Inuit means of transportation

Inuit from the Thule culture used the umiak, kayak and dog sledge on their way to Greenland in the 1200s. These are highly specialized means of transport adapted to the difficult Arctic travelling conditions and the hunting of sea mammals. They are made of local materials in the form of driftwood and the skins of the hunted animals supplemented by sinews, tusks, bones and baleen.

The umiak

An umiak is a 7-9 m long boat with a carrying capacity of 1.5-2 tons. The wooden skeleton is covered with sewn-together, waterproof skins. For whaling it was paddled by men, on journeys and transport it was rowed by women. It was also used for hunting trips for reindeer in inland West Greenland, when it was carried at crossing points from the upper reaches of the fjords to inland lakes. It could be furnished with a sail made of gut casings, or in later times of canvas.

In South Greenland it went out of use in the 1920s after the transition to commercial fisheries and the introduction of wooden boats. In other parts of the country its use continued for some years. Among the Inupiat in Alaska it is still used in connection with the traditional catching of the bowhead whale.

Kayak

The kayak is a sophisticated vessel adapted to all kinds of weather. It consists of a light wooden skeleton covered with sewn-together, waterproof skins, and is closely adapted to the individual user’s anatomy. The kayak was mainly used for hunting.

The kayak and the related hunting equipment have constantly undergone changes and development, determined by among other things local natural conditions and hunting opportunities. The introduction of rifles in the mid-1800s led to the invention of a small keel fin, a camouflage sail and a gun case.

In South West Greenland the number of kayaks dropped after 1920, as a result of the occupational transition from hunting to fishing. In other areas of Greenland the transition to wooden boats was more gradual, and the use of the kayak continued in many places until the 1960s. In the Qaanaaq area and the northern Upernavik district the kayak is still used for hunting sea mammals.

The dog sledge

The dog sledge is tied together with skin straps which make the sledges flexible. Originally the runners had sledge shoes of bone or tusk; later iron was used, and later again plastic. The sledge is drawn by a team, typically of 7-10 dogs which are controlled by commands and dog whips.

Dog sledges are mainly used for transport to and from hunting and fishing places on sea ice and on land. The use of sledges is limited to areas with winter ice cover – that is, the West Coast north of Sisimiut, the Qaanaaq area and East Greenland. Among the Inughuit farthest to the north, where there are 9-10 months of ice cover, it was the most important means of transport.

There are three sledge types. The longest is the Thule sledge, which is adapted to the long journeys of the Inughuit on the sea ice, where they often have to cross cracks in the ice. The generally shorter West Greenland sledge is adapted to more varied terrain with more frequent travel on land. In Ammassalik before the colonial period people used a small dog sledge with upward-turning runners in front and wide uprights, drawn by just 3-4 dogs. This was superseded in the 1930s by a longer type with wide runners that is well suited to travel in an area with high annual snowfall.

Wooden boats and motor boats

After the emergence of the large cod shoals off South West Greenland shortly before 1920, wooden boats began to replace skin boats for use in fishing and transport. In the first few decades most wooden boats were built locally. From the 1920s these were inspired by the flat-bottomed dories that western European fishing boats brought for the cod fishing in the North Atlantic and the waters west of Greenland. The dories were launched from mother ships and used for long-line fishing.

The first Greenlandic fitters were trained in engine factories in Denmark in the 1910s, and in the course of the 1920s the first Greenlanders became owners of motorboats for fishing.

Canvas boats

The canvas boat was developed by Aron Nielsen and Apollo Tobiassen in Kangeq west of Nuuk around 1940. The type later became widespread along the whole of West Greenland. The canvas boat is inspired by features from the kayak, the umiak and the dory, and combines several of the advantages of these boats. It is cheap and quick to manufacture, and is suitable for both fishing and hunting. A short, particularly light version was made for use in reindeer hunting inland.

The boat was covered with canvas. Later other kinds of covering were also used, including oilcloth. In Kangeq the boats were sometimes fitted with a small sail. In the 1950s a version of the canvas boat was developed that could be fitted with an outboard motor.