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Greenland People 2

An Inuit sledge (dogsled), used for hunting with dog teams on the sea ice, lies idle near the shoreline of the unfrozen sea in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland.

An Inuit sledge (dogsled), used for hunting with dog teams on the sea ice, lies idle near the shoreline of the unfrozen sea in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland.

For thousands of years the Inuit people have subsisted by hunting marine mammals on the Arctic sea ice using dogsleds. Their ability to hunt in that manner is now being affected by climate change. Due to warming temperatures, the sea ice is freezing later in the fall and breaking up earlier in the spring, and it is thinner during the winter. Hunting by dogsled is possible for a much shorter period of time now than in the past, and it is much more dangerous due to unreliable ice conditions.

Idle sledges, no snow or sea ice, and a Greenland sled dog with no work to do. Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. A subsistence hunt of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) by inidgenous Inuit hunters in Northwest Greenland. A subsistence hunt of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) by inidgenous Inuit hunters in Northwest Greenland. A subsistence hunt of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) by inidgenous Inuit hunters in Northwest Greenland. A female Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), killed by indigenous Inuit hunters during a subsistence hunt in a very remote region of Northwest Greenland, is towed behind their small boat. After killing two Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) for food, indigenous Inuit hunters prepare to butcher the carcasses on a small floe of sea ice in remote Northwest Greenland. After killing two Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) for food, indigenous Inuit hunters begin butchering the carcasses on a small floe of sea ice in remote Northwest Greenland. After killing two Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) for food, indigenous Inuit hunters butcher the carcasses on a small floe of sea ice in remote Northwest Greenland. Following a subsistence hunt for walrus, seals, and musk ox, an indigenous Inuit hunter brings his share of the meat ashore in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. No snow or sea ice, and a Greenland sled dog with no work to do in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. Walrus and seal meat from subsistence hunting being stored in the cold air on elevated wooden platforms to prevent scavenging by animals. Restless sled dogs wait for sea ice to form in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. A Greenland sled dog and her young puppies eat walrus meat from a subsistence hunt in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. A Greenland sled dog puppy eating walrus meat in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. An Inuit sledge (dogsled), used for hunting with dog teams on the sea ice, lies idle near the shoreline of the unfrozen sea in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. Greenland Sled Dog, Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. Exterior detail of a small house in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. Children in the Siorapaluk elementary school, Northwest Greenland. Children displaying their drawings of marine mammals in the Siorapaluk elementary school, Northwest Greenland. Children in the Siorapaluk elementary school, Northwest Greenland. The cemetery in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. An Inuit sledge (dogsled), used for hunting with dog teams on the sea ice, lies idle near the shoreline of the unfrozen sea in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. No snow or sea ice, and a Greenland sled dog with no work to do in Siorapaluk, Northwest Greenland. A dead sled dog in Qaanaaq, Northwest Greenland. Traditional Inuit drum dance, Baffin Bay, Northwest Greenland. Traditional Inuit drum dance, Baffin Bay, Northwest Greenland. Traditional Inuit drum dance, Baffin Bay, Northwest Greenland.