Influence of the Landscape

• The landscape that is seen across northern Alaska, Canada and Greenland is sometimes barren and hostile. Snow tundras are a common sight across the lands Inuits call home. Because of the cold weather, there is little vegetation seen in the land. Because of this harsh landscape, the Inuit culture finds beauty and respect in what nature gives people. This comes in the form of shelter, food, the changing of seasons, family and the landscape of the Arctic circle itself.
  
  

Art and Sculpture

• Because of tight-knit cultural traditions and the lack of resources to create printed word, the Inuit craft artistic displays, ranging from paintings to sculptures. The sculptures are often made out of the clay found during the warm months of the summer. The sculptures are artistic representations of Inuit mythology and sacred objects, such as human beings and animals. Inuits who live closer to modern cities are able to use artistic expressions such as painting. Through painting, Inuits craft vivid drawings of the Inuit people, the artist's family or natural scenes like a sunset.
  
  

Dance and Music

• To celebrate life in Arctic lands that are harsh is a fulfilling aspect to Inuit life. Dances and singing are a crucial part of expression for the Inuit. Like painting and sculpting, dance and music are a way for the Inuit people to state their honor toward what is beautiful in the world. Unique music such as throat singing, which is a form of singing between two women with vocal emphasis on the throat muscles, is culturally unique to the Inuit. Many of the dances or songs tell the stories of the Inuit people or stories involving a family.
  
  

Jewelry

• Although the Inuit believe the natural world is itself a realm of beauty, there are aesthetic features in dress or in crafts that are considered beautiful to the Inuit. Jewelry is often made through hand carving ivory tusks of hunted walruses. Everything from necklaces to earrings are made with the ivory tusks. For men, creating an ivory spear head is seen as a symbol of masculinity and prowess. Inuits who live closer to forest areas cut down wood to carve into figurines or into wooden masks for ceremonial dances. Beauty is often seen to the Inuits in the wood carvings with the most detail to the masks or figurines.