The settling of arctic North America is a human miracle of the highest magnitude. The continent’s northern rim features a desolation of mountain ranges, tundra, icy beaches and snowfields without horizon. It is uniform only in its cold, its winter dark and its total disregard for the poorly equipped and inhospitable region dominated by sea and ice. The secret of the arctic peoples success in this region lay in their incredible adaptation to these seemingly harsh circumstances, for however grim their earthly realm appears to us, it is one of the world’s riches areas in available natural bounty. The region supports abundant sea life, a large variety of birds, as well as numerous species of land animals. The arctic people utilized these resources not only for subsistence but also for creative expression, as revealed in this sensitively sculpted bone figure. Kneeling on bent legs, with arms resting on his thick coat, the figure peers out from within the coat's warm hood. The artist has carved this arctic image with a minimum of detail; however, the spirited energy that emanates from this sculpture is immense. It reveals a people’s aesthetic pleasures, a love of art for its own sake in an environment that is one of the world's most extraordinary.