Inuit Wedding in Inukjuaq

I was invited to an Inuit Wedding reception in Inukjuaq, and we left home for the event around 6pm. It took place at the Anglican Church in town, and when I arrived there were already about 50 ATVs outside the building. I entered and took in the scene, it was very different from any wedding reception that I had attended before. The bride and groom were seated at chairs at a table facing the crowd, but the guests were seated on the floor (pews had been removed) and everyone was eating seafood with gusto. The fish (mostly char) had been removed from the community freezer and were still frozen, so there were several axes scattered around the room to use in chopping good-sized pieces off the fish, or for chopping off heads or tails. Sea Urchins were also in bowls in the corners. There were also bowls of Western foods, spaghetti, meatballs, salad, fruit, juice, and banana-bread. It was a wonderful combination, the atmosphere was very welcoming, people were all smiling and passing food around, I congratulated the bride and groom in inuktitut and was gracefully thanked, it was a wonderful evening and a very colorful event!

The last few days in Inukjuaq

The last few days in Inukjuaq have been passing pleasantly, the family walked up the mountain outside of town yesterday, it was a long walk, about 5 hours there and back! The mountain has "Inukjuaq" written in syllabics up there, and there is an inukshuk on top where we gathered around, drank Inuit tea and talked. Even grandmother walked all the way up, very impressive! The view from the top was amazing, like looking out over the grand canyon, a vast open space with valleys and lakes spread out all around. There were hawks circling overhead and the wind was whipping so hard we took refuge behind the stones.
I noticed so many different types of mushrooms, berries, roots, a herbalist's dream. The grandparents told us about legends of the caribou (they used to be the rulers of the world until the spirits knocked their teeth out!). We saw several complete caribou skeletons on the way up the pass, including one with pelt still on its head and bones. There were several crevasses that we had to avoid while climbing and descending, it would be most treacherous to climb if these were disguised by ice and snow.
On the way down we were attacked by flies, we fled off in all directions, I had to cross a small swamp by jumping on the stable rocks, the insects were in clouds, finally made it through and we all met at an Inuit graveyard, Christian crosses but all handwritten names in Inuktitut, we paid our respects and returned to the boats needed to cross the channel and return home.

Day 5- Sunday

Day 5 Sunday

Today we hear over the CB that heavy rain is coming and we need to return back if we don’t want to be stuck on this part of the Hudson for a long time. We pack camp very early (start at 5am) and we are ready to leave with all meats dressed and packed for travel by 730. We check the nets and get some more fish for the cooler on the way back, there are 3 nets to check, J* works very hard in the cold morning water, he is quiet and a hard worker and has a gentle way about him and he is the best hunter on the team. We begin the trip back, this is very difficult, waters are very rough and crash on every wave, soon backs and bones hurt and this continues for several hours. We stop at grandparents’ for a break, this is a welcome respite and we are grateful for the tea and bannick. They accompany us with young I* who is 10 and shows me his new rifle, a .22, very impressive). We relax for a bit before heading off again for the next leg of the return journey, this is a long trip, and I am shown and taught Inuktitut words for the geography on the way back. Seeing the houses of the Inukjuaq community was wonderful, we return before 3pm, then we unload for about an hour. I return back to my Inuit family, utterly exhausted, looking in the mirror I have grown a scraggly beard and am sunburned, but feel that sense of happy deep exhaustedness that means when you lie down you breath a big sigh of contentment…I must say that a shower was very welcome,I take a long rest, download some pictures, and after a few hours walk up the hill to the satellite dishes where I can jump on an internet connection, I spend a few hours up on the hill hood up against the wind checking my email, this has been a wonderful week. I will begin my survey data collection next week and take some time here in town before possibly heading out on the land again.


