shaman transforming into a seal is enigmatic and likely depicts a creation story.