IX. Arts and Crafts

From prehistoric times Inuit tools have been noted for their careful construction and the artistry of their carved ornamentation.

Ivory from walruses and whales, the most accessible material for carving, is fashioned into figurines representing animals and people, and into decorated knobs, handles, and other tool parts.

Driftwood and whalebone are carved into ceremonial masks, some small enough to be worn on women's fingers during a ritual dance.

After contact with European, Canadian, and United States traders began in the 18th century, the Inuit also made, as trade items, scrimshaw-carved tusks and ivory and whalebone objects such as canes and cribbage boards.

After about 1950, the Canadian government, concerned with pressures that increasingly pushed the Inuit into a cash economy, encouraged the carving and sale of highly sophisticated soapstone sculptures.

Sculpture and printmaking, marketed through cooperatives, have become mainstays of the Canadian Inuit economy and the best-known aspect of Inuit culture.

Inuit performing arts center on ceremonial songs and dances. Some magical songs are personal property and can be sold or traded. The principal musical instrument is the shallow, tambourinelike shaman's drum.