anadian Arctic. It involves the people spending the winters in temporary snowhouse communities out on the sea-ice while hunting for seals. Eskimos have always existed in Alaska and they followed a different way of life. The Eskimos would live in permanent semi-subterranean houses rather than snowhouses. Fish is the most single important food resource to the Alaskan Eskimo, where seals were the most important to the Inuit.Inuit who lived above the treeline used to live in many different constructions changing with the seasons. When the right consistency of snow was available they would construct an "igluvigag" - which means a snowhouse. When a snow house is constructed properly it is insulated and windproof. A special quality of porous snow must be used in the building process. Choosing the snow requires proper training and experience. An "iglusigag" can vary in design and use. A small snow house can be constructed by a hunter or a lost person as a temporary shelter. A really big "igluvigag"can be made for several families, with separate rooms. Most snow houses had a low entranceway through which people could enter, shaking off the snow before they would come into the living area. Many had adjoining structure that could be used a meat locker or for their dogs. Windows were made out of large blocks of ice. Smoke from the cookfires, which were in the living area, would exit through a small hole at the top of the snow house. Due to the combined body heat, cookfires, and lamps it could get warm enough that the Inuit people could remove their clothing. But due to this happening, the snow houses were good only for a few weeks. Then the Inuit would build another one. In warmer months they would use whatever materials were available to build shelter. The Greenlandic Inuit used whale ribs like beams for the tents in warmer months. Rocks were used to secure the bottom of the tent.Having little or no wood to waste, Inuit had to ...
