'Solastalgia': Arctic inhabitants overwhelmed by new form of climate grief
by Ossie Michelin from on (#594GX)
Solastalgia means a feeling of homesickness without ever leaving home - and for Inuit in Canada's north it describes the psychological impact of the climate crisis
With snow just beginning to dust the hills surrounding the city of Iqaluit, the hunters scramble off in boats. They're hunting Canada geese, as they have always done, only now using rifles and motorboats instead of the spears and kayaks of their ancestors.
Across Baffin Island, Inuit are harvesting before autumn begins to transition into winter. Later in the year, when the snows arrive in force and the fjords and harbours become thick with ice, the boats will be replaced by snowmobiles and the area will once again teem with human life.
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