Inuit culture has always been rich with games, song and dance. The Inuit lived in bands. The size and makeup of a band changed with the seasons, resources, work to be done and social factors. Each band would take on the name of the place where they lived. Decisions were made and disputes settled by a council of males.
Families lived in cone–shaped tents during the summer. Winter camps were small. Sod houses were partly dug into the ground. These were framed with the bones of right and bowhead whales. A large snowhouse was sometimes built for group events. This was called a kache. Visits between winter camps were frequent when there was a lot of food. Temporary snow houses were used on hunting trips.
An Inuit family would often be made up of a number of generations. Some men would have more than one wife. Inuit women had little social status. A wife was the property of her husband. A woman was valued for the work that she did around the home. Men and women took meals separately. Marriage and divorce took place with little fanfare.