Native Americans: 22 Books on History, Mythology, Culture & Linguistic Studies. James Mooney

this season those regions which had been deserted during the winter are most visited by the hunters. On light dog sledges they travel over the rough ice and along the shores of the fjords and islands. The natives who lived in large settlements during the winter are spread over the whole country, in order that every one may have a better chance of traveling over his own hunting ground. In a few places the young sealing induces the Eskimo to leave the winter settlements; in other places the kayaks are prepared for visiting the floe edge, and bears and the returning birds are hunted.

      Though the greater variety of food which is to be obtained and the difference in the methods of hunting in the spring require the dispersion over a wide area of the families which had kept together during the winter, the selection of places for the new settlements remains wholly dependent upon the state of the ice.

      After the ice breaks up, the distribution of the deer regulates the location of the summer settlements. While during the winter the state of the ice is of decisive importance, the orography of the land comes now into consideration.

Wherever deep valleys give access to an extensive area, wherever practicable roads enable the natives to ascend the plateaus, summer settlements are established. The heads of the fjords are favorite places, as they abound with salmon. The adjoining valleys and the peninsulas which they form give the best chances for a successful deer hunt. These facts are most apparent on the coast of the steep highland of Nugumiut, over which numerous herds of deer roam.

      A great influence is also exerted by the extensive plains of the western part of Baffin Land, which abound in deer. We observe that a number of tribes visit these districts, though their winter stations are at a great distance. The Akuliarmiut of Hudson Strait and the Nugumiut travel to Lake Amaqdjuaq, the Oqomiut stay on Lake Nettilling, and the Akudnirmiut visit Majoraridjen. In the same way all the tribes of Hudson Bay visit the land farther west, which is frequented by herds of the musk ox, and they go even as far as Back River. This important fact shows the attraction which is exerted by a rich country on all the tribes of the neighboring districts.

      Trade and Intercourse Between the Tribes

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      In treating of the single tribes, the routes were mentioned which are followed by the natives as they travel from shore to shore and from settlement to settlement. These routes are established by tradition and the Eskimo never stray from them. In order to obtain a more thorough understanding of the migrations of single individuals and of families, the relations between the tribes and the settlements must be discussed.

      By the lively intercourse which is always kept up between the settlements, it cannot fail that marriages between members of different tribes should be of frequent occurrence and that many ties of affinity and consanguinity should thus be created. These relations, however, as distances increase, quickly become less common. For instance, in Cumberland Sound three people are found belonging to Tununirn, about ten belonging to Akudnirn, and quite a number coming from Padli. Also, two Sikosuilarmiut live there, a few natives of Akuliaq and Qaumauang, and very many Nugumiut. Hall’s accounts concerning the Nugumiut and the Aivillirmiut prove a similar proportion of strange natives among these tribes. Every tribe may be said to bring together its immediate neighbors, as it is closely related to them, while those which are separated by the tribe itself are strangers to one another. The importance of this mediate position is regulated by the strength of the tribe, by the significance of the country in reference to its produce, and by the routes crossing it.

Thus, the Sikosuilarmiut and the Nuratamiut are closely connected, and may be considered as forming one group with the Akuliarmiut. The Sikosuilarmiut have intercourse with the Igdlumiut, the inhabitants of the northern shore of Labrador. According to Lucien M. Turner, three tribes may be distinguished there as inhabiting the shores of Ungava Bay and the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. This report differs somewhat from the accounts of the Moravian missionaries who have intercourse with the inhabitants of Ungava Bay near Cape Chidleigh. From their reports four tribes may be distinguished: the Kangivamiut of George River, the Kouksoarmiut of Big River, the Ungavamiut of Hope Advance Bay (which is properly named Ungava), and the Itivimiut of Hudson Bay. I am rather undecided whether Ungava is a bay or a large strait separating Cape Wolstenholme and the adjacent land from the continent, as the name Ungava is also reported south of Cape Wolstenholme. The inhabitants of this shore are the Itivimiut of the Labrador Eskimo and the Igdlumiut of the natives of Baffin Land. Probably the intercourse between Sikosuilaq and Cape Wolstenholme is of no great importance. The Sikosuilarmiut visit Trinity Islands (Nannuragassain) in skin boats to hunt walrus and cross by the three islands Tudjaraaq´djung, Akugdlirn, and Tudjaqdjuara´lung to the opposite shore of Hudson Strait. The passage across the strait is considered very dangerous, and therefore is rarely undertaken. The natives do not utter a single word during the long passage; they believe a destructive gale might be conjured up if they did. Only once have natives been met with on Salisbury Island (Lyon, Attempt to reach Repulse Bay, p. 128), but it is doubtful whether they belonged to the northern or to the southern shore of the strait. As for the rest, the passage is only known to me by reports I received in Cumberland Sound, which were confirmed by the whalers visiting the northern shore of Hudson Strait. I do not know whether any intercourse exists between Sikosuilaq and Southampton Island. It is worth remarking that on Mansfield Island numerous ruins of Eskimo habitations have been found (Gordon, Report on the Hudson’s Bay Expedition, 1884, p. 38).

      The Qaumauangmiut are connected with the Nugumiut in the same manner as with the Akuliarmiut, and many are said to winter near North Bay, which is also visited by the Akuliarmiut. From Hall’s reports it would appear that many are settled in Frobisher Bay.

At present the intercourse between the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut is of no significance, as many years may pass without a journey being made from one tribe to the other. Formerly, when many whalers visited Cumberland Sound and Field Bay, a number of Nugumiut immigrated to the sound, and consequently almost half of the Eskimo now settled on the western shore of Cumberland Sound were born in Nugumiut or Ukadliq. At the same time many Oqomiut settled among the Nugumiut. That period was doubtless an exceptional one; at any rate, the long stretch of uninhabited shore between the settlements of the two tribes is not favorable to intimate intercourse. Indeed, even now the Nugumiut are considered strangers in the sound, and, notwithstanding the existence of many intermarriages between the tribes, a number of families are not at all acquainted with one another. It is remarkable that the number of natives born in Nugumiut is much larger on the western shore than on the eastern. They seem to have joined their nearest neighbors, the southern Talirpingmiut, perhaps for the reason that in their district the geographic character of the land is most similar to that of Frobisher Bay. The number of Nugumiut settled among the inhabitants of Nettilling Fjord and among the Kingnaitmiut is far less. Among the Saumingmiut there is no one who has traveled beyond Naujateling, and in Padli or farther north there are very few individuals who have been south of Cumberland Sound. It is only by careful consideration of the birthplace of the different individuals who are members of the settlements of Cumberland Sound that it is possible at the present time to detect the former division of the Oqomiut into subtribes. The inhabitants of the eastern shore are related to the Padlimiut and the Akudnirmiut; those of the western shore, to the Nugumiut. In 1840 a brisk intercourse existed between Padli and the sound (Eenoolooapik, p. 81), and probably sledges crossed the peninsula every winter. Though the intercourse is not so intimate to-day as it is between the settlements of the sound, it is yet active. The Kingnaitmiut form the medium of the regular intercourse between Saumia and Padli, while families removing to Akudnirn travel along the shore of Davis Strait. Among the subtribes of the Oqomiut the Saumingmiut are most nearly related to the Padlimiut and extend their migrations farthest to the north.

      The Akudnirmiut, who are closely connected with the Padlimiut, are considered strangers by the Oqomiut. The intercourse between the Akudnirmiut and the Aggomiut is not very frequent, and seems to be maintained as irregularly as that between the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut.

      The inhabitants of the northern sounds and of Fury and Hecla Strait frequently visit one another. Parry mentions a number of journeys in each direction (II, p. 436).