47. Wolf Attacking Caribou

* Cannot be shipped out of Canada

Pelly Bay
Ivory, Antler
2" x 5" x 2"

Legend says that at the beginning of time, there was only one man and one woman. The woman dug a large hole in the ground, and she started fishing in it, pulling out all of the Arctic animals through this magical well. The last animal she pulled from the well was the caribou, which she set free and ordered to multiply. Soon the land was full of caribou, and the people were happy and ate well. But the hunters killed only the strong caribou, which left the herd weak and sick. The people began to starve, until the woman reached out to Amorak, the spirit of the wolf. She asked the wolf to weed out the weak and sick so that the herd could become strong once more. In this way, the Inuit believe the wolf and the caribou are one: the caribou feeds the wolves while the wolves keep the caribou strong.

- From The University of Guelph, “The Wolf and the Caribou”