The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

biteexhibition Arctic Exhibition - Andrew Qappik - There’s Another One - Inuit Canada earth is admired for its snow-white beauty and animal species that have withstood the harsh environment. The dramatic loss of ice and erratic weather caused by climate change has been more immediate and severe than in most of the rest of the world. The Arctic is warming at a rate almost twice the glob- al average and reductions in the sea-ice and permafrost, and weather changes are increasingly visible. The last Ice Age, around 15,000 years ago, saw rising tem- peratures trigger a significant climate shift. Taiga, coniferous forests, began to grow and spread, replacing the grassy steppe and contributing to the demise of larger mammals, such as mammoths. Over the next 6,000 years, the inhabitants adapt- ed to the changes, with some crossing into North America for the first time and making smaller tools that could be carried easily while on the move. Others in Siberia invented sledges and bred dogs to pull them. The Citi sponsored Arctic: Culture and Climate exhibition at the British Museum running until 21 February 2021 celebrates the ingenuity and resilience of the Arctic Peoples throughout history. It highlights the creativity and resourcefulness of in- digenous peoples through objects like ancient mammoth ivo- ry sculpture and modern refitted snowmobiles. It also reveals the powerful story of respectful relationships with icy worlds and how the inhabitants have harnessed the weather and cli- mate to thrive. Some of the indigenous peoples living in the Arctic include two groups of Chukchi who reside in the Russian Far East and intermarry and trade. They travel inland through the treeless tundra with their reindeer which supplies them with milk, meat, and hides to make clothing. Coastal Chukchi lives in settlements along the coast, hunting walrus, whales, and seals for ivory, meat, and hides. They also trade with Arctic Peoples on the other side of the Bering Strait, the stretch of water sep- arating Russia and Alaska, USA. “Long ago people knew something was going to happen on this earth. How they knew it, I don’t know. An Elder mentioned in the 1940s that this cli- mate is going to change. They meant climate change” - Martha Snowshoe, Teetl’it Gwich’in