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.