Magssannguaq Oshima

Hunter

Siorapaluk, Greenland

 

Magssannuag is part of what must be one of the smallest minority groups on earth. He's half Inuit, half Japanese. His father, Iku Oshima, arrived in Siorapaluk with a Japanese adventure expedition in the early 1970s. When the rest of the group returned to Japan, Iku waved good-bye and has lived in this northern hamlet ever since. I have read that he learned to speak the local dialect and hunt in just one year. In fact, he is referred to as one of the best hunters in Greenland. Iku married a local Inuit woman and Magssanuaq is one of the results.

Upon entering Magssannuaq's home (which is just next door to his father's) his Japanese ancestory is obvious. Unlike most Siorapaluk entryways, which are strewn with boots, parkas, aging animal parts and hunting gear, the entry of Mags and his wife is immaculate and all shoes and boots are stacked neatly on shelves, just as they would be in Japan. The interior of his home is equally immaculate and orderly. It is not a criticism of Siorapaluk villagers — just an observation — that cleanliness and orderliness in their homes is not a priority. I mention that because Mags home is such a contrast. The furniture is simple, functional and well-cared for. But there is nothing unnecessary, no knick-knacks or ornamentation. Like other villagers, he owns a VCR, but any videos he owns are neatly tucked away, out of sight, in a simple console.

Inuit blood is more apparent in his appearance than Mags' Japanese blood. He's stocky, with heavily muscled arms, broad hands and a face weathered by cold, wind and sun. It's only his eyes that hint at his mixed ancestory.

I interviewed Mags with his wife and one year old son sitting beside him on the couch. The baby squirmed, cried and wriggled throughout our discussion, but like most Inuit parents, they never became impatient and never raised their voices to the child. Occassionally, the boy would climb from his mother's arms to his fathers. Mags let the boy crawl all over him without ever interupting his answers during the interview or trying to hand him back to his mother.

On Climate Change

Malin: Have you noticed changes in the weather in recent years?

Mags:  I felt it this winter because of the bad shape of the ice. The new ice was breaking all the time. When there is new ice, we hunt seals with nets. But we couldn't do that this winter because the new ice kept moving and was too thin. In the dark period, when the winter comes, our first priority is seal hunting by net. This is the main source of our income and food for our dogs. If we cannot hunt seals with nets on the new ice it makes life very difficult for us.

Before the year 2000 and when I was a child, it was more predictable. Since then the other hunters and I have felt the difference.

Malin: Is it more dangerous to hunt now?

Mags:  Of course it is more dangerous. The ice is thinner and during the dark period it is hard to see where the danger is. The ice used to come in mid-October. Now it comes in late November and once as late as January. It's too dark for us to hunt for other animals in November, we can't see them. And we can't hunt for animals like reindeer or muskox on the sea ice. If the new ice is thin, it means we can't hunt anything.

Malin:  What do you think is causing the changes?

Mags:  I believe it is global warming. The way the inland ice is melting so quickly. The water is warmer and the sun is so hot. I don't believe this has happened before. In the north there used to be huge flows of sea ice. I have seen satellite photos that show how much it has melted. The hunters are seeing only floating ice from the north, not pack ice the way we used to. Also, I have heard from the news that global warming is causing the change.

Malin:  Do you blame the industrialized nations for causing the problem?

Mags:  Yes. There used to be so much Arctic sea ice.  It used to come all the way down to the island [of Greenland].  Both the sea and the sea ice used to be calm. But without floating ice, the water is getting warmer and choppier. I believe sea ice will be late in coming again this year because the water has been so warm this summer.

On the Future of Hunting

Malin:  Do you think your son will be able to become a hunter?

Mags: I don't know.  I cannot answer that question because it is up to each person to make their own choices. I was learning carpentry but I became a hunter.

Malin:  What I meant was whether the sea and ice conditions will permit your son to be a hunter if he chooses to be in several years?

Mags:  I don't think that the sea ice will disappear so fast. But government quotas on the number of animals we can take will make hunting almost impossible. It does not make sense to me. There are so many animals. Without hunting, they will starve to death if the populations get too big. The Nuuk government is trying to protect the animals rather than the hunters.

Malin:  Aren't the first stocks moving north and increasing off the coast of Greenland?

Mags:  The first are moving north, but everything eats fish, the seals, the walrus, the birds. Soon the first populations will also be stressed. Besides scientists have found concentrations of toxins in the fish. If these toxic fish are eaten by a seal and we eat the seal, we are at the end of the toxic food chain. This means our traditional foods will poison us. One other thing. The government protects marine mammal populations, the seals, whales and walrus. All these mammals eat fish. How long do you think marine mammal populations will survive once all the first are gone?

Malin: What is the most important marine mammal for you and the other Siorapaluk hunters?

Mags:  The seal hunt is very important here. We get meat to eat and feed to our dogs. When the price is high we sell the seal skins for money. When the price is low, we use them to make our own clothes. In the 1980's-1990's, we got DKK 500 per seal skin, sometimes higher. Now we get maybe DKK 250. And inflation makes it worth less. It takes four days to finish a skin, to clean it, stretch it and soften it. It's not worth doing all that work and selling it for DKK250. The price is improving a little, but it m

Malin:  I thought Greenpeace had elimininated the seal fur market?

Mags:  They did outside Greenland. But inside Greenland a market exists to make crafts and traditional clothing.