Masterless
The movie THE LAST ICEHUNTERS tells a story of the present generation of hunters in the Inuit community of Eastern Greenland, the story of the last ice-hunters that represent the final chapter in thei…
Masterless
The movie THE LAST ICEHUNTERS tells a story of the present generation of hunters in the Inuit community of Eastern Greenland, the story of the last ice-hunters that represent the final chapter in their 4000-year-old history. Two thousand years ago Inuit managed to reach the area - presumably from the North - by rowing along the shore in boats made from skin. During periods of unfavorable climatic conditions the isolated communities died out and the area would be deserted until the next immigration. Merely 4500 people inhabit East Greenland's 20.000km long coast. It is one of the least populated places on our planet. Due to the isolation caused by the Great-Ice, no colonization of East Greenland took place, and the area remained practically unknown to anyone outside the local population. Only in the last five generations did the "modern" world come in East Greenland. In the last 100 years the local populace faced dramatic changes, from living in total isolation the way people lived in the Stone Age to integration in the world global village. Modern trends, satellite television, Internet, fast food and western cultural influences have a visible impact on life in East Greenland. The world of the Inuit is changing with an alarming pace. The environment of East Greenland created one of the most specialized hunting cultures in the world, Ammassalik culture, which is in many ways different from other cultures in Greenland. There are few places on Earth where humans suffered more hardship and coped with an extremely hostile environment than here. A lot has changed and a lot of modern comforts became part of the everyday life in Ammassalik. But in many ways nature still reign supreme. Knowledge of the old hunting methods is still the basis for survival. The modern hunter has all the modern equipment he wants, but if he does not understand the environment around him he will be empty handed at the end of the day. The cultural roots are still deep and strong and the hunter is the pillar of society in these areas. It is not surprising that the main occupation in remote settlements is seal hunting and fishing. Industrial level fishing seen in West Greenland has not yet reached the east coast. Hunters in Ammassalik mainly hunt seal, mink whale, narwhal and polar bear. Once a year, in springtime, huge amounts of capelin, a salmon-type fish, called Ammassat in Greenlandic, come close to the coast to spawn and are easily caught. The district owes its name to the Ammassat. Hunting and fishing is a lifestyle around there, and almost every household has a boat. In the summertime the weekends and holidays are spent at the good fishing and hunting areas in the fjords of Ammassalik district. These weekend and summer camps are the true strongholds of the Inuit culture, as they represent the traditional way of life. Not everybody is a full time hunter. Quite far from it actually. The status of the hunter as the economic basis of the society has been severely undermined. The 2009 EU ban on seal fur trading was intended to curb the overkill of seal populations by big hunting industries. But it has also hurt the economic foundations of Inuit societies. Now, they are more and more reliant on foreign aid. The Inuit of East Greenland speak a language that does not exist in written form and has been passed on orally trough generations. Now only 4500 still speak it. They have no word for future. They lived in delicate balance and relationship with their environment. It set the pace of life and all the natural cycles of living. Now their environment and society is rapidly changing. The undermining of economic structure of their society together with unstoppable cultural influences of "outside world" causes the disappearance of Inuit indigenous culture that existed for 4000 years. In a way they share the fate of many aboriginal cultures around the world. An UN study predicts the extinction of 70% of all known languages by the year 2050. By the year 2100, that figure climbs to 90%. There are estimated 5000 different aboriginal cultures living today, 370 million people covering 20% of the Earth surface. All those cultures represent the real living heritage to the true diversity of human life. The story of Inuit form East Greenland is the story of all aboriginal societies around the world. In 200 years, who will remember them?
Masterless
Drama,Fantasy
Film Details
The movie THE LAST ICEHUNTERS tells a story of the present generation of hunters in the Inuit community of Eastern Greenland, the story of the last ice-hunters that represent the final chapter in their 4000-year-old history. Two thousand years ago Inuit managed to reach the area - presumably from the North - by rowing along the shore in boats made from skin. During periods of unfavorable climatic conditions the isolated communities died out and the area would be deserted until the next immigration.
Merely 4500 people inhabit East Greenland's 20.000km long coast. It is one of the least populated places on our planet. Due to the isolation caused by the Great-Ice, no colonization of East Greenland took place, and the area remained practically unknown to anyone outside the local population.
Only in the last five generations did the "modern" world come in East Greenland. In the last 100 years the local populace faced dramatic changes, from living in total isolation the way people lived in the Stone Age to integration in the world global village. Modern trends, satellite television, Internet, fast food and western cultural influences have a visible impact on life in East Greenland.
The world of the Inuit is changing with an alarming pace. The environment of East Greenland created one of the most specialized hunting cultures in the world, Ammassalik culture, which is in many ways different from other cultures in Greenland. There are few places on Earth where humans suffered more hardship and coped with an extremely hostile environment than here.
A lot has changed and a lot of modern comforts became part of the everyday life in Ammassalik. But in many ways nature still reign supreme. Knowledge of the old hunting methods is still the basis for survival.
The modern hunter has all the modern equipment he wants, but if he does not understand the environment around him he will be empty handed at the end of the day. The cultural roots are still deep and strong and the hunter is the pillar of society in these areas. It is not surprising that the main occupation in remote settlements is seal hunting and fishing.
Industrial level fishing seen in West Greenland has not yet reached the east coast. Hunters in Ammassalik mainly hunt seal, mink whale, narwhal and polar bear. Once a year, in springtime, huge amounts of capelin, a salmon-type fish, called Ammassat in Greenlandic, come close to the coast to spawn and are easily caught.
The district owes its name to the Ammassat. Hunting and fishing is a lifestyle around there, and almost every household has a boat. In the summertime the weekends and holidays are spent at the good fishing and hunting areas in the fjords of Ammassalik district.
These weekend and summer camps are the true strongholds of the Inuit culture, as they represent the traditional way of life. Not everybody is a full time hunter. Quite far from it actually.
The status of the hunter as the economic basis of the society has been severely undermined. The 2009 EU ban on seal fur trading was intended to curb the overkill of seal populations by big hunting industries. But it has also hurt the economic foundations of Inuit societies.
Now, they are more and more reliant on foreign aid. The Inuit of East Greenland speak a language that does not exist in written form and has been passed on orally trough generations. Now only 4500 still speak it.
They have no word for future. They lived in delicate balance and relationship with their environment. It set the pace of life and all the natural cycles of living.
Now their environment and society is rapidly changing. The undermining of economic structure of their society together with unstoppable cultural influences of "outside world" causes the disappearance of Inuit indigenous culture that existed for 4000 years. In a way they share the fate of many aboriginal cultures around the world.
An UN study predicts the extinction of 70% of all known languages by the year 2050. By the year 2100, that figure climbs to 90%. There are estimated 5000 different aboriginal cultures living today, 370 million people covering 20% of the Earth surface.
All those cultures represent the real living heritage to the true diversity of human life. The story of Inuit form East Greenland is the story of all aboriginal societies around the world. In 200 years, who will remember them?.