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Day 4- Saturday

Day 4 Saturday
This morning the mosquitoes are so bad I don’t want to leave the tent. I am told that an amaruq (wolf) was spotted over the ridge at sunrise. There are fresh caribou tracks on the beach. We put on our waterproof and bee-keeping insect gear and head out early, checking nets, and this day is spent cruising the coastline looking for caribou and fishing. The nets are full today with many iqaluqpiq and codfish. We do not see caribou but not from lack of trying, we cruise for miles along the beautiful coast, scanning for antlers and signs. We have language class in the boat today and I learn a lot of vocabulary. We catch some fish, one char gets away after being on the hook, to universal dismay. I am taught local geography, we stop at an island for tea, I am shown goose eggs but these are not taken as the geese are already developing inside. I am shown the herbs that are used to make Inuit tea and there is an arctic spider, very big and I take a picture, they are not sure if it is poisonous. We drink tea, it is bitter but good, we head back on the water, find a mussel bed and harvest some of them, there is target practice but no real shooting, they cannot find the tuktu this time! My guides are berated for not shooting that buck when they saw it…everyone laughs good naturedly but there is some seriousness in it too, the chance was there and they should have taken it they say. We return to camp and we have many, many fish today, nets are again full, we have about 6 big char and many more codfish just from the second checking, the 5 geese left, the one duck and we are in good shape. Everyone wants to try the fire-cooked way, this time we make a really big fire, it is indeed a lovely bonfire, we stand around as the northern lights come out again, there are shooting stars, as the fire dies down we wrap 7 fish and 7 potatoes in foil, we have 3 big char and 5 codfish, the fire is so big that there are plenty of embers, I let them cook slowly for about an hour, the smells are delicious, when they are unwrapped it is like ‘presents’ everyone laughs, we eat with our hands right on the rocks, we gorge ourselves, the steaming char cooked in its own juices on the fire in the cold air was very very nice. Grace was said over the food but it is eaten not with quiet reverence but with lip smacking finger-licking appreciation, the pleasure taken in food here is almost sexual, the animals killed with your own hands and eaten in the same way, there is no distance between you and your food, you take it from start to finish and I think that the Inuit appreciate their food very intensely. We sleep deeply and everyone is completely full for the first time.

Day 3

Day 3 Friday
Nothing like the smell of fresh naphtha in the morning, tea is made inside the tent, tastes great, I miss my Seattle coffee but this tea is fortified with plants and herbs found by aunt S* yesterday, very nice and fortifying. We are told that it is time to move camp, the conditions here are too windy, we need a calmer place to hunt caribou. In record time the camp is taken down, tents loaded in canoes, everything packed up, we check the nets, jackpot! 2 ducks (in the net) 2 arctic char, 1 is huge and cheers all around, 5 codfish, one duck is released as it is a mother, the other’s neck is snapped with practiced ease, it goes under my feet, codfish are casually thrown in the bucket, char are treated like gold and heads smashed repeatedly before bringing on the boat so that if they drop they will not get away. We stop back at grandfather’s house to bring char, we arrive like heroes with all these fish, celebration, inside the home, on the floor, the char is cut with uluq knives, each chunk of meat is cut into chunks and eaten raw with gusto. Tea is made, everyone loves heavily sugared tea. Grandparents take their time teaching me how to say every object in the house in Inuktitut and laughing at my attempts, this is a fun game (for them!). I get some rainbow trout jerky as a present, bright orange color, delicious and chewy. We’re all full and ready for the journey ahead. I asked the elders questions related to my research, changes that have occurred in their lifetime, they told me about ‘English voices’ (TV/Radio) changing things for them, they are worried about I* their grandson, they want him to grow up in the old ways. They spend a lot of time with him for this, he will stay with his grandparents for the whole time that we are on the land. Grandparents say ‘we are worried about Inuktitut’.
After I while I get hot and take a walk alone, along the beach there are many signs of death, caribou antlers, bones, skulls, a massive ribcage (beluga?), shattered sea urchins, and the theme of life/death comes back again, instead of hiding death, it is celebrated here. Hawks circle overhead and loons: (many) I like that sound very much.
I am called to the boats, we are ready to leave, one last thought that I had on this leg of the trip, about language, about how hard it is to get foreign language TV/news/programming in the US and Canada (I pay 24.95 per month to get one word of Japanese on our TV, the French channel is similarly priced, ditto for Chinese), but English is heard on every single TV and radio I hear up here. I think of what I am told, that current media realities are "realism", this can’t be changed, and hear about idealism of the academy, but I would infinitely rather hear the silence and peacefulness and Inuktitut that I hear today than the English-language advertising that assails me when I head back to town. When I asked my tupiq-mates how they felt about being Inuit, they said “lucky”. When I asked where they would rather be, in town or on the land, they all said “on the land”. We head off on the boats and wave goodbye to the grandparents.

