Inuit Art Quarterly - Storytelling: Speaking to the Past and Future

IN THIS ISSUE:

Storytelling

Speaking to the Past and Future

True to Life Getting Personal with Elisapie — A Flash in the Ice Pan Four Writers to Know — Encore! Encore!

Producing an Inuit Epic Onstage

CONTENTS

34.1

Inuit Art Quarterly Storytelling

Front

Features

Back PRODUCTION NOTES

05 From the Editor 06 Contributors

66 Kiviuq Returns

by Laakkuluk Williamson

Bathory and Vinnie Karetak

08 Impact Update

72 News

5 WORKS

LAST LOOK

18 In Transition

76 Inuit Art Icons in Comics

CHOICE

20 Yup’ik Yaaruin (Storyknife)

by Dawn Biddison CHOICE

22 Jessie Oonark

by Kajola Morewood PROFILE

24 Hannah Tooktoo

by Emily Henderson 29

IAQ Shorts

by Jamesie Fournier, Alberta Rose W./Igniq, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona and Curtis Mesher

Today’s Storytellers: combining the text and visual chronicles of contemporary creators.

38 Mirror Image

by Jolene Banning

How Elisapie’s music reflects her personal strengths and community connections.

48 Bringing Legends to Life

How illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok uses her work to preserve oral history.

© INUIT ART FOUNDATION

ABOVE

PORTFOLIO

56 Sculpting the Verse

Four traditional Inuktitut

ON THE COVER

Napatsi Folger (b. 1983 Iqaluit) — Karoo Ashevak (detail) 2020 Acrylic paint and gel pen 21.6 × 27.9 cm

poems and carvings to match.

Portrait of Elisapie © JONATHAN BRISEBOIS

LEFT

Zebede Evaluardjuk-Fournier (b. 1985 Yellowknife) — See Me After Class 2021 COURTESY THE ARTIST

Storytelling

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Front

MASTHEAD PUBLISHER

EDITORIAL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Inuit Art Quarterly is published by the Inuit Art Foundation.

Executive Director and Publisher Alysa Procida

President Heather Igloliorte Montreal, QC

Editorial Director Britt Gallpen

Eric Anoee Jr. Arviat, NU

Deputy Editor Sue Carter

Reneltta Arluk Banff, AB

Managing Editor Kassina Ryder

Jamie Cameron Toronto, ON

Online Editor Jessica MacDonald

Linda Grussani Ottawa, ON

Profiles Editor Emily Henderson

Michael Massie Kippens, NL

Audio-Visual Editor Melodie Sammurtok-Lavallée

Ryan Rice Toronto, ON

Established in 1987, the Inuit Art Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organization that provides support to Canada’s Inuit arts communities and is the sole national body mandated to promote Inuit artists and art within Canada and internationally.

This magazine relies on donations made to the Inuit Art Foundation, a registered charitable organization in Canada (BN #121033724RR0001) and the United States (#980140282).

The Inuit Art Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada through contributions from the Reconciliation Secretariat at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage, as well as the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Creates.

Subscriptions subscribe@inuitartfoundation.org Canada: $33/yr. Excludes GST/HST. US: $44/yr. Elsewhere: $48/yr.

GST/HST #121033724RT0001.

The Inuit Art Quarterly is a member of Magazines Canada.

Publication date of this issue: March 15, 2021 ISSN 0831-6708 Publication Mail Agreement #40050252 Postmaster send address changes to Inuit Art Foundation.

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Inuit Art Foundation 1655 Dupont Street Toronto, ON, M6P 3T1 (647) 498-7717 inuitartfoundation.org ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. THE INUIT ART QUARTERLY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR UNSOLICITED MATERIAL. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE INUIT ART QUARTERLY ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE INUIT ART FOUNDATION. PRINTED IN CANADA. DISTRIBUTED BY MAGAZINES CANADA. FROM TIME TO TIME WE MAKE OUR SUBSCRIBERS’ NAMES AVAILABLE TO COMPANIES WHOSE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES WE FEEL MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU. TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THESE MAILINGS, PLEASE SEND YOUR REQUEST, ALONG WITH A COPY OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION MAILING LABEL, TO THE ADDRESS ABOVE.

Contributing Editor Napatsi Folger Contributing Editor Profiles Bronson Jacque Contributing Editor Online Leanne Inuarak-Dall Copy Editor Lisa Frenette Fact Checker Amy Prouty Advertising Manager Nicholas Wattson Art Director Matthew Hoffman Colour Gas Company Printing Interprovincial Group —

FOUNDATION Strategic Initiatives Director Heather Campbell Igloo Tag Coordinator Blandina Attaarjuaq Makkik

Artist Services Manager Jon Lockyer Inuvialuit Settlement Region Community Liaison Darcie Bernhardt

Development Manager Christa Ouimet

Nunatsiavut Community Liaison Holly Andersen

Administrative Assistant Brittany Holliss

Nunavik Community Liaison Nancy Saunders

Executive Assistant Alyson Hardwick

Nunavut Community Liaison Jesse Tungilik

Archival Technician Graphic Materials Arwa El Hussein

Southern Canada Community Liaison Alberta Rose Williams

—

EDITORIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Mary Dailey Desmarais Kim Latreille Samia Madwar Sarah Milroy

Inuit Art Quarterly

Taqralik Partridge Dominique Ritter Elizabeth Qulaut

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Spring 2021

FROM THE EDITOR

Stories have power for both the storyteller, and the listener or reader. They shape our understanding of the world, the people in it and our relationships to each other. Who tells the stories we hear, and in what language, is central to the power of any story. At its core, each issue of the IAQ is a collection of stories that connects us with artists. In this issue, the process of telling these stories and the voices of authors are front and centre.

Our ideas of what Inuit art is, or can be, has been shaped by the stories we have read.

Yet, until recently, we rarely heard from Inuit artists themselves.

