As an intern for the Polar Climate Ambassador Program in 2025, I learned about many fascinating topics—from the accelerated rate of climate change in the polar regions to Greenlandic food and hunting culture. I found myself captivated by the Arctic, along with the native people and their customs. Recently, I was inspired to revisit some of these lessons at the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum in Brunswick, Maine. The three-floor gallery offers an in-depth exploration of the Arctic lands: the history of its people, its art and folklore, and its climate and current scientific research.
My visit to the museum coincided with the opening of a new exhibit: “Mamaqtuq! It’s Delicious: Traditional Foods of the North,” which highlights the important role traditional foods play in Inuit identity and pride. The Inuit are the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, and while they stretch across several northern countries, they have many commonalities. Through artwork, photography and traditional tools, museum visitors are able to understand how Inuit foods are hunted, fished and gathered from land and sea. Arctic peoples have engaged in these activities to survive and make a living along northern North Atlantic shores for more than 10,000 years.
One featured art piece, “We Like to Eat Raw Fish,” created by Qamani’tuaq native Janet Kigusiuq, caught my eye. Kigusiuq uses vibrant orange to represent freshly hunted salmon as a staple food for the Inuit people.
Nearby, a large wall-sized photograph captured a community celebration with a pile of frozen fish surrounded by cooking pots. This image depicted the strong Inuit emphasis on preparing and sharing food with community members. At a sensory station, I was able to feel the textured fur of polar bear, muskox, caribou and seal, as well as a walrus tusk and narwhal horn, all species that are part of a traditional hunt.
Hunting for fresh food is at the heart of Inuit culture. The second floor of the museum features Inuit hunting and travel equipment, which Arctic explorers and visitors quickly adopted as shown in this display of early polar explorers Robert Peary and Matthew Henson in their quest to be the first to the North Pole. In the foreground is a qamutiik, a wooden dogsled used to transport gear and hunters to and from hunting grounds. The fur jackets in the back of the display are parkas made from animal hides and fur. Using all the resources from the animals they hunt is important to the Inuit. The insulated jackets keep hunters warm in extremely cold Arctic conditions. In addition to parkas, hunters often wear sealskin or caribou hide boots, and fur trousers to keep their feet dry and legs warm.
The “Mamaqtuq! It’s Delicious” exhibit also shares the modern challenges Arctic communities face regarding food security, preserving traditional foods and sustainability.
In Greenland, the traditional Inuit diet is largely composed of fish and other marine animals, berries and land animals, including caribou and musk ox, caught directly by hunters. Warming waters and a reduction of ice have affected migration patterns of many fish, seals, narwhals and beluga whales, and in many areas in the north, hunting using sea ice is no longer possible.
In Canada, the qimmit (Inuit sled dogs) are declining in usage. In the past, hunters depended on taking their dogs far out on the sea ice to reach hunting grounds. As the amount and thickness of winter sea ice declines, hunting with dogs has become more dangerous—and, in areas where ice has completely melted, impossible.
Communities are actively responding to changing migration patterns by altering where and when they hunt. For example, bowhead whales are essential to many Alaska Inuit communities. The whale can weigh up to 120,000 pounds and must be pulled out onto sea ice. Hunters once hunted for bowhead whales in spring and fall, but thinning and earlier melt of spring sea ice cover has caused a shift in bowhead migration timing and routes. Hunters preferred the spring season to replenish low food stocks, yet now mainly hunt in the fall as the whales make their way down south. By adapting to climate change, the Inuit people are able to continue preparing and sharing dishes such caribou pie and flummies (quick bread)—two recipes I took home on cards from the museum.
Climate change is causing a dietary transition for the Arctic people. While Inuit families are working to ensure that they and their descendants can continue to enjoy nourishing and delicious traditional foods, imported, highly processed foods have become more prevalent in these communities. This also means fewer people are learning how and where to use traditional hunting and fishing tools. Microplastics, PFAS and other chemical contaminants in hunted and fished foods are another rising issue. For the Inuit, a fatty and rich diet is both critical for their survival and central to their culture, yet many contaminants bioaccumulate in the foods they rely on.
In addition to the impact of food on health, the exhibit explores the economics of food. One display highlights the high cost of imported food in the Arctic and compares the price of foods like peanut butter and sugar with the prices of such staples in the United States. In the Arctic, store-bought food arrives by sea or by plane, often only once every few weeks. Transportation costs significantly increase the overall price of these goods.
As Polar Climate Ambassadors, we work to expand polar literacy because learning about the polar regions changes how we view northern communities, the planet and our own future. My internship experience deepened my appreciation for how this museum exhibit draws connections between climate and environmental changes and the social and cultural life of the Arctic peoples and brings this information to the wider public.
The Polar Climate Ambassadors Program (Polar CAP) is a high school summer internship program operating at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which is part of the Columbia Climate School. The initiative brings together students interested in learning, researching and communicating about the importance of the polar regions.
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Columbia Climate School, Earth Institute or Columbia University.