We are on the water for another hour, we turn a corner, suddenly L* shouts tuktu! They point, I see nothing, they point frantically, I still see nothing ☺ My guides see everything, they recognize every birdcall, but I am clueless, we round a corner and finally I see it, a big buck, with a full set of antlers, a prize catch, my guides deliberate, they decide there must be more in the area and choose to head back to camp to tell the others (this will prove to be a sore point for them for the rest of the trip though…general consensus afterward being that they should have shot it immediately). We arrive at camp and everyone is excited, even before camp is set we head out to find the caribou but it has escaped! Everyone is disappointed and we return to camp to find it set up, we lay out nets again, this campsite is very beautiful, a sheltered bay, not windy, but I learn that no wind up here means mosquitoes, more than I have ever seen, bigger, meaner, in clouds and they do not ‘shoo’ off, I am told that dogs left chained to a post have died from mosquitoes when they cannot run away…I am given a beekeeper’s hat to protect my face and all skin must be covered…I am tired and a bit discouraged by all these insects, it’s hot today, I retreat to the tent and take a nap.
I am awakened by the call for hunting, I get up and get waterproof, we head off and look for caribou, I am handed a .243 bolt action rifle with scope to familiarize myself, there is a 10-gauge and 12 gauge shotgun and numerous .22 longrifles, an impressive armory. I shoot the 10 gauge in practice, it is the most powerful weapon I have ever shot, I am told that it will knock me out of the boat if I accidentally pull both triggers at the same time and to be careful. I am impressed by the care that goes into the weapons, these people treat these tools with respect. Also I realize that no meat was brought on this trip, the only food we eat is what we catch, making the hunting even more important. As food is so expensive up here, especially meat, community members are also depending on what is caught during these expeditions to put in the community freezer and on the table.
There is frantic activity and the boat veers off towards an island where I see nothing. We beach and J* is off like a shot running up the hill. The two girls also start running. I hear “Go! Go! In Inuktitut, and find myself running up a hill chasing two girls, J* already having reached the top and over out of sight, not knowing where I am going or why I am there, just running feeling immensely stupid. I puff up the hill much slower than these athletes, I reach the top and there is J* holding two goslings by the neck, they are still alive, he is very happy and proud, the girls are running chasing goslings around the rocks, L* yells “atii!” jolting me out of my stupor, I run after the girls, I catch up with beautiful M*, her face beaming, looking for all the world like a covergirl from teen-beat magazine, kneeling on the jugular of this gosling and crushing the life out of it, her friend Li* is running chasing another one, L* spurs me on and then I spot one, cringing in fear under a rock, and here is where a change came over me, there is a big difference between seeing a cute, cuddly fuzzy baby goose as a pet, and seeing it as dinner, with your friends depending on you, and I chased that gosling along the rocks until I caught it around the neck. They yelled at me to wring its neck, I must say that I have never done this before, I spun it around, and it was still screaming out, and then I realized that I was just making it suffer, and then I spun it the way I should have done in the first place, and the bones just dropped out, it went limp in my hands and twitched before going still. And here another change came over me, at first when I was holding it before it died, it was warm and cute, and I felt affection, but after it died, I felt the blood running and it got colder, and I felt revulsion as I think we do for dead things, but I wanted to feel like the Inuit do, and I urged myself to continue feeling love for it even though it was dead, and not to hold it as if it were a cold clammy dead goose, but to hold it as a lover would and cherish it because it was going to feed the family. And my grip changed from a harsh grip to a softer grip and I carried it back to the boat where we had 5 of them, making this a very successful afternoon. Everyone was elated. I saw a full caribou skull with antlers on the beach before we left that island that day.
We got back to camp, everyone very pleased with our catch, there are 2 char and 3 codfish in the nets. I speak with S* about her experience growing up in Resolute Bay on a government outpost (this is one of the most northern communities of them all, except for maybe Grise Fjord?) she tells me of walrus and arctic tern and that it is a truly cold place there. I believe her ☺ I also tell her my plan that I want to cook come fish and meat on a fire tonight, I feel the need for something cooked, we have wood as there is a wrecked cabin here (wood is rare as we are above the treeline), so I make a fire, this is a big event even for the girls, fires are rare, I make a small fire, we have some tinfoil that we can spare, I wrap some fish and the goose I killed in foil (S* prepares it for cooking in record time, feathers/insides gone in about 5 minutes), we wait until the wood burns and only glowing embers are left, I put the foil-wrapped fish and goose in the coals, the sizzling smells attract the whole camp, curious at this way of cooking, then the Northern Lights come out, as we open the packages, the goose is cooked perfectly in its own juice, I distinctly remember the girls tearing away at that goose like lusty vikings, everyone was impressed but there was not enough for everyone, we decide that we will have a bigger feast cooked like this tomorrow. I felt good having contributed to the community, it felt good seeing people eating what I had killed, a kind of pride.