What might change when Inuit tell their own stories, in their own words and in their own language? Does our understanding of art and artmaking change? The artists and writers published throughout this issue offer various answers to these questions, but all share a through line: the power shifts profoundly back to artists, and we can see their work in a different and compelling light.

The cover of this issue confronts this subject directly by reproducing one cell of Karoo Ashevak (2020) by Inuit comic artist Napatsi Folger, which is reproduced in full in Last Look. An internationally celebrated artist, the works of Ashevak (1940–1974) are often interpreted as elegant examples of primitivism, the aesthetics of which are deeply rooted in an imagined past. However, when Folger gives them voice, they are unequivocally contemporary, protesting, “We’re modern expressionist, bro!”

Voice is a critical theme explored throughout the issue. Jolene Banning’s Feature interview with musical superstar Elisapie offers a revealing portrait of how her music is deeply intertwined with the communities she calls home. As in music, narrative can be the driving force of creative writing and visual art. The short stories by Jamesie Fournier, Alberta Rose W./Igniq, Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona and Curtis Mesher serve as imaginative companions to works of art by Zebede Evaluardjuk-Fournier, Kablusiak, Couzyn van Heuvelen and Jennifer

La Page, respectively. The intimate relationships between these artists’ works create a broader story about artistic inspiration and the important connections forged through storytelling.

Inuit storytelling stretches back to time immemorial, and enduring myths continue to inform work made today, connecting past and present. The Interview with acclaimed artist Germaine Arnaktauyok explores her personal connections to ancient stories and how they impacted her work and career. This issue’s Production Notes features a discussion between Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Vinnie Karetak, who both directed theatrical productions of Kiviuq Returns.

Each reflects on the powerful process of bringing this epic legend to life and centring Inuit language for audiences across Canada.

Finally, Portfolio pairs a range of stunning sculptures with ancient poems, reclaimed from English in a modern Inuktitut translation.

The stories we hear, and from whom, can have profound effects on us and the world around us in ways that are not immediately apparent and that we cannot always anticipate.

I hope this issue provides you with some new voices and new perspectives. This issue would not be possible without our incredible community of artists, writers and supporters.

Thank you for helping to bring these stories to light. May they bring you joy, inspire you and keep you connected to the art we all love as we emerge from winter into the brightness of spring.

Britt Gallpen Editorial Director

ABOVE

Saimaiyu Akesuk (b. 1988 Kinngait) — Reflection 2013 Printmaker Qiatsuq Niviaqsi Stonecut and stencil 55.8 × 51 cm REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION DORSET FINE ARTS © THE ARTIST

Storytelling

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Front

MEET THE CONTRIBUTORS

Jolene Banning

Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona

Curtis Mesher

Jolene Banning is an Anishinaabe-kwe journalist, writer and storyteller whose documentary, podcasting and written work highlights Anishinaabe resilience and culture, and how it intersects with colonialism in northwestern Ontario and across Canada.

Banning, who was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Journalists for Human Rights benefit gala in Toronto, has appeared in The Globe and Mail, CBC News, Canadaland and Makwa Creative. PAGE 38

Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona is an Inuit artist and writer currently residing in Ottawa. She believes art and writing are valuable tools to express herself in a broader way, and to make the world a little bit more Inuk. Her short story, “Utiqtuq,” appeared in Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories (2019), published by Inhabit Media. PAGE 35

Curtis Mesher is a photographer whose family is from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, QC, and Nunatsiavut, NL. Currently on a leave of absence from McGill Law, he resides in Kuujjuaq where he enjoys going on the land and feeding the grey jays out at his cabin. His main artistic interests include landscape photography, painting and writing poetry. PAGE 36

Vinnie Karetak

Alberta Rose W./Igniq

Vinnie Karetak is a cultural icon in Inuit Nunangat, instantly recognized by Inuit young and old for his work in comedy, journalism, television, theatre and film. He is known for starring in the much beloved APTN show Qanurli, as well as his own short films, advocating for an Inuit performing arts centre in Nunavut, and co-creating Kiviuq Returns— a 100 per cent Inuktitut play that has toured nationally. Vinnie is passionate about Inuktitut and its rightful place as the working language in Nunavut, Inuit creating art for Inuit, processes of communication that challenge colonization, and Inuit family connections.

Originally from Arviat, NU, Vinnie lives in Iqaluit with his wife and children. PAGE 66

Alberta Rose W./Igniq is an Inuit artist, writer and activist born and raised in Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, AB, whose work often addresses Indigeneity, loss and personal history. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from Alberta University of the Arts, and spent 18 months at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity before working as a youth mentor for Alberta’s Future Leaders. She continues to cultivate her art practice while working as a Community Liaison at the Inuit Art Foundation. PAGE 32

Jamesie Fournier An Inuk in Denendeh, Jamesie Fournier lives in Thebacha/Fort Smith between Salt River First Nation and Smith’s Landing First Nation. He was a guest author at the NorthWords Writers Festival in 2018 and 2020, and a runner-up for Up Here Magazine’s 2018 Sally Manning Award for Indigenous Creative Non-Fiction. His work has appeared in Inuit Art Quarterly, Red Rising Magazine and Northern Public Affairs. His first publication was in the 2012 NorthWords anthology, Coming Home: Stories from the Northwest Territories. PAGE 31

Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory is a kalaaleq (Greenlandic Inuk) performance artist, poet, actor, curator, storyteller and writer.

She is known for performing uaajeerneq, a Greenlandic mask dance. She performs internationally, collaborates with other artists and is a fierce advocate for Inuit artists.

She lives in Iqaluit, NU, with her husband and three children. PAGE 66

LEFT

Couzyn van Heuvelen’s 3-D model rendering for his sculpture Qamutiik, 2019 COURTESY THE ARTIST

OPPOSITE (BOTTOM LEFT)

“This piece was created first in a 3-D modelling program as a two-piece contour drawing of the runners and the hapook before being sent for production. It was actually cut out by a countertop place using a CNC machine— they were the only vendors willing to try working with such a thin piece of stone! Although it only takes a few hours to put together, it’s a nerve-racking piece to move or assemble because it’s both heavy and delicate.”

