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Inukshuk (singular), meaning
"likeness of a person" in
Inuktitut (the Inuit language)
is a stone figure made by the
Inuit. The plural is inuksuit.

The Inuit make inuksuit in
different forms and for
different purposes: to show
directions to travellers, to
warn of impending danger, to
mark a place of respect, or to
act as helpers in the hunting
of caribou.

Similar stone figures were
made all over the world in
ancient times, but the Arctic
is one of the few places
where they still stand.

An inukshuk can be small or
large, a single rock, several
rocks balanced on each
other, round boulders or flat.
Inuit tradition forbids the
destruction of inuksuit.


- Canadian Encyclopedia -