Hunting For The Right Words Summary

“Hunting for the Right Words” is an article written by Kathryn Gwun-Yeen Lennon and published in 2010 by Alternatives Journal, Canada’s national environmental magazine. Lennon and a group of 24 other students and professors from the University of Manitoba spend 6 weeks in the small arctic community of Pangnirtung, Canada, located on the shore of Cumberland Sound and less than thirty miles South of the Arctic Circle. Pangnirtung has a heavy Inuit influence and by living with them, Lennon has the opportunity to learn about Inuit culture and lifestyle firsthand. “Hunting for the Right Words” talks about Lennon’s experience learning about Inuit culture through a seal hunting trip and her understanding of how celebrities and the media as well

On this trip Karpik and the Qallunaat (non-Inuit people) are hunting “nattiq (ringed seal), not qairuli (harp seal) nor ujjuk (bearded seal)” (Lennon). Seals are a large aspect of Inuit culture, as they supply a steady food source. Seal pelts can also be made into leather, and “well-made clothing is a matter of life and death” when living in places as cold as Pangnirtung. The hunting party spends a waiting, staring at the endless sky, water, ice, and occasional Naujaq (seagull). Finally, one of Lennon’s classmates shout, “Nattiq!” and a shot is fired at a “tiny black shape on the water” (Lennon). When the hunt is over, a few natives teach Lennon how to transform the seal skins into the leather they use for summer clothing. Lennon says they “spend hours patiently scraping and stomping and crumpling and scraping again until a dried skin is transformed into supple leather and glowing fur” (Lennon). Because of Lennon’s unique experience living with the residents of Pangnirtung, she is able to see firsthand how the Inuit people use and respect every part of the seals they kill and sell what they can to countries willing to pay for seal-based