COUZYN VAN HEUVELEN SEE THE FINAL WORK ON PAGE 34

Check out this issue’s artists at inuitartfoundation.org/iad Inuit Art Quarterly

Napatsi Folger (b. 1983 Iqaluit) — Helen Kalvak (detail) 2020 Pen and alcohol markers 21.6 × 27.9 cm © INUIT ART FOUNDATION

OPPOSITE (ABOVE)

Inuit Art Quarterly cover, 2021 © INUIT ART FOUNDATION

OPPOSITE (RIGHT)

Karoo Ashevak (1940–1974 Talurjuaq) — Untitled (Spirit Figure) c. 1970–74 Whale bone, walrus ivory, baleen and stone 22.5 × 31.5 × 19 cm COURTESY HOOD MUSEUM OF ART, DARTMOUTH

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Spring 2021

CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT

Napatsi Folger An Inuk comic artist and writer from Iqaluit, NU, Napatsi Folger resides in Vancouver, BC, where she is completing an MFA at the University of British Columbia. Her work has appeared in The Walrus, The Puritan Literary Magazine, Matrix Magazine, and Taddle Creek, among others, and her first book, Joy of Apex, was published by Inhabit Media in 2011.

As a contributing editor for Inuit Art Quarterly, Folger produced a limited series of comics at IAQ Online in 2020, the final of which is featured on this issue’s cover. The Inuit Art Icons in Comics series draws its inspiration from the unique style of each artist, using real-life works and quotes, in addition to Folger’s own experiences, to

form original narratives from the legacies left behind by giants in the Inuit art world such as Kenojuak Ashevak, Helen Kalvak, Joe Talirunili, or Tivi Etook.

This panel from her Karoo Ashevak comic made it to the cover of our Spring issue because of the new life it breathes into a beloved piece of the past, activating a conversation with us as viewers or even as listeners about the place of Inuit in broader art movements. Folger has taken the signature details of Ashevak’s sculpture—a highly expressive face stretched from front to back, a gaping mouth and a tipped-forward, assertive pose— and given it a similarly assertive opinion on modern art history and Ashevak’s place in it.

Find the whole series at inuitartfoundation.org/ iconsincomics Storytelling

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Front

THANK YOU

Donors make all the difference IAF Tunisijut Circle With annual gifts of $1,000 or more, this incredibly dedicated group provides critical support to connect artists with opportunities and make an extraordinary impact. $125,000+ RBC Foundation $75,000–$99,999 The John and Marian Scott Charitable Trust $25,000–$49,999 Willmott Bruce Hunter Foundation Power Corporation of Canada TD Bank Group / The Ready Commitment $10,000–$24,999 First Arts

IAF Taqqitamaat Tunisijut Circle The Taqqitamaat Tunisijut Circle is a special group of donors who give monthly to sustain the IAF and create opportunities for artists.

Inuit Art Quarterly

HMH Capital Corporation/ Hugh Hall John and Joyce Price The Herb and Cece Schreiber Foundation and one anonymous donor [1 ]

Harper, in honour of Christa Ouimet The Radlett Foundation Frances Scheidel, in memory of Thomas M. Scheidel

Monthly supporter Endowment supporter Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award

supporter Inuit Art Quarterly supporter IAQ Profiles supporter

Artist Services supporter

$2,500–$4,999 David Forrest Huit Huit Tours Ltd. and Cape Dorset Inuit Art Jackman Foundation Hesty Leibtag Susan Ollila Danielle Ouimet and Paul

$1,000–$2,499 James R. Abel, in honour of Xanthipi L. Abel Nakasuk Alariaq Lewis Auerbach and Barbara Legowski Jim Bader and Merri Van Dyke Patricia Bovey Shary Boyle Gabrielle Campbell Ross A. Caton Stephanie Comer and Rob Craigie Neil Devitt Marian Dodds, in honour of Dedie Dodds Arthur Drache CM, QC and Judy Young Drache Jon and Val Eliassen Eleanor Erikson Fath Group/O’Hanlon Paving Ltd.

Patricia Feheley Robert and Karlen Fellows Linda Forbes, with thanks to Dr. James Bader DVM from Merrick Veterinary Practice Janice Gonsalves Susan Hawkins Inuit Art Society Kalaman + Demetriou (K+D) Monty Kehl and Craig Wilbanks Joyce Keltie Charles Kingsley Katarina Kupca Dr. Simon Lappi Ann and Michael Lesk Kathleen Lippa Maija M. Lutz and Peter A. Tassia David and Liz Macdonald The MacDonald Griffin Charitable Foundation Christie MacInnes Susan Marrier Kathryn C. Minard Elizabeth Mitchell and Stephen Lloyd Allan Newell Mary Nirlungayuk, on behalf

Amy Adams Nakasuk Alariaq Lea Algar-Moscoe Mary Anglim Andrea Arnold Stephen Baker Vincent and Barbara Barresi Molly Blyth Christopher Bredt and Jamie Cameron Tobi Bruce

Catherine Campbell Claudia Christian Catherine Dean Celia Denov Hal Dietz Donald and Pat Dodds Kate Doorly Sophie Dorais Mathieu Doucette Melanie Egan Leslie Eisenberg Lynn Feasey

Britt Gallpen and Travis Vakenti Anik Glaude Dr. Andrew Gotowiec Barbara Hale Lisa R. Hartman Shawn Hassell Dianne Hayman Brittany Holliss Amy Jenkins Rozanne Junker Katarina Kupca

$5,000–$9,999 Christopher Bredt and Jamie Cameron Susan Carter Andrew Chodos, in honour of frontline Covid-19 workers Donald and Pat Dodds Elske and Jim Kofman Marion Scott Gallery Patrick Odier and one anonymous donor

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Spring 2021

THANK YOU

The Ikajuqtiit Circle changes lives all year long.

