Inuit Hunting Camp Goes Live Online

"Inuit Hunting Camp Goes Live Online"

Over the past few years, the Internet has seen a tremendous boom in growth. Today, the Internet is everywhere: even in an Inuit camp on the south shore of Baffin Island. The Kanuk family and their friends, thanks to a satellite feed, are now connected to the Internet, sharing their ways of life with the wired world.

This all started with filmmaker Mary Kanuk's ambitions to share her family's culture and ways of life with people in other parts of the world. She wanted people to see how interesting and wonderful life could be without electricity or plumbing and how they survived in harsh conditions on a day-to-day basis. This is important for a couple of reasons. For one, it helps people understand that there are many different ways and walks of life and acceptance is necessary. Another reason for this project is because of the Inuit's concern that they are losing their elders and their traditions and this may help preserve their culture.

Before the Internet Age, Kanuk was producing videotapes to help people understand how the Inuit's lived, survived, hunted, and overall lead their lives. This was a decent way of spreading knowledge of their culture, but it was cost-ineffective and took a lot of time to get information out to people. With the Internet, though, Kanuck and her friends and family are able to share things with the whole world in no time, through their website in which they can connect to with a specialized satellite cell phone. While it's not exactly cheap ($7 a minute), it is a better way to share their lives with everyone and anyone interested in learning more about these people.

So far the project has gone well and Kanuk is happy with the response their website has received. Though some question the Internet's presence in the Inuit's lifestyle,

Mary's cousin Jayson