Fisherman's Dream

The hidden date for this stamp can be found near the top of the fish pond.

Few would flee the comfortable South for the severe Arctic, to hunt for a living using methods portrayed by these stamps. The Inuit, however, either mastered the techniques or starved. Food preferences and hunting systems varied greatly in the vast polar sweep from Alaska to Greenland. Seals or caribou were mainstays of the human diet and were sometimes supplemented by whales, walruses, fish, bears and birds. Lacking fresh fruit, the Inuit obtained vitamin C (which cooking destroys) by eating raw meat. Indeed, the word "Eskimo" is an Algonkian term for "raw meat eater". Scurvy often killed early European explorers who were squeamish about uncooked meat. Before dining, nevertheless, prudent individuals let the meat freeze to a temperature far below zero degrees Fahrenheit. This reduced the danger of acquiring a deadly dose of trichinosis, especially from bear or walrus flesh infested with the trichina worm. A repast of rare bear finished off all but three members of the Jens Munk expedition to Hudson Bay in 1619-20. The Inuit stamps were designed by Reinhard Derreth of Vancouver, and feature various methods of hunting employed by the Inuit as depicted in their prints and sculptures. The stamp depict fishing with spears, in stonecut print by Pitaloosee. These vigorous graphic and sculptural portrayals of historic hunting methods have in their imagery the strength and conviction that comes from personal experience and knowledge of the importance of hunting in the daily life of the Inuit.