The Story
of the
Inukshuk
Inukshuk -- The Story
Inukshuk (singular) means "likeness of a person" in Inuktitut (Inuit language) and is a well known symbol in Northern Canada. They are made of rock slabs, large and small and built into the shape of a person with their arms or legs out stretched or more traditionally, piles of well mapped out rocks.
Inukshuit (plural) are used to guide or channel caribou into areas where Inuit can easily harvest them. An open leg on an Inukshuk found near water or a coastline points to an open channel for passage to navigate your way, and if the Inukshuk is in the middle of land, the open leg points towards a valley as a route to pass through the mountains.
The open (longer) arm of an Inukshuk points you in the direction you should be going. A market Inukshuk placed near a lake shows that the fish can be found in the lake at the exact same distance the Inukshuk is placed from the shoreline. Stone markers also mark food caches along a path (this type of market is more a pile of stones and sometimes the caribou antlers will be placed on top so you know what food is there).
The purpose attributed to Inukshuit is that they serve as markers, or signposts, to help guide Inuit across the treeless tundra of the Canadian Arctic.
Thank you to the member of the Inuit Community who offered his knowledge for this definition.
Original Information from the "2000 Canada - What is an Inukshuk?" site.
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