Lars Jeremiassen

Hunter

Qaanaaq, Greenland

 

"Our traditions are being determined by people who live somewhere else."

When I traveled through the Thule region in March 2006, Lars Jeremiassen was my dog sled driver. In Greenland, his name is pronounced "Lahs".

To my eyes, Lars looked more European than Inuit. He has an angular face and his hair is graying at the temples — a look that in Anglo men of his age is considered distinguished. There was something incongruous about the way he sat with his legs elegantly crossed, like an investment banker in polar bear fur pants.

When I met him, Lars was 59 and quite proud of the fact that he remained strong and sharp. To do what he does for a living — hunt and run dogs — you have to be both. Hunting in the cold of northern Greenland takes patience and stamina, hard-won knowledge and strategic thinking. That's especially true in the rapidly changing environment that Lars and his colleagues now face.

One of the things that struck me after talking to Lars was the contrast between his opinions on climate change and those of younger hunters, like Simon Eliasson. Several times during our hour-long conversation, Lars harkened back to stories told by his ancestors. Younger hunters, on the other hand, tended to mention tradition and ancestry less, mention science and western development more.  The next time I go to northwest Greenland, one of the themes I'll pursue is the extent to which age is a determinant of ideas. It's important to remember that as of 2006, it was less than 100 years since first contact between the Thule people and Anglos. Men of Lars' age grew up with little or no exposure to outsiders, while younger men see outsiders constantly, not only in person, but on videos and on satellite television.

On Climate Change

Lars: Our ancestors said the weather is always changing. Sometime it will get warmer and other times there is more ice. It has always been like that.

For example, in Savissavik in 1979, the ice did not melt. In the summer the supply ship came but they couldn't get close to the town because of the ice. We had to use the dogs to get the supplies off. It was cold all that year and we used the dog teams all year round. It was the year without a summer.

Malin:  Is today's warm weather different than what your ancestors described?

Lars: There's a period when it's warmer and a period when it's colder. So these stories from our ancenstors make me think it will get colder again sometime.

Malin: You know, the scientists say it won't get cold again. In fact, they say it will probably get warmer.

Lars:  The cause of the warming is a hard question to answer. It could be that pollution is making the natural cycle worse. I hear what the scientists are saying, that it's going to get warmer. But I believe it could be very different too. Like the stories from our ancestors. They have been telling this story that it gets warmer and colder, the cycle of nature. But the scientists say there is global warming.  Maybe that makes it worse. Maybe history could be very different now.

Also, sometimes scientists make mistakes. For example, they told us that eight different birds in Greenland were endangered. Among them, the Gyrfalcon. It was forbidden to hunt it for many, many years. But they are all over this region. Animals are moving from place to place. The scientists say that if they cannot find an animal in one area, it must be dying out.  But we know how the animals move around. I don't believe this falcon is dying out. It moves around. This is how nature is.

On The Thule Culture

Malin:  How have things changed since you were a boy?

Lars:  When I was a child, everyone helped each other. You didn't look at someone who needed help with food or whatever and think of money. But today it's very rare that people will help without asking for money. There are still some people around who will give you help without asking for money, but it's very rare. So it was easier to live here when I was a child.

I was born in 1948. When I started to be a hunter, you had to use your own strength. But progress has been so fast, the difference between now and then... I'm not even sixty and there's been so much change. You don't have to use your own strength today. When I started to be a hunter, you had to paddle your kayak. But today you only need a key to turn and your boat starts.

On Home Rule Government

Lars:  When I started as a hunter, hunters were admired in Greenland. Now things are changing so fast. Sometimes it feels like we are criminals, the way Home Rule government treats us. If I kill a Polar Bear in self defense, the government will take it away from me. Our traditions are being determined by people who live somewhere else. Life was better before Home Rule government.

The local kommune (municipality) makes its own rules. They say we cannot hunt in some fjords at some times so the animals can breed in peace. But then the Home Rule government comes in and made another rule without knowing the area. We made our own rules because we know the animals and this area. We did not think they would make rules on top of ours."

Malin:  Do they ask for your input?

Lars:  Of course they have hearings.  ut they do what they want to do. Maybe they listen a little bit, but then they do as they please.

In east Greenland they sell polar bear skins for money, for trophies. But here we must use the skins for clothing. How are we going to hunt and go far if we don't have the skin clothes? We cannot do that. But the Home Rule government doesn't see these things when they make the rules. They make rules for us the same as east Greenland.

Malin:  It's only been 100 years since first contact and yet so much has changed in your culture. Do you resent that outsiders have affected your way of life so much in such a short period of time?

Lars:  I don't know if I can blame civilization and other places for everything. The warmer weather may be from nature, from what our ancestors say is natural changing from period to period. But it may also be from pollution. I don't know."

On Reports of  Drowned Polar Bears in the Bering Sea

Malin:  Scientists report that they found ten drowned polar bears in the Bering Sea in the summer of 2005. Have you seens similar things here?

Lars:  The bears must have died for another reason. Polar bears are sea creatures. They live on the land and in the sea and cannot drown. I have seen them run underneath the ice, upside down. They cannot drown. Perhaps they died from pollution.

People do not get surprised by Polar Bears here in Greenland. Especially when they are Polar Bear hunting. Our dogs know when there are bears nearby. We used to harpoon them before we had guns.