Members of the Ikajuqtiit Circle—those who help—are caring donors who protect and nurture the Inuit art community.

As Ikajuqtiit Circle members, you provide opportunities for artists to explore their practices, learn new skills and grow. You raise global awareness and appreciation of Inuit art.

The generous Ikajuqtiit Circle members listed in these pages make all this and more possible. Your support is especially critical now in these uncertain times. Thank you!

Gifts made between December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020.

of Member Co-operatives in Canada’s Arctic in support of their arts Constance Pathy Joram and Lona Piatigorsky Paul and Carole Pizzolante Ann Posen, in honour of David Braidberg Andrew and Valerie Pringle Alysa Procida and Kevin Stewart Shirley Richardson Deborah and Sandy Riley Celine Saucier Michael, Melanie and Eliyah Southern David Sproule, in memory of Jean Katherine Sproule Barbara Turner Gail Vanstone Manon Vennat CM Westchester Community Foundation, Bell-Jacoby Family Fund Norman Zepp and Judith Varga Zynga and two anonymous donors [2 ]

Illannarijaujut Tunngavinngmit

Rebecca Lee, in honour of David Lee Mike and Cindy MacMillan Samia Madwar, in memory of Hazar Sawaf Michael Martens, in memory of Miriam Bordofsky Roxanne McCaig Kathleen and Brian Metcalfe Elizabeth Mitchell and Stephen Lloyd

$500–$999 Arctic Co-operatives Limited Carole Ahmad and Family Alaska on Madison Paul and Ellen Alkon Eleanor Allgood Shelley Ambrose Blair Assaly Stephen Baker Vincent and Barbara Barresi Jean Blane Rev. Gary Boratto Elise Brais Suzanne Brais, in memory of Clare and Phil Brais Tobi Bruce Lisa-Margaret Bryan Jamie Cameron, in honour of Jeanette Power Jamie Cameron, in honour of Judy Hauserman Catherine Campbell CarData - John Domsy

Lili Chester Geoffrey and Martha Clark Yvonne C. Condell Mary-Dailey and Paul Desmarais III Hal Dietz Nathalie Ducamp Lyyli Elliott Harald Finkler and Nadine Nickner Yvonne and David Fleck Susan Gallpen Peter and Deirdre Gardner Gillian Graham Linda Grussani P. Hall Cary Hart, in memoriam of Margaret Smith-Burke Sally Hart Molly K. Heines and Thomas J. Moloney Bryan Hellwig, Iqaluit Nunavut Carol Heppenstall Rick Hiebert Margaret and Roger Horton Chuck Hudson

Christine Hunter, in honour of Susan Hawkins Heather Igloliorte and Mathew Brulotte Lou Jungheim and Thalia Nicas Carola Kaegi Drs. Charles Kennel and Ellen Lehman Dwaine and Leslie King Rawlson King Jerry and Gail Korpan Mary Kostman Lori Labatt Val Lem Linda Lewis Mark London Blandina Makkik and Greg Rogers in memory of Amelia and Paul Angilirq Michael Martens, in memory of Miriam Bordofsky The Honourable Paul Mayer Kathleen and Brian Metcalfe Mary-Ann Metrick, in memory of Cécile Metrick Metrix Lee and Sharon Oberlander

Stephen Morris, in memory of Aqjangayuk Shaa Clifford Papke Aarohi Patel Kara Pearce Ann Posen, in honour of David Braidberg Alysa Procida and Kevin Stewart Eva Riis-Culver Bruno Savoie Leslie Saxon West

Joanne Schmidt, in loving memory of Gail Schmidt Michael and Melanie Southern Joyce and Fred Sparling C. Spencer David Sproule, in memory of Jean Katherine Sproule Suncor Energy Jacek Szulc Emilie Tremblay Gail Vanstone

Nicholas Wattson Gord and Laurie Webster Claude M. Weil, in honour of Jim Shirley Elka Weinstein Peggy J. Weller Kim Wiebe and Aubrey Margolis Jayne Wilkinson Rahim Yeung Anonymous Inuit Art appreciator and five more monthly anonymous donors

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO SUPPORT ARTISTS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 647-498-7717 OR VISIT US ONLINE AT INUITARTFOUNDATION.ORG. AS A REGISTERED CHARITY IN CANADA (#121033724RR001) AND THE UNITED STATES (#980140282), THE IAF WELCOMES DONATIONS, SPONSORSHIPS, LEGACY GIFTS AND IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.

Storytelling

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Front

THANK YOU

Kyle Natkusiak Aleekuk is a visual artist based in Edmonton.

Aleekuk explored the influence of his ancestors, grandfather Peter Aliknak Banksland and great-aunt Agnes Nanogak Goose, on his artwork in his first major feature for the IAQ in the fall of 2020.

Aleekuk has written a heartfelt letter to members of the Ikajuqtiit Circle which we have shared on page 15 of this issue.