Day 2

Day 2.
Thursday- We wake up to heavy rain and wind, rain batters the tent and wind vibrates the taut strings, a strange and wonderful music. Not one drop enters the tupiq, it does not move in the wind. We are on a plain, these are strong winds. I reluctantly go outside for a call of nature, I am battered by this weather, I am glad to get back in the tupiq, my tent in Seattle would not last in this, flexible tent poles would bend/snap. I sleep again, the rain stops. I go outside, lovely colors, water so clear and fresh. We walk up the hill, brother J* shows me the inuksuk his grandfather made, a small one, big views of the countryside. Tracks on the beach say ‘tuktu’ caribou. I am told there are mammoth bones near the lake 3 hills over. We check the nets in full waterproof gear, I am told seriously to not get wet whatever else I may do. I am told never to walk alone, I hear the word amaruq a lot (arctic wolf). Gulp ☺ we check the nets, 3 codfish, 1 iqaluqpiq- Arctic Char! We eat raw char cut into strips and niritsaijuq (bannick) bread, wonderful. Today we are told that the weather is not good for tracking caribou so it is a fishing day, we spend the day fishing on the rocks, wind gusting, beautiful rocks everywhere, salt spray. Fishing all day, we catch many codfish, we are hungry, the day passes, I am called for ‘snacktime’, what to eat?, L* is wading with a net, I see the girls laughing as they smash something against the rocks, I am handed an urchin, instructed to throw it against the stone, it shatters after several tries, the orange part is good to eat, in Japan they call it ‘uni’, this is a delicacy! I have never enjoyed it in Japan but here in the frigid water it is just delicious, I eat with gusto, we feel great. I pass a dead seagull, I am told it was shot ‘qukutimut’ (with a rifle, for trying to eat the drying char). We catch mussels, eat them raw as well, they are lovely. L* catches a fish I recognize from diving as a stonefish, I know these are very poisonous in tropical waters, I yell out in warning, am looked at like a lunatic ☺ apparently in the North these are good to eat…oops
Some caribou soup is delivered to the man’s tent where I sleep, it is delicious, the first meal for today, until we catch more food we won’t have a real meal, I feel strangely strong although the food has been scarce, the water is so fresh and the urchin and mussels were very fortifying. I sleep again so comfortable in the tupiq. Before sleeping I am told why we (whites) are called ‘qablu (bushy eyebrow) naat (fat gut)’. I fit the bill perfectly! :)
I woke up very early 4am, went outside and looked around, the moon was out, stars going on forever, very clear and fresh air. I am dreaming a lot and thinking clearly up here!
I slept again and these tupiq are toasty.

Expedition Day 1 (last Wednesday)

Journal Entry- Hunting Expedition Day 1.

