Carving
Carving is an important source of income to many Inuit communities, especially in Cape Dorset. Much of the carving income is distributed throughout the communities. Some of this income gets funneled directly into the hunting economy, or indirectly via gambling. In some communities much of the income generated form carving gets shunted into the drug trade and alcohol. Men and women both carve, but men are usually the higher paid carvers.

"About $1.6 million is paid out to carvers annually in Dorset. Carvers with a moderate to excellent reputation usually take their carvings to the Co-op because they need the money added to their accounts, and they know they always have a buyer if they take all their carvings to the Co-op."

"Kids watch parents carve and seem to pick it up by watching, as good carvers are sold to the Co-op, Northern, Polar Homes, and sometimes to the hotel, teachers, RCMP and other local whites, and a few gallery owners from the South. People definitely carve for the money, only one man in town carves for enjoyment. Often people carve for money to travel to Toonit Time in Iqaluit or to go to Lake Harbour, there is not much incentive to travel South. There is just a handful of carvers making over $50,000 per year. If carvers are only making small pieces They are making $50 to $100 per day, they are living hand to mouth, spending their money on food, alcohol and drugs. Only by selling big carvings can a person afford to purchase an expensive piece of equipment like a skidoo or a boat."

"The top three carvers are men and when they sell a carving they make from $5,000 to $20,000. This large sum of money, received in one batch, is significant because people rarely save up their money. People who get a large sum of money all at once are able to buy a skidoo, 4-wheeler, canoe, motor, or other costly items which others will never be able to save enough money to buy. People who work for hourly wages spend their money as soon as they get it. They find it impossible to put some money away so they too could buy a skidoo."

"The top carvers are paid $8,000 for an exceptional carving; a carver may work for two weeks on such a carving. The money is used to pay for machines, debts, booze, drugs and housing accounts. The record cost of a carving was $60,000, the money was given directly to the carver. Southern retail is four to five times the price paid to the carver.
"The time of day is critical to the price of the carving; the carvers try to sell their carvings to the Co-op, if the Co-op is closed, they sell them at the Polar Homes, if that store is closed, then they sell it door to door at lower prices. Prices are often in units of $60, which is the cost of a packet of hash."

"One carver has several helpers that do the initial carving that he finishes. Several men are often outside his home helping rough cut the carvings in an assembly line fashion. Some people carve all the time; others have a job and carve a bit on the side; others just carve the same thing and sell it for $20 to $30.
"Funds from successful carvers and wage earners are spread throughout the extended families. Families without a famous carver are dependent on social assistance."

Income Taxes and Carvers
Recently, Revenue Canada has decided to collect income taxes from successful carvers. This is causing considerable anxiety, confusion and frustration in some of the communities.

"Inuit, unlike Indians, are supposed to pay taxes because they have not signed a treaty. About 35 artists in town are being assessed back taxes from their carving."

"During the last ten years, child tax credits are given at the end of the year to a family if under a certain income, even if the husband is making big money carving. Family allowance is also paid for those under a certain income, about $80 per child if under $28,000 income; at $50,000 income level there are no benefits given out. Revenue Canada has cut off the family allowance payments to the carvers until they pay their back taxes.
" There are major expenses that carvers must cover, boats and motors to go to the mine for their

stone, special tools, and the price of the stone they purchase. Yet the carvers can't charge the expenses against their income. On the other hand, they would never think of saving their receipts."

Social Assistance
Social assistance, family allowance, old-age pension and other government transfer payments have been used by the Inuit as sustaining resources since the nineteen-fifties.

"In the North, social assistance is considered a resource to be used, there is no negative stigma against accepting welfare. On social assistance a young person is given $250/month spending money, plus food allowance, plus clothing allowance, plus $32/month for housing rent. At $8/hour a person makes $200 a month less than someone on social assistance. It is much more profitable to carve and collect social assistance than to work for wages. There are 250 houses in Dorset, one-third of the homes have new snowmobiles parked in front of them each year. A teacher with a university degree earns about $50,000/year. After taxes and rent teachers have about $15,000; whereas a carver earning $100/day, which is not taxed, and who is on social assistance with only a Grade 6 education can have $25,000 in the bank in one year."

"People wait for their welfare cheque and after the first week of the month it is gone. They crave for cash and seem to feel satisfied for a bit when they get it."

Guiding Sport Hunters and Ecotourists
During the past two decades, guiding sport hunters for polar bears and caribou has contributed some cash into the economies of several Baffin communities. More recently, ecotourism has also begun to generate income for some of the communities.

"This year we made approximately $40,000 from six polar bear sport hunters; $20,000 went to the HTA, which included the money paid to the women to clean the polar bear hide at $300/hide; $1000 for each set of caribou skin clothing for the sport hunters; and $3500 to the HTA for the bear tag and the co-ordination of the hunt. The guides with dogs were paid $4000 each; the guides with skidoos were paid $1750 each."

Commercial Fisheries
Commercial fisheries bring income into a few of the Baffin communities, particularly Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet. The fish are sold locally, through intersettlement trade, while some of the catch is exported to southern markets.

"The commercial fisheries in Pang provide income to the hunters, this allows them to purchase skidoos, which permits them to continue their traditional hunting activities. To some extent, the fisheries replace the lost seal market."

"The HTA has four char lakes in the vicinity of Pond Inlet with quotas of 5000lbs for the one lake, and 2000lbs for each of the remaining three lakes. We sell whole fish, fish fillets, and when there is no demand for whole fish or fillets we smoke the remaining char."

