How Reliant Have The Eskimo People Traditionally Been On Husky Dogs?

Traditionally the Eskimo people have depended heavily on his "husky" dogs, a breed that have furry outer hair and another coat of fine hair close to the skin that prevents them from ever getting "soaked to the skin." These dogs have been used to pull three different kinds of sleds. The komatik is the largest, sometimes being twenty-two feet in length. This sled is usually pulled by a team of nine dogs, sometimes fan-hitched or in pairs, with the lead dog out in front by himself. In addition, toboggans have been used that have canvas sides and two wooden posts at the rear for steering. These are pulled by from three to five dogs. And yet another type of conveyance is the basket sleigh. This is raised off the ground by means of runners. Side rails are provided for protecting the load and to give the driver handholds. Without their faithful dogs, the Eskimo would have been far less mobile.

First of all, the term "Eskimo" is considered a pejorative except in Alaska where its use is not considered a slur. So please understand and respect the use of the word Inuit.

It is accepted that without the help of the dog, the ancestors of today's modern Inuit could not  have existed in the harsh polar environment. Even before these dogs were commonly used to pull the traditional "sled" of the north, the qamutiq, dogs were used as pack animals and hunting partners, sniffing out aglu (seal breathing  holes) and holding at bay large land (musk ox) and marine (polar bear) mammals so they could be killed for food, clothing and other essential materials. To learn more about the primitive aboriginal breed of the Canadian and Greenland arctic, visit The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog International at homepage.mac.com Hamilton