Over the thousands of years that Inuit have lived in what is now the Canadian North, they have come to see themselves as the custodians of these vast lands. Their relationship with the land, the creatures, and the environment has enabled them not only to survive, but to celebrate life in a land that, to the outside observer, may seem harsh and forbidding.

The Inuit approach to the environment arises out of their history and experience - living day-to-day, season-to-season, year-to-year. It has provided a concrete guide to living that has served them well for many centuries, and is still of crucial importance today. Inuit food - in English it is called country food - and is still a staple for most - if not all Inuit individuals. But it is more than just food. Hunting, preparing, sharing, consuming and using arctic animals binds Inuit as a people. The nutritional value gained from the consumption of seal meat, fat and oil, for example, would be difficult, if not impossible to replace with store-bought foods. But there is so much more to this interaction with marine and terrestrial animals than simply the nutritional benefits derived from the food they provide. Marine mammal hunting forms a critical part of Inuit cultural and spiritual identity as a People - it helps to give a sense of pride to individuals in communities who face many challenges as a result of the recent encroachments of "western" society. Yet the ability to carry on sustainable use practices as a people has been greatly affected by decisions that have been made far away from Inuit communities.

Inuit have fought hard to enable their way of life to continue - they have dedicated an enormous amount of time and effort towards the negotiation of land claims settlements and the constitutional recognition of aboriginal rights. Claims have been settled in all Inuit settlement regions except Labrador where the process is now underway. Under these claims, clear recognition has been given to Inuit wildlife harvesting rights. Specific features of these agreements have been designed to achieve the basic goal to protect the Arctic environment, and to ensure the sustainable use of wildlife and Inuit harvesting activities and practices into the future.