Selling Meat
Hunters with little or no source of outside income are forced by their economic situation to sell some of their meat , which otherwise would have been shared among the extended families. The cash is used to buy gas or equipment enabling them to continue hunting.

"Now hunters bring muktuk, fish, and caribou to the HTA to sell to families. They don't sell seal meat. The hunters give some meat to the elders and their families and take some to the HTA to sell. The HTA sells fish, caribou, and muktuk. The money is used to buy groceries from the store."

"In Arctic Bay hunters get paid $4.00/lb for muktuk. In that community the muktuk sat in the freezer all year, in late winter people were wild for it. In Pond, rather than pay $4/lb for muktuk we pay $1.25/lb and sell it for $2/lb, hunters still made enough to buy gear but the community gets the muktuk rather than selling it all to Iqaluit. We think that if the price is too high, it is like gold fever. In Greenland muktuk sells for over $40/kilogram! Here muktuk is available to all, but it's not appreciated when someone comes to a hunter, takes the meat and leaves without visiting.
"The Renewable Resources Offices has a budget for an organized caribou hunt. In communities where they have very few caribou, or the caribou are a long way away, they call up the HTA in a community with lots of caribou. That community supplies funds to hunters to go out and bring in a batch of caribou for the communities which lack easy access to the caribou."

Other communities like caribou from the Pond Inlet hunters because these hunters kill healthy, fat animals. People in Broughton were really happy as the bulls they received had 3-4 inches of fat on them. In another community the hunters were keeping the best parts of the caribou and selling the poor cuts (front quarters, no heads or hind quarters) to other communities.
"People either ask a hunter for meat or just help them selves to their meat. Hunters now take two or three pieces home for their families and take the rest to the HTA for sale. One hunter caught three narwhals and sold all three, he didn't keep any for himself. It was worth about $1000; if the skin is black and young it is worth more, if it is old and white it is harder to sell. $2.05/lb is paid to hunters for processed muktuk. The excess fat and damaged areas are removed and returned to the hunter. The hunter is only paid for the portion the HTA keeps. If $5/lb were paid for muktuk, it would be less likely that the hunters would share their muktuk. There is 200 to 300 lbs of muktuk per narwhal. Narwhal tusks sell for about $180/ft to the Japanese. Char sell for $1.35/lb, and caribou sells for $2.35/lb. Last year there was a test fisheries, about 1000 turbot were taken in twenty days.
"Fifty caribou are taken on commercial tags in Pond. Last year 15,000 to 20,000 lbs were taken on the 50 tags. We ask ten hunters to take one caribou each, or for two hunters to take five caribou each, because we can only butcher ten caribou per day. We organize the hunt by asking certain people. We lend guns and ammunition and when they return they sell us the meat. This arrangement enables them to go hunting for caribou for their own family, and to earn money to pay for the gas for the next time they go out hunting. Hunters remove the guts, head and legs; we keep the fat. We tried selling the heart but people don't want to buy it, they can get it from the hunters without buying it. They want to buy the caribou sausage because they can't make it. We're starting to make caribou meat in Edmonton We ran out of turbot and will try caribou sausage next. We've sent samples of everything including smoked fish and sausage. About half of the caribou quota goes into smoked products. The Co-op did a show overseas and we supplied all the samples but haven't heard anything back yet."

Attitudes to Selling Meat
The majority of Inuit on Baffin Island have great difficulty accepting the concept of having to buy meat, especially from a relative. Having to buy meat goes against the traditional Inuit philosophy of sharing; it also alters the relationship between the hunter and the animals.

Selling meat enables hunters to continue their lifestyle and also enables them to have some meat to give away to friends and relatives.

"Recently, there were over 100 people down on the beach helping themselves to some muktuk. In Coral Harbour the Co-op began buying muktuk from local hunters because Dorset was asking to buy some. My parents in Coral Harbour were really angry to see people selling food. She grew up when starvation was at hand. She always said, "Give what you can to your neighbour". My dad always comments about the fact that they're selling muktuk and caribou. Now, some men kill narwhal just to sell the muktuk. They also try to get one with tusks so they can sell the ivory. The attitude changes between the hunter and the wildlife when the relationship becomes commercial. If the price of muktuk is up too high it's like gold fever. If lower prices are paid to the hunters then it is more likely that there will be meat in town. My mom would give us kids fish to take to the old man over there, and to the woman with no husband. I would die if I had to buy meat from my brother."

"Commercialization of wildlife tends to reduce the quality of the relationship between the animal and the hunter."

"I provide meat to my extended family but even people who work don't pay me anything for their meat. The giving of food demonstrates friendship or love. By paying money it removes this connotation. But people need to pay hunters in order to enable them to continue to hunt."

"Even though there has been a lot of changes we still share meat. People who were brought up here eat primarily from stores but elderly people eat country food. Young people still eat land food but they prefer store-bought food.
"My father worked for the HBC and had biscuits, flour and tea to eat, but he mostly preferred country food. It's a lot different now than it was before.
"The meat sold to the HTA is just a small amount as we still share within our families and with our friends and neighbours. If we buy wild meat from the HTA we share it with whoever is at home. We never sell food to our family or friends, we always share it. Excess meat is taken to the HTA and sold. It's not really excess, as we eat everything, it's just part of the food that we want to sell."

"When my sons bring over a caribou and I have a feast, I freeze any food that is left over, I don't take it to the HTA for sale. My sons bring in muktuk and share it. It would be really bad if we had to buy food from relatives."