Wednesday- today is a waiting day, J* and L* are anxiously watching the weather. I am told to prepare, we don’t know when we will return. Noon, and word goes out that we leave soon. Buzzing activity, we meet on the beach with a small army of little ikajuqti (helpers). We leave to cheers, over to the lake to fill huge bottles with drinking water. 3 hours on the water, a stop for a tea break. We practice grammar, today the 'najaq/kisiani' forms (if/then), it’s so hard! We are 10 on the trip, in 2 boats. C* the leader calls a stop for a tea break, we disembark, A* the little baby inuk girl is so cute in parka, teenaged girls M* and I* see an arctic hare, I run up clumsily to film it, they look at the big qablunaat disdainfully and whisper behind cupped hands. Little brother IO* fishes, gets his lure stuck in a rock, cool older brother helps him get the lure out. Tea is delicious, Bannick bread even better, we speak Inuktitut over tea, the wind is whipping, raining a bit, it’s very cold.
After another hour we pull into a small inlet, grandparent’s house ☺ they have a nice boat, they meet us at the beach, toothless grins, Inuktitut only, I tell them I want to catch many arctic char (iqaluqpiq) they double over laughing for a good 2-3 minutes at the qablunaat, everyone smiling, they like this funny qablunaat…some other hunters arrive at this waypoint after their expedition, they are fully equipped with hip-waders, they have much meat.
We depart for the next leg of the voyage, we are moving north along the Hudson coast, we travel another hour at least. We set nets before arriving, rocks on both ends, blocking off an inlet, hoping for char. we finally arrive at the campsite, we disembark but it’s getting dark we must work fast. I have never seen a camp set so quickly, wood is cut and my first view of ‘tupiq’ inuit tents: the first word I learned but I never thought they would be like this, semi-rigid structures, wood beams inside and outside, supported by rocks, ultra heavy duty canvas and skin, these are nomadic moveable houses, they are 100% stable in the heaviest winds and very warm on the inside. They are nailed through the canvas onto the wood for extra support. There is no dinner, we have not caught anything yet. We have some bannick waybread but this is important and we have to save it. The tupiq is warm, we are exhausted after the rough open water travel, we sleep quickly and deep.

returned to inukjuaq

we got back today from 5 days in the wilderness along the Hudson coast. tomorrow I will post the stories. here are some pics before I collapse into a deep and long sleep :) qanuinngittuq nakurmiik

