The works feature beautiful portrayals of Inuit mythology. There are dancing owls, polar bears standing on one leg and various mythological beings – including Waterhouse’s personal favourite, a figure of the Inuit sea goddess Sedna, who is half-human, half mermaid. She’s usually depicted without her fingertips – legend has it that these were cut off and transformed into sea creatures.

Alongside the carvings, the collection houses prints, paintings and drawings. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it has grown to include works by some of the most important figures in the modern Inuit art world – in a wide variety of styles and formats – from almost every producing community in northern Canada, as well as smaller collections of works made in Greenland and Alaska. For Waterhouse, displaying these artefacts is about more than preserving memories of the past.

“We want to include modern Inuit art to ensure the collection continues to keep up with what is happening now,” he says, citing a bomber jacket designed by the indigenous artist Inuktrini as an example of a recent acquisition. The next step is to get more pieces out of storage and on public display, as well as to co-curate future exhibitions with Inuit participants.

The Polar Museum is also currently working with an Alaskan Inuk consultant on an innovative new Indigenous Engagement Policy, establishing a framework by which to engage respectfully and meaningfully with indigenous Arctic communities. As Waterhouse says: “The more we work in partnership, the better.”