Over the course of thousands of years, the Inuit learned how to make do with little and to make the most of what they did have.
Sources of food and materials for clothing, shelter, and other necessities were meager, so they had to be very attuned to their surroundings to find what was available. To outsiders their homeland might seem a bleak, empty landscape of ice, but to the Inuit, it was a rich, ever-changing environment that offered new opportunities each season.
The Inuit also developed personal characteristics so that they could better cope with hardship. Their society valued patience, good humor, and generosity, qualities that helped them survive when food and other resources were scarce.
