Click here to go back to the Third Grade Arctic Page

     Hunting and fishing were necessary skills for survival.  Survival depended on a man's hunting skills.  No meat meant not only no food but also no fat.  No fat meant no light or heat and most important-water.  The inuit respected all animals.  They used a harpoon as their most important weapon.  It's size depended on the size of the sea animnals being hunted.  Inuits used driftwood, bone, antler and pieces of hide to make bows and arrows, harpoons, spears and traps.  Hunting was not only for food but also for heat, clothing, light, shelter and many other things too.  Hunting for seals could take days.  The hunter can get very close to seals  without being heard. They had to wait for seals to come to holes in the ice for air.  Seals are the most difficult animal to catch because they are fast swimmers and are tricky to find.  Caribou were hunted for food and skins.  The inuit caught fish with fishlines, nets and spears.  Sometimes they would make a line so many fish could be caught swimming up streams. A whale was the best to kill.  It could last a week.