A Day in My Life: Exploring Inuit Life and Cultural Practices

This essay provides an insightful look into the daily life of an Inuit community, highlighting their adaptation to the harsh Arctic environment. The day begins early with hunting for essential food sources like grouse and the challenges posed by climate change and dwindling animal populations. The essay details the importance of communal activities such as fishing, where the community collaborates to catch larger animals like walruses, and the preparation of traditional foods like Akutaq and Muktuk. It also portrays the significance of communal feasts, where the community gathers to share food and celebrate, and the role of storytelling, music, and dance in preserving their culture and traditions. The essay concludes by describing the preparations for the upcoming winter, including the building of igloos and the repair of kayaks for continued sustenance through fishing. The essay emphasizes the close-knit nature of the Inuit community and their reliance on traditional practices to survive and thrive in a challenging environment.

Running head: A DAY IN MY LIFE
A Day in my Life
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1A DAY IN MY LIFE
A day in our life: community feast in Inuit life
Inuit life is formed according to the climate and environment that we live in. being
inhabitants of one of the most extreme of climates, our lives are significantly different from
other parts of the world. Being an Inuit is not only belonging to Inuit lineage. It is through
following of an Inuit way of life that one can truly understand the struggles and challenges
we face.
Image 1: Summer in Inuit territory
My daily life as a part of Inuit community has many similarities and differences with
the way my people lived many years ago. Like before, my day starts early. At the latitude that
we live in, sun does not show much and days are rather cold. The majority of the year, the
ground remains snow covered and spring or summer is the only 2 to 3 months that we have to
prepare for the whole year.
Image 2: Day time in Inuit territory

2A DAY IN MY LIFE
During winter, we can only get some moose, grouse or muskox for fresh meat. On a
summer day, I start early and after a cup of Labrador tea, I start for hunting. Meat is
important in our diet as we live mostly on palio diet. Vegetables are rare here. I take up my
bow and arrow and I leave for hunting. After four hours of trying I hunt only 2 grouse.
Image 3: Inuit man hunting with traditional bow and arrow
Animals are reducing in number around here as the climate changes and more and
more people are coming to the land, animals are going further north. I return to my tent that
we have made from the animal skin that I have hunted. I deposit the hunt and have some
Akutaq and bannock, which is berries mixed with fat and flatbread. Due to the harsh cold,
almost everything that we eat, are high in fat content. It keeps me warm.
Image 4: Inuit summer tent

3A DAY IN MY LIFE
I pack some Muktuk, which is frozen whale skin and blubber that we have prepared
from last summer, and go off to fishing. Spring is the best time for fishing and today I plan to
catch a walrus and other fish. Walrus is large animal and I need at least 3 other people to
catch a walrus. I call for my other friends from the nearby tents and we leave together.
Image 5: Hunting Walrus
By noon, we have already caught a walrus and two salmon and as we return to the
camp, I see women preparing food all around. The kids are playing and some of the girls are
making jewelries from stone and wool. Everybody is especially happy today, as today we
have a communal feast. The walrus and fish that we caught today, is going to provide the
main food for us.
Image 6: Cooking in Inuit household

4A DAY IN MY LIFE
As we reach the camp, and relieve our catch, the women comes and collect them.
They start preparing the food and we refresh ourselves with some tea and berries. It is quite
cold outside and this gives us some warmth. After the food is prepared, we all eat together.
After the end of meal, the elder of the community announce for the naming ceremony of 2
new born babies in the group, which is to be held next week. We all decide on the day and we
all go back to our own tents.
Image 7: Inuit food “Muktuk”
After meal we take some rest and as it becomes dark, we all go outside and start a
bonfire. One of the members of the community brings some smoked meat for everybody to
enjoy during bonfire. As it is a day of feast, I know that many of the people will sing or dance
and it is going to be a long day. The elders start by telling the ancient legends and stories of
the community. We learn about our ancient culture and way of living. Them after a while
some of the men start singing Inuit-Yupik music.

5A DAY IN MY LIFE
Image 8: Inuit Music performance
We enjoy through the evening and at some point, all men and women start dancing
together. Dancing also keeps our body warm and fluid in the harsh cold. After that, all return
to their tents and have light supper. It is a simple affair and we only have bread and some
fermented seal meat. It is time to go to bed and prepare for the next day.
Image 9: A traditional Inuit Kayak
Winter is coming and I have to start making an igloo for the season. Tomorrow, I plan
to repair my kayak and go for large scale fishing for preserving food for the upcoming winter.
This is how a day passes in our lives. Though, every day is not a day of feast, it is more or
less life this.