COURTESY THE ARTIST PHOTO RHIANNON SARAH

Clifford Papke Martin Pâquet Frank Reid and Amparo Maya Bruce Roberts Kerstin Roger Margerit Roger, in memory of Dieter Roger Susan Rowley Leslie Saxon West Joanne Schmidt, in loving memory of Gail Schmidt Richard Sourkes Harriet Stairs Amalia Steinberg Suncor Energy Marie-Josée Therrien Jay and Deborah Thomson Carol J. Thrun Joel Umlas Paddy Wales Jaan Whitehead Kim Wiebe and Aubrey Margolis Catherine Wilkes Rahim Yeung Mark and Margie Zivin and four anonymous donors [1 ,4 ] $250–$499 Manasie Paniloo Akpaliapik

John and Sylvia Aldrich Mary Anglim Sue Asquith Elizabeth Ball, in memory of Thomas G. Fowler Devony Baugh Heather Beecroft Carol and Brian Belchamber Marc Bendick Jr., in honour of Adventure Canada Jurg and Christel Bieri Francois Boucher Chris Bredt and Jamie Cameron, in honour of Constance Bredt Chris Bredt and Jamie Cameron, in honour of Dorothy Cameron Stephen Bulger Laurence Castella Susan Charlesworth Clive Clark L.E. Cleman, in memory of Fred Cleman Louise Collins Cowley Abbott Canadian Fine Art Clint Davis and Hillary Thatcher Celia Denov Kate Doorly Sophie Dorais

Melanie Egan Lynne and John Eramo Leah Erickson, in honour of all Inuit artists Britt Gallpen and Travis Vakenti Paul G. Gemmiti Deborah D. Gordon Dr. Andrew Gotowiec Carol Gray Mark Gustafson Barbara Hale Linda Ham Tekla Harms Ainslie Harvey Clive Harvey Shawn Hassell Dianne Hayman Laurie Herd Charles J. Hilton Debby and Brian Hirsch David Homan Warren Howard Marion “Mame” Jackson Drs. Laurence and Katherine Jacobs Amy Jenkins Sharon Jorgens, with thanks to Erik Haites Melinda Jose Sonya Kelliher-Combs

Nancy Keppelman and Mike Smerza Sharon Kozicki Daryl and Marilyn Logan Louise Logan Marie A. Loyer Simone Ludlow, on behalf of Max and Karl Crain Ann MacDonald Samia Madwar, in memory of Hazar Sawaf Nagesh Mahanthappa George E. Marcus Roxanne McCaig Elizabeth McKeown G. Lester and Phyllis McKinnon Robert Michaud Donna and Hal Olsen James Miller Nancy Moore Gabriel Moreau Scott Mullin Nanooq Inuit Art Mary Nelson Mike and Brenda Noone Shannon Norberg and Jarvis Hall S. O’Hara Hal and Donna Olsen Alex and Ann Maners Pappas Aarohi Patel

LEFT

From his vantage point in his living room, before he begins to paint, Kyle Natkusiak Aleekuk contemplates these images created more than 40 years earlier by his relatives. Aleekuk examines the innate affinity between his own artistic style and works by Agnes Nanogak Goose and Peter Aliknak Banksland in his first feature for the IAQ, “Family Lines,” allowing him to connect to his culture and family history.

COURTESY THE ARTIST

Inuit Art Quarterly

10

Spring 2021

THANK YOU

The IAQ has played an instrumental role in highlighting my work and has helped me reach new supporters of what I create. This is invaluable because now I am able to network with other creatives, which opens up more opportunity for collaboration and future projects. The exposure that the IAQ provides is extremely crucial in helping the next generation of artists find an audience, while continuing to honour the legacy of Inuit art.”

KYLE NATKUSIAK ALEEKUK

Kara Pearce Kate Permut Don Pether Mark Pincus Richard and Annette Pivnick Dave and Robin Procida Leslie Reid Jim and Shelly Renner Bruce Rice Sheila Romalis, in memory of Lorne Balshine Michael Ryan, in honour of Patricia Ryan Judith Rycus Paula Santrach Barbara F. Schweger Turid Senungetuk, in memory of Ron Senungetuk Mark Shiner Scott Snowden Joyce and Fred Sparling C. Spencer Cedar Swan Jacek Szulc E. Taubman Dr. Anne Vagi Erik Val Peg and Peter Van Brunt James and Louise Vesper Galerie d’art Vincent

Nicholas Wattson John Weber, in honour of Mary MacDonald Peggy J. Weller Karen Westrell and Bill Rosser Amanda Whitney Judy Wolfe Susan Wortzman Bea Zizlavsky and eleven anonymous donors [1 ,7 ]

Cathy Black Bladholm Family, in memory of Terry Bladholm Marjorie Blankstein CM, OM, LLD Molly Blyth Amanda Boetzkes Dianne Bohonis, in honour of Peter Bohonis Claus and Anne Borchardt Stephen and Hazel Borys Karen Bradfield Woody Brown and Christa Ouimet, in memory of Susan Oster David Burns Kevin Burns John and Elaine Butcher David Caesar Dorothy W. Caldwell Peter and Carol Camfield Mary F. Campbell Denise Cargill Paul E. Cawein Karen Coflin Bernie and Roger Caswell, in loving memory of Moya Antonia Gillett (O’Leary) Mark Cheetham and Elizabeth Harvey David Cherepacha Shelley Chochinov

$100–$249 Diane Abbey-Livingston and Jack Livingston Amy Adams Lea Algar-Moscoe Jane and Wallace Altes Beatriz Alvarez Eric Anoee Jr. Diana Antoon R. Armstrong Anne Claude Bacon Catherine Badke Eric Barnum Bob Ludwig and Susan Baum John Beck Diane Biehl Catherine Birt

Claudia Christian Jeffrey Cobb, in memory of Justin Lyman Cobb, III Carol Cole Brian and Lauri Connell, in memory of Claud Borchardt Norma Costas Donna Cowan Rob Cowley and Harmonie May Scott Cressman Charles Crockford Drs. Raymond and Charlene Currie Fred and Mary Cutler George Dark Gordon Davidson Catherine Dean Anne-Marie Delaunay-Danizio Emily Deming Paulette Dennis Machelle Denison, in memory of Claus Borchardt Tania De Rozario Emmanuelle Desrochers Diane and Daryl Howard Charitable Foundation Leanne Di Monte Nadine Di Monte Mathieu Doucette François Dumaine

RIGHT

Kyle Natkusiak Aleekuk discovered a relationship between the dark black lines and vivid colours of his ancestors’ artwork and his own style of tattoo art. So important to his artistic practice, Aleekuk bears tattooed images of his grandfather’s artwork on his arms as a tribute and reminder of this familial connection.

