The culture of most tribes of Eskimo is based largely on the hunting of seals, but the species of seal differ from region to region. The West Greenlanders are dependent on two species, the Harp or Greenland seal, Phoca groenlandica, and the Hood or Bladder-nose, Cystophora cristata, the former being the more abundant. The East Greenlanders make more use of the small fjord seals, Phoca vitulina, which supply the greater part of their food, while the importance to them of the two larger species and of the Bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus lies in the suitability of their skins for covering kayaks and other special purposes. The East Greenlanders, centred on Angmagssalik and Scoresby Sound, are the least touched by European contacts, and can still almost satisfy their needs, except for pipes, tobacco and knives, with drift wood, seals and other animals. The West Greenlanders have been in contact with Europeans for a much longer time, and have modified their primitive culture to some extent. Their kayaks are often made of canvas, and in the south-west they have taken up fishing and sheep farming on a considerable scale, but seal hunting from kayaks is still their most important job in life. The Danes are trying with remarkable success to improve the standard of living of the Greenlanders, while at the same time keeping them as independent as possible of foreign sources of supply. If, for any reason, the number of seals should fall too low to supply the needs of the people, the whole policy of the Danish Administration might have to be altered, and this would almost certainly not be an improvement from the point of view of the Greenlanders.

Igloo is one of the few Eskimo words that most white people understand, and shares with kayak and oomiak the distinction of appearing in almost all English dictionaries and occasional cross-word puzzles. The great majority of Eskimos, however, have never seen a snow house and it is only among the Central tribes (roughly those living in Canada east of the Mackenzie) that it has reached its fullest development. One result of this is that it has seldom been adopted by white travellers except in this region, though here it has been shown time and again during the last hundred years to be the most suitable form of dwelling for winter travel. It does not necessarily follow that the snow house would be as satisfactory in other polar regions, but I think that there are occasions when it could be used by expeditions to their advantage. Certainly all serious travellers should know how to build one in emergency. This is by no means so difficult as it is reputed to be, and two or three days' practice should give a reasonable proficiency. First I shall describe the normal building method of the Igloolik tribe, and then give various modifications which may be preferred according to individual taste.