Why We Should Read: Split Tooth

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By Tanya Tagaq

As an Inuk artist who grew up in Nunavut, Tanya Tagaq offers striking descriptions of the north – her sensory descriptions of the cold give a deep visceral feeling of the Arctic. Of the scope and grandeur, she says, ‘I can only imagine the power that was blown around the land on massive winds unhindered by Christianity.’ Combining fictionalized memoir, poetry, and illustrations, Split Tooth creates a genre all its own.

Starting with realistic depictions of day-to-day life – showing what it was like to be a teenager in that sometimes mean environment – Tagaq moves into the spirit world and connections with the land, pain being the doorway to the other realm. While the book portrays so much abuse endured, it also shows the healing power of laughter, and the wisdom of children, suggesting that children are also our elders.

Between the covers of this small book, Tagaq presents so many different aspects of one life. Some may struggle as it is not in a form we expect – but shouldn’t we sometimes be left thinking and wondering? Maybe part of the message is that humans can’t understand it fully… Or perhaps it is colonized minds that cannot. Tagaq says, ‘I have never understood why foreigners will imagine themselves extreme adventurers while the stewards of the land observe with a chortle. We have always been here. Aren’t we adventurous? How presumptuous it is to assume that an experience is limited to your own two eyes.’

The book touches powerfully on intergenerational trauma (‘famine can live in your bones and be passed on to future generations just like your hair colour’), being at one with the land (‘we destroy her with the same measured ignorance of a self-harming teenager’), and healing (‘what keeps you alive in crisis can kill you once you are free’). Tagaq’s creation will keep you pondering long after you turn the last page.

The Warmland Book and Film Collective – a response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – explores, celebrates, and learns from Indigenous authors and filmmakers. We are welcoming new members – if you enjoy friendly, spirited and interesting conversation, email us at WarmlandBFC@gmail.com for the zoom link. We next meet online Dec 8th to discuss Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead.

Submitted by Ranji & David