COURTESY THE ARTIST PHOTO RHIANNON SARAH

Storytelling

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Front

THANK YOU

Multidisciplinary artist Chantal Jung was introduced to IAQ readers in September 2020 in a dedicated Artist Spotlight newsletter and her vibrant collage portraits graced the Fall 2020 cover of the IAQ. Originally from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nunatsiavut, NL, she now resides in California, where she explores her ancestry and the relationship between flowers and identity through collage, short films, animation and zines.

COURTESY THE ARTIST

Leslie Eisenberg Pat English Valentin Erich Mihut, in the name of Orosz Kinga Keith R Evans QC Andy Fallas Lynn Feasey Dee Fenner and Charles Moss Robin Field Shirley Finfrock Sibyl Frei Ed Friedman Paula Frisch Joanne and Richard Fuerst Surabhi Ghosh, in honour of Jashiben Nayak Doreen Girling Anik Glaude Dolores Luis Gmitter Carole Gobeil Claire S. Gold Peter Gold and Athalie Joy Karen and George Gorsline Nelson Graburn in honour of Eli Sallualuk Qirnuajuak Puvirnitumiutak Patricia Grattan Jean Haalboom, in memory of Claus Paul Borchardt Dave Haber and Dominique Ritter

Liz Haines Erik Haites, on behalf of John Goeghegan Andrea Hamilton Celia Harte Lisa R. Hartman Ian Harvey Sara Hassan Jackie Hatherly-Martin and Keith Martin Janet Heagle Anne Hearn Heliographics Ingo Hessel Josh Heuman and Gary Horenkamp Brittany Holliss Albert and Femmeke Holthuis Jane Horner Dale Horwitz Jacqueline Hynes James Igloliorte Mandy Ilk Susan Ivory, in memory of Melvin A. Ivory Lynn Jackson Dr. J. Jackson-Thompson, in honour of Dr. Richard C. Thompson Lynne and Ed Jaffe Rozanne Junker

Nicolette Kaszor Jennipher Kean, in honour of Elizabeth O’Grady Cathy Kirkpatrick Lynne D. Klemmer A.B. Kliefoth MD Jo-Ann Kolmes Julie L’Heureux Christine Lalonde Dr. Virginia Lavin Carolyn Lawson Dianne Lawson Colleen Leduc Nancy Lee Rebecca Lee, in honour of David Lee William Lee Le Grand Élan Gordon Leggett Genevieve LeMoine, in honor of Meredith MacEachern Joe and Sandra Lintz Kenneth Lister Denis Longchamps Daniel Macdonald, in honour of David and Liz Macdonald Lois MacDonald Mike and Cindy MacMillan Catherine Madsen Alan Mak

Peter Malkin John Maounis, in honour of Margaret S. Bursaw Jan Manson Dr. Neil and Elaine Margolis Brett Marshall Jim and Mary Alice Mayerle Irene Mazurkewich Alison and Bruce McDonald Rick McGraw Lindsay McIntyre, in memory of Kumaa’naaq Tess Saare McLean Meesschaert-Verheyen Family Joanna Miazga Anna Rita Migliaccio Lise Morneau-Rousson and Yves Morneau Stephen Morris, in memory of Aqjangayuk Shaa Alexa and Robert Muller Sophia Muylwyk Suzanne Nash Gary Nelson Lou Nelson Linda Netten, Susan Newlove Tommy Niviaxie, Louisa L. O’Reilly Dr. Robert Olson

LEFT

For Chantal Jung, pairing flowers with portraits of friends and family uncovers personal and communal histories—something she explored in her works which comprised the Fall 2020 cover of the IAQ. In this collage work Jung pays tribute to her anânsiak by using images of aqpik flowers (also known as bakeapples or cloudberries) to enhance a found image from National Geographic magazine.

COURTESY THE ARTIST

Inuit Art Quarterly

12

Spring 2021

THANK YOU

As an artist, it can be difficult to connect to your audience and to know how your work is being received. Having my work chosen for the cover of the magazine was that connection. It is helping me to keep creating. Now I am thinking of new ways to explore my heritage in my art through film and pursuing international residency opportunities. I am excited for what is to come!”

CHANTAL JUNG

Carole and Peter Ouimet Maria Parsons William Phillips André Picard, in support of creation and dreaming A.A. Piccini Ed Pien William M. and LuAnn S. Polk Hélène Poulin William and Joanne Prieur Prue Rains Isabelle Ranger Sharlene Rankin Blaine Rapp Bayard D. Rea Timothy W. Reinig Ryan Rice Mark Rieger Eva Riis-Culver Miz Mickey Rinalli Marcia Rioux Tom Robbins Joan Robertson Janet Robinson Greg Rogers, in honour of Blandina Attaarjuaq Makkik, 2020 Gold winner for National Magazine Awards Short Feature Writing Anita Romaniuk

Gabriel J. Rosenberg MD Simon Rosenblum R.M. & Y.K. Rothenberg Charlie Rubin Margaret Rundall Kassie Ruth Lynne B. Sagalyn Joseph Salkowitz DMD Dr. Jinder Sall Alexa Samuels Bruno Savoie James Schmidt Matt Schmidt Iris Schweiger Jeffrey Seidman Douglas Selley Jean Servizi Kerren Shalanski Elika Shapiro Katrina Simmons, in memory of Claus Borchardt Scenery Slater Liz Smeloff Eleni Smolen Robert Stafford Elizabeth Steinbrueck Colleen Suche George Szabo Dr. Charles Haskell Tator C.K. Tessier

Hunter and Valerie Thompson Ann Tompkins Diana Trafford Emilie Tremblay Theresie Tungilik Roslyn Tunis Teri and Jerry Vakenti Judith Varney Burch Brenda and Robert Watson Mary Jo Watson Garnet Ward Lowell Waxman Gord and Laurie Webster Claude M. Weil, in honour of Jim Shirley Elka Weinstein Scott White Mark and Margaret Whitley Mike and Val Wiles Jayne Wilkinson Christopher Wood Dallas D. Young and twenty-two anonymous donors [3 , 1 , 13 , 1 ] Up to $99 A friend of Inuit Art Ariell Ahearn-Ligham Terry Allison Anne Altern