Inukjuaq 3

It’s Wednesday morning, I have taken to writing these entries in the mornings, I have been sleeping very well, and deeply, but feel very tired at the end of the days, there is a lot going on, but slowly ☺ Yesterday morning I woke up to a nice smell, it was naqitsajaq, unleavened flour cakes, delicious. Older sister J* is making a hat for my son, with his name in syllabics. I gave her a colored scarf from Montréal, she twirled around, a true Inuk runway model ☺ we worked on Inuktitut pleasantries and conversations, as when I meet the grandparent-elders on the land, they understand no English at all. We talked about the difference between “Inuktitut” and ‘inuttitut”, she told me that when talking about language, it’s Inuktitut, and when something is ‘like inuit’ (for example, an object), it’s better to use Inuttitut. Some say that the Nunavik dialect is known as Inuttitut and other dialects as Inuktitut, however I think that I will use the ‘Inuktitut’ when referring to language from now on, that’s what everyone recommends here.
The seal meat that I ate raw yesterday was ready for the next stage, so into the pot it went, it’s time for boiling. It will be ready for lunch. Brother stood next to the window for a long time. He is watching the winds, judging when we can go hunting. His verdict for today is that the winds are too strong. Today will be a waiting day. I really like him, he is a very quiet person, but when he speaks there is always a sense of humor and intelligence. This morning we went over some pronunciation, he smiled a lot, happy to help, I’m glad that he’s my Inuit brother ☺ (I am not using names on purpose for their privacy).
It’s cold out today, time for many layers, and after breakfast I went over to the public library that Andy Moorehouse and Donat Savoie made. As I approached a young boy came up with a big smile, not saying anything, he wanted to slap hands, we did high-fives and slapped hands, then spoke in Inuktitut, it went well, learned his name, age, and that he was going biking, but his bike was gone, he had to wait? (I think he shared his bike). He was happy. I went on into the library and was very impressed! A beautiful, large building, light shining inside, lots of books, and many computers.
I met B*, he is assisting in the library, but was happy to see me, all eyes went over to the qablunaat, (ie, me) ☺ I noticed that the room was relatively full of computers, there are about 20 modern Dell computers in the room, with a large router to handle all of the internet connections. No one was reading books, everyone was online. Most of the computer users were young, no one was over 20, and many were under about 12 years old or so. As I walked past the screens, I could see the “BEBO” logo almost everywhere. Music was playing, everyone was typing furiously away. No one was reading books, only a few magazines. The books in the library are for the most part in English, after that there is an extensive French section, and the Inuktitut section is very small, mostly academic texts and journal publications. There are no books on Inuktitut grammar (I looked for a long time). The English books contain a mix of literature and popular books, there is a good selection, French books seem to be literature-based. The connection was painfully slow, due to the demands on the server.
I spoke with B* about the system, he feels that the systems are infected with spyware and because of this have become very slow. I will check out the virus protection on the computers tomorrow.
I was able to get a few emails out, but there wasn’t enough bandwidth for any kind of image upload. I will try again from another server if I can find one.
I need to investigate Bebo, and find out why it is so much more popular than Myspace and Facebook here. Also I would very much like to see what people are putting on their Inuit Bebo sites. I will keep my eyes and ears open. I wonder how much Inuktitut is really being used on the sites…and whether a localized Inuktitut social networking site would assist with language retention.
After leaving the public library I proceeded to the Northern store, I wanted to see what they had, I was attacked by blackflies, they were very persistent, taking chunks out of my head (bald), I couldn’t shoo them away, they were very skilled at their work. I made it to the Northern store. Inside I was stupefied by the prices, I don’t think that I have ever seen prices to beat them, 7.50 for a jug of milk, juice at 6.50, bottles of water for 3.75, boxes of cereal for 6.50…what I was really interested in were boots, when the weather clears (maybe tomorrow), I will be in the boats and wading in the waters, fishing, working nets, moving in mud/slush, I have been checking out the Inuit boots, they are long waders, waterproof, with sub-zero insulation and reinforced soles and toes. My boots will not cut it in this environment. I am happily surprised to find an excellent selection of beautiful Canadian boots, Kamik and Baffin brands, exactly what I need, and the prices are very low! I think that the necessities are cheap but any imported luxuries are taxes and priced to match. I bought the Kamik Hunter boots with insulated thermal socks (Kodiak). I feel much better knowing that my feet will be warm, cold feet can lead to sickness, and it’s hard to dry socks and feet once they get wet. I was very happy to have these boots. I saw Andy Moorehouse briefly outside the co-op.

Upon returning home we ate boiled seal with blubber…the blubber is really good, so tender and juicy, I was taught not to eat too much, but to match the meat with a small amount of fat, it was really lovely, the seal meat next to the bone is just amazing. There is caribou in the community freezer, we will have that tomorrow if we don’t go camping. There was also immakpalijuq, fish cakes, like Japanese kamaboko but nicer, using white river fish, and frying with flour, it was amazing. We spent time on syllabics after dinner, and wrote out our names, and went over the standard introductions again, I was tired when the sun went down finally but it was already after 1030, I slept around midnight.

Today the weather is fantastic and J* says that we can go hunting ☺ this is very exciting, I am glad that I have my boots, I showed them to Jimisi, he said they are good, they are the same boots that he uses ☺ this morning I read over my vocabulary, many of the meanings are different, when I said “ aakkuluk” everybody roared with laughter, it’s supposed to mean “what a sweet little thing” in my book but it turns out I just declared by undying love…hmmm… ☺

