The Inuit imagination is shaped by the constraints of a harsh environment, a nomadic lifestyle, slowly evolving hunting technology, and the incursions of the outside world A powerful framework of beliefs links the Inuit to an ancestral way of life, helping them to adapt to the imposition of modern practices. In myth, story, and song, the Inuit celebrate their folk heroes, teach their children, and invoke the aid of the spirit world.

Works of art are juxtaposed with a text that explores and explains the Inuit view of their fragile yet enduring world. Told, to large extent, through the words of the Inuit themselves, the text reveals a profound harmony with the land and the creatures that inhabit it.

(Abstract adapted from dustjacket)