Susan Anthony Judy Archer Andrea Arnold Andrew and Lynn Barlow, in memory of Claus Borchardt John Barlow Pat Bavin Heather Belbin Eunice Bélidor Beverly Biderman Susanna Biro Catherine Black Seven Blond Alicia Bojkov Bill Bradley M.L. Breinig Laurie Anne Brewer Jennifer Brown Nicholas Brown Canada Helps Janet Chamberlain Nancy Cleman Maria Coates Jill Coles Zoe Colon Sylvie Cornez Dennis Crowley Anastasiia Danylova Shirley Dawe Jennifer Day

RIGHT

A fundamental theme in Chantal Jung’s collage work, which appeared on the cover of the Fall 2020 IAQ, is flowers. Jung is most comfortable surrounded by flowers, as they are deeply linked to her identity and practice.

In the work from her series introduced in the IAQ, she demonstrates how flowers can tell the stories of the land and the people from it.

COURTESY THE ARTIST

Storytelling

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Front

THANK YOU

Animator, filmmaker and visual artist Glenn Gear took part in a residency in Anchorage, Alaska, through the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center and the Inuit Art Foundation. For the Fall 2020 issue of the IAQ, he wrote about the Anchorage Museum’s collections and how handling Inuit artifacts has given him a new appreciation of the social and cultural context of the works.

Gear is also a supporter of the IAF. PHOTO LISA GRAVES

Tovah Delmont Sharon Dembo Wilfrid Denis and J. Poulin Noelle DeSouza Kristin Dowell Mary Edwards Stephanie Ellis Sherry Farrell Racette David and Lauren Feiglin Chun Fong Glenn Gear Rebecca Gimmi Susan Griswold T.E. Gruber Edward Guyette and Beth Vienot Erik Haites on behalf of Christa Ouimet Joseph Halmy Alissa Hamilton John A. Hanjian Kathryn Hanna Beatrice Hanson John Hart Deanna Haycock, for Chloe Gust Elizabeth Hayes, in memory of Claus Borchardt K.E. Heller-McRoberts Emily Henderson Mark Hirschman David Hollenberg and Linda Bantel in memory of John Maounis

Anna Holmes Home and Away Gallery Andrew P. Hubbertz Moira Hudgin Mark Igloliorte Cana Itchuaqiyaq Heather Jessiman Elwood Jimmy Yui Kawasakii Anne Kelly Rochelle Konn Nga Kotahi Aotearoa Peter Kovacik Nadia Kurd Gary and Susan Kurylo Magdalen Lau Gretchen Lawrie Niamh Leonard Jamie Lewis Pat and Ross MacCulloch Oriel MacLennan Daphne Wright and John Martin Michael Massie David and Maida Maxham Liam McKenna Marla Mckenna Patrick A McLean Joanna P McMann Connor Mellegers Mireille Menard A.C. Merrill Mary Jane Mikkelsen

Mrs. Margaret Morse Rachel Muir Sunita Nigam, in Honour of Jane Pankovitch Shadreck Nyathi Zella Osberg Annie Paquin Morna Paterson Louisa Pauyungie Sr. Robert Pilot Patricia Porteous Steve Potocny and Anne Milochik Henriette Ricou Elizabeth Robinson Marilyn Robinson Henrietta Roi Irene Rokaw Katie Rosa Robert Rosenbaum Dedicated to Paula and Paul Rostrup Jonathan Rutchik and family Rasoul Salehi Rosmarie Schreiber Claude Schryer Kathryn Scott, Patricia Scott Paul Shackel and Barbara Little Shelby Cindy Skrukwa Arlene Skull

Gregory Sonek Marjorie Sorrell Ann Sprayregen Martha Stewart Jennifer Stoots, in honour of Louie Palu and Chloe Coleman Tom Suber Gray Taylor Jowi Taylor, Six String Nation Bertha K. Thompson Amy Thompson Kitty Thorne Gunta Towsley, in the name of Anne Borchardt Darlene Tymn Patrizia In Villani Cocchi Peeranut Visetsuth Charles M. Voirin C. von Harringa Larysa Voss Nancy Walkling, in memory of Frank Walkling Ann and Marshall Webb Helen Webster Ellen Whelan Catherine E. Whitehead Daphne Young, for Grams, who loved every one of us Jean Zazelenchuk and thirteen anonymous donors [1 ,1 , 3 , 1 ]

The IAQ operates on a shoestring budget and I’m always amazed at the quality of the issues that come out and do so on time. So when I heard that there was a need to raise funds I wanted to help. I gave, and also wanted to support by donating my time and skills. That’s also part of the reason why I designed a button for the donors—to thank them for making sure the IAQ would continue.”

GLENN GEAR

Inuit Art Quarterly

14

Spring 2021

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MARCH 25

5 WORKS

In Transition IAF staff share their favourite works of transformation, adaptation and becoming

BELOW

OPPOSITE (LEFT)

Helen Kalvak (1901–1984 Ulukhaktok) — Sorcerer 1966 Stonecut 33 × 35.6 cm

Marion Tuu’luq (1910–2002 Qamani’tuaq) — Untitled c. 1978 Stroud, embroidery floss, thread and felt 119.4 × 83.8 cm

COURTESY WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO

COURTESY WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO

2/

Helen Kalvak, CM, RCA

Sorcerer (1966)

1/

Peter Morgan

The Legend Of The Woman Who Became A Narwhal (1976) Images of transformation often appear in Inuit art, inspired by the multitude of stories that feature transfigurations between living things.

These stories speak to the interconnectivity between Inuit and the natural world, and teach valuable lessons through the art of storytelling.