Inukjuaq 2

As I got off the plane, I was wondering whether I would be met at the airport by my contacts from Avataq. The small plane had made me feel sick to my stomach on several occasions in the turbulence and I was feeling woozy. There were 3 other Qablunaat who disembarked and all the other passengers who got off were Inuk. Everyone was met warmly, I saw lots of young children slung traditionally over the back wrapped in swaddling, they looked a lot warmer than I was ☺ As I explored the small airport reading the job announcements from Makivik I was greeted by Nancy Palliser from Avataq! I was relieved, got my bags and we went outside, I saw a small army of Honda ATVs loading passengers, everyone was speaking Inuttitut. Nancy led me to her Jeep Cherokee and we loaded up, she drove around Inukjuaq giving me my first view of my new home. It is a very attractive place with colorful houses and everything seems to be right on the Hudson Bay or the river. The air is so fresh it tastes so good. She dropped me off at my new family’s house., a wonderful house!
I have an Inuk mother and father, they are off on the land, my younger sister has 3 children, older brother returned from hunting yesterday with a seal and good fish. Younger brother has started to get interested in stylish clothes, he looks shyly at me but we have not yet spoken. Older sister teaches Inuttitut at the school. Everyone speaks Inuttitut at home.
I told them in Inuttitut that I like seal, (I have never tried it but want to), immediately the knife came out, the seal meat was removed from the freezer and chunks of raw seal began appearing on my plate. The frozen seal tastes fantastic, texture like raw maguro or horse sashimi in Japan, but richer, very deep tasting, I felt much better after eating the seal.
We spoke a lot, younger sister can speak English, no one speaks French (ouiouititut) (from the French oui, oui!) very well, surprising as this is Nunavik northern, Québec. I am impressed again by the health and fluency of Inuttitut but dismayed that many of the Inuktitut patterns that I memorized are not understood, I am corrected in some of my pronunciations, laughed at, make adjustments, need to rememorize and relearn the differences in the Inuttitut (Nunavik) dialect.
My head is pounding and I need to lie down, I slept for an hour and woke up feeling better. Younger sister and her friend are talking about Bebo, this is social networking, I ask if they like computers, I am impressed by their knowledge, they like msn.ca for chat and yahoo mail, but Bebo is how they stay in touch and get to know other Inuit from other communities, they do not like myspace, bebo is the way to go for them, but they cannot type in syllabics on bebo they say, they use English or typing in Inuttitut using romaji/roman keyboard. They both seem very computer literate. They are watching a US channel on TV. Today: Mccain drink packs, barbie@ Mattel, Fritos, skateboard contest sponsored by fruit roll-ups, Much Music, divas, Avril Lavigne.
Got out my down jacket and went outside, younger brother Jamisi is having a cigarette (I can see tobacco is very popular here, I see many packs of Du Maurier cigarettes, I learn that these cost $14 per pack). I ask him if he wants to take a walk, we walk to the shore together. Arctic Chat nets are drying on the beach, canoes are stacked along the water’s edge, each has a 40 or 50HP 4stroke outboard engine. He tells me that many rifles (qukiuti) are stored in the sheds, he has scopes, he uses shotguns for ducks, he can shoot more than one duck at a time. He tells me headshots are best for seals, seals float in the fall and sink in the summer *, I wonder how this can be so, I am told that this is due to the varying fat content. I learn that we are to go on hunting expeditions together when we go ‘camping’. I learn that camping here is much different than camping that I am used to, here is means a hunting expedition, we may not return for a while. I am excited, the sun is setting, the colors are very beautiful, I am told that northern lights are good here in the winter. The air is so fresh, breathing is a pleasure. Two boys ride up on their bikes, they are happy to see me, they want me to take pictures of their stunts, they cheer in Inuttitut, they do some radical jumps, they are fearless, one crashes, laughing and shouting, these are happy boys. We take a walk around town, he shows me the radio station, I notice the huge satellite dishes. I see the museum, Avataq and Makivik offices, school, community center, we pass the stores (co-op and Northern, co-op is cheaper), children everywhere! Riding up to me with curiosity, I am asked for gum, I don’t have any, ‘then I hate you’ shouted by a grinning girl, everybody laughs, I yell ‘thanks’ in Inuttitut, this generates roars of approval by the children, bicycles all over the place, this is great fun. We pass a carver Jamisi tells me not to buy yet, there is much better work around. We move to the museum, I will visit soon. I am shown the library, then Avataq, a boy yells in Inuttitut, jamisi laughs loudly and well, I love the way that Inuit laugh, it is very deep and pure, I ask what he said, it was ‘doesn’t he have eyes?”, I am wearing sunglasses at 9pm, the light is very bright, I laugh too, humor is found everywhere here. Jamisi observes everything, but we don’t speak often. When we do speak, it is short and to the point, but always with shining eyes, I am reminded of Japan, conversations with Watanabe, always deep but with few words, this is a spiritual place I can feel it. We pass the church, I ask if everyone goes, I am told ‘not really’, perhaps church popularity has waned? In our Inuk home though there are many Christian pictures and relics. I need to look into this more.
We see a figure working on a deck, Jamisi tells me that it’s Andy Moorehouse, the former mayor of Inukjuaq who Donat Savoie told me about. I had been hoping to meet. We greet each other warmly, he remembers my email, I see this is a man of skill and education, He radiates strength and confidence, he looks as comfortable hunting as he would be negotiating with politicians, this is a leader. I congratulate him on the library, he says it was a difficult project, but that it is operational, Internet running, Inuttitut books available for my research. This is excellent news, I will be able to access my surveys on Catalyst at the UW.
We return home, there is more food waiting, chicken, garlic honey, this is good meat, everyone relishes meat, sucking fat off fingers, I am bone tired, up since 430, it is still light outside, but late, I sleep with clothes on, don’t remember falling asleep.

