As a result of modern media, most people are familiar with the image of a wagon train wending its way westward. The migration of a Copper Eskimo community, stretched for more than a kilometre over the arctic landscape, had a similar visual effect. Each family, with its own heavily laden sled drawn by people and a few dogs, followed in the tracks of the one before. By the time thirteen or sixteen kilometres had been covered, everyone was exhausted and anxious to find a suitable location for the erection of snow houses. Within two hours, the sleds had been unloaded, snow houses built and a new settlement existed.
In the fall, when days were very short, migration to the sealing grounds began before the sun arose. The decision to migrate was very informal with each household watching for any sign that someone had elected to pack up and move. Soon the settlement was a hive of activity with everyone responding to the rumour that the community was relocating. With the pleasant weather and longer days of spring the urgency of migration was absent and the community advanced towards hunting and fishing grounds at a more leisurely pace.
