The Thule
(pronounced Too-lee) are the ancestors of today's Inuit. Coming from Alaska, they migrated across the Canadian Arctic about 1000 years ago. Thule houses were often large structures and usually round or oval in shape. The houses were mostly built below ground, with a roof overhead that was supported by whalebones and covered with sod or animal skins. A raised sleeping platform meant that the Thule could sleep in the warmer top half of the house (since hot air rises) and keep themselves off the cold floor! Heat was produced mainly from burning the oil produced from whale fat in a stone lamp.

The photo depicts a whalebone frame of a Thule house near Resolute Bay. Reconstruction by Robert McGhee, Museum of Civilization.

Learn more about our Arctic heritage at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife!

Inuksuk

Photo: Courtesy of Norman Hallendy

These austere stone structures, often human-like in appearance, contribute to the mystique of the Arctic landscape. Some Inuksuit (plural form of Inuksuk) are sacred, such as the healing arches used by shamans, but most serve practical purposes: Inuit travellers have traditionally used these markers as guides to good hunting and fishing grounds.