Inukjuaq

Journal Entry- Monday August 6, 2007.

I am here in the airport at kuujjuaraapik. It is raining, our Air Inuit plane is being refueled for the trip to Inukjuaq (Inujjuak). The atmosphere in the cabin was jovial, like a party. I spoke in French with a young female police officer who has been stationed in Nunavik for two years, then with a health worker, and then I tried my hand at Inuttitut with several Inuk who were watching a movie in front of me. That got a lot of attention, right away three of her friends started laughing at my attempts, but it was a lot of fun. I experimented with some verb endings (tutit), and that brought gales of laughter, as I was told that there was a second meaning to this word and that they would not explain it to me ☺ their meaning was clear though and I blushed furiously, they didn’t seem bothered in the least. I think that I am in for a real education in Inuttitut, I am looking forward to meeting the Avataq members in Inukjuaq and seeing the library that Donat Savoie told me about.
I can see the coast of the Hudson Bay behind me, it’s cold out. I am glad that I brought heavy jackets.


It’s morning on Tuesday, 6:21am. I woke up early this morning, exhausted last night but amazed at yesterday’s events. I’ll sum up what happened after we took off from kuujjuaraapik yesterday. Once the place was refueled we were told to make our way back to the aircraft. As we were walking to the DC-8 a qimmiq sled dog mounted a female right on the tarmac and began furiously copulating. This caused everyone to erupt into gales of laughter. As we began climbing the stairs, the dogs stood end to end but were stuck together. The Air Inuit staff tried to get them away from the plane but they yelped and ran under the landing gear. After I boarded and sat down we could hear their yelps of discontent as the technicians tried unsuccessfully to catch them, we were watching the pair of painfully connected dogs crashing against the wheels, all the while the Inuit onboard were announcing comments in Inuttitut that caused the whole cabin to shake with the laughter and back slapping … It took about 10 minutes to get the dogs off the runway (there were many). After the plane took off (Anne-Marie*) and I spoke again about her police duties in Povungnituq. Often calls involve domestic quarrels, but a main concern of northern officers is weaponry, hunting culture leads to easily available high-powered rifles with scopes. She said that bulletproof vests are not regularly worn, while they would stop a shotgun blast, rifles still penetrate. She was just beginning a 4 month contract, she told me about the philosophy of Canadian police forces in the north, I was impressed with her community spirit and positive attitude. She will be away from her family the whole time, the only way to return south is for a prisoner transfer. I enjoyed our conversation and said goodbye after we landed at Inukjuaq.
(Just an aside- at the airport, I saw a man with an OMS technical diving shirt at the airport in Montréal. I spoke with him and his friend asking them about scuba in the north. Turns out that they were the directors of Nunavik Arctic Adventures and just getting their new cold water technical scuba program underway. They are based in Povungnituk and invited me to dive with them. An unexpected opportunity).
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