Inuit Odyssey Summary

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Inuit Odyssey, by CBC’s: The Nature of Things covers the long and eventful journey of the Inuit people. Canadian anthropologist, Dr. Niobe Thompson searched for the answers to questions about who the modern day Inuit are, where did they come from, how did they survive and who did they conquer along the way? Thompson explored the direct lineage between modern day Inuit and the Thule people, and their interactions with the Dorset and Norse Vikings in their search for iron. Thompson is ultimately concerned with how the current warming climate will affect the Inuit people therefore, he decides to retrace the creation of the Inuit culture, starting his journey in the original homeland of the Thule people. Dr. Niobe Thompson starts in the north eastern part of Russia in a place called Chukotka. Chukotka is known for its brutal living conditions with severe weather and extreme isolation. However, these living conditions changed dramatically during the Medieval Warm Period …show more content…

This discovery was made by the Scandinavian explorer Hans Egede, 300 years ago when he went out in search of the lost Greenland colonies. Although Hans was unsuccessful at finding the lost colonies he did find the local Inuit. He recorded in his ship’s log his interaction with them. The ship’s log tells many oral stories from the Inuit people claiming that their Thule ancestors fought the Norse Vikings for their iron and ultimately killed them off. Hans Egede ship’s log also confirms that the Thule were great survivors and warriors, whilst being directly related to the modern day Inuit. Niobe Thompson concludes that the Thule odyssey ended in Greenland right when the Inuit odyssey began. Even though the Thule journey ended their traditions and ways of survival are still used in Inuit communities

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