Sculpture in Stone by Gerald Sandau
In the Canadian Arctic, one will see piles of rock slabs and stone built to resemble
the shape of a person with arms stretching out. These stone structures put up by
Inuit are known as inukshuk (pronounced 'in-ook-shook'). In the Inuit
language Inuktitut, inukshuk means "likeness of a person" or
"in the image of man". The inukshuk is a well known symbol in the
Canadian north. Traditionally, multiple inukshuk structures are used to guide or
channel caribou into areas where Inuit hunters could easily harvest them. The
hunters would often hide behind the larger inuksuit. The inukshuk can also be
found along Arctic coastlines as markers to open channels for navigation. Inland
where the tundra is treeless, the inukshuk could indicate direction of a valley for
travel through mountains. The longer arm of an inukshuk points in the direction
that one should travel to. Sometimes an inukshuk could have a peep hole in the
middle and if someone looked through it, another inukshuk in the distance could
be seen.
Inukshuk 1 (Wonderstone, H-7", L-6", W-3")
Inukshuk 2 (soapstone)
Inukshuk 3 (soapstone)
Inukshuk 4 (soapstone)
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