In this print, Peter Morgan (1951–2018) succinctly tells the story of a woman who, in order to escape an abusive husband who treats her like a sled dog, jumps into the icy ocean. Morgan is able to capture the exact moment of transformation, showing her sealskin amauti turning into the speckled

skin of a narwhal as she breaches the surface of the water.

The text tells us what happens next: “The husband, fearful of losing her, ran after her calling, ‘I love you and cannot lose you.

Come back.’” Her only answer was, “You whipped me.” Water, the life-giving element, serves as a medium for metamorphosis both physically and spiritually in this simple, yet impactful image.

Born in Kitlineq (Victoria Island), Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, the life and career of Helen Kalvak, CM, RCA (1901–1984) was one of duality and transformation. Though she converted to Christianity later in life, traditional teachings and influences are apparent in a great deal of Kalvak’s work, as exemplified in the stonecut relief print Sorcerer. The mammalian figure of the polar bear on the left and the sorcerer in human form on the right are in the process of transformation from human to bear, or bear to human. The shapeshifting sorcerer is rendered plainly in a rich red ochre that shows an uncanny symmetry between the two figures.

The strong, bold lines and monochrome colour are indicative of the style Kalvak and others pioneered through their work at the Ulukhaktok Arts Centre (formerly the Holman Eskimo Co-operative) in the 1960s and ’70s and their utilization of stonecut relief printing. This technique was both adaptive and practical and was widely used until the introduction of lithography in the late 1970s and stencil in the 1980s. Kalvak utilized all three techniques across her practice, indicative of the transformative nature of her abilities as an artist.

JON LOCKYER

Artist Services Manager

LEANNE INUARAK-DALL

Contributing Editor

ABOVE

Peter Morgan (1951–2018 Kangiqsualujjuaq) — The Legend Of The Woman Who Became A Narwhal 1976 Stonecut 54.5 × 74.3 cm COURTESY LA FÉDÉRATION DES COOPÉRATIVES DU NOUVEAU-QUÉBEC

Inuit Art Quarterly

18

Spring 2021

5 WORKS

3/

Marion Tuu’luq

Untitled (c. 1978) When I hear the word transformation I think of fantastical, half-human half-animal figures, but I don’t often think of the transformation of the materials as opposed to the subjects.

In this piece by textile artist Marion Tuu’luq (1910–2002), we see both. In an article published in the Spring 1989 issue of the IAQ, “Baker Lake Wall-Hangings: Starting From Scraps,” author Maria Muehlen speaks of Tuu’luq’s process of selecting leftover scraps of material to transform them into vibrant wall hangings. I am struck by how similar this process is to carving. The shape of the material inspires what the final image will be and the story is discovered along the way while being woven into every stitch.

I would suggest that this ritual of keen observation, recognition and revelation is integral to Inuit art itself. The concept of allowing the material to guide the artwork is masterfully executed in the creation and placement of the whimsical figures throughout Tuu’luq’s wall hanging.

HEATHER CAMPBELL

Strategic Initiatives Director

4/

Billy Gauthier

Shaman Transformation (2006) A shaman’s transformation is a metaphysical one, bridging our reality with the spiritual.

The respect and depth of coexistence between Inuit, nature and wildlife is made visual in the carving Shaman Transformation by celebrated artist Billy Gauthier. In alabaster and serpentinite, a shaman takes the first step out of his worldly kamiik. His snowy owl talons take hold of a wave of limestone, signifying the transition from humanity to a realm of spiritual flight. With a finger on the beating pulse of nature, walls lift and barriers evaporate. With this sculpture, Gauthier expertly orchestrates his materials into a symphony of mystique.

I cannot help but be struck by a sense of wonder while viewing this work.

Saimaiyu Akesuk

Untitled (2013) Craning their necks skyward and apart, this drawing of a two-headed, symmetrical avian creature marked artist Saimaiyu Akesuk’s introduction to the broader Inuit art world in 2013 when it graced the cover of the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection catalogue that same year. At 27, it was Akesuk’s first foray into professional artmaking—an endeavour that has seen her work exhibited and collected by major institutions, both at home and abroad, in the years since.

In this early drawing, Akesuk’s distinct colour palettes and signature compositional approach—the artist regularly explores mirrored or symmetrical central figures—are on full display. The work’s juicy orange and electric green, captured here in coloured pencil, were later embellished with patterned linework in the final print by printer Qiatsuq Niviaqsi, adding yet another layer of texture and movement to this dynamic scene. A fitting debut from Akesuk—and a taste of so much more to come.

BRITT GALLPEN

Editorial Director

LEFT

Billy Gauthier (b. 1978 Happy ValleyGoose Bay) — Shaman Transformation 2006 Alabaster, serpentinite and limestone 43 × 18 × 36 cm

BRONSON JACQUE

Contributing Editor

Storytelling

5/

COURTESY THE PEARYMACMILLAN ARCTIC MUSEUM, BOWDOIN COLLEGE PHOTO DEAN ABRAMSON

19

ABOVE

Saimaiyu Akesuk (b. 1988 Kinngait) — Untitled 2013 Graphite coloured pencil and ink 128 × 115 cm REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION DORSET FINE ARTS © THE ARTIST

Front

CHOICE

Unidentified artist The Yup’ik Yaaruin (Storyknife)

by Dawn Biddison

Inuit Art Quarterly

20

Spring 2021

CHOICE

OPPOSITE

BELOW

Unidentified artist (Kongiganak, Alaska) — Yaaruin (Storyknife) 1879 Walrus ivory and ink 19.1 × 27.9 cm

Drawing a story in the sand with an ivory storyknife in Bethel, Alaska, 1936 COURTESY MUSEUM RIETBERG (FHH 15-14) PHOTO HANS HIMMELHEBER

COLLECTION NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (E36576-0) COURTESY SMITHSONIAN ARCTIC STUDIES CENTER

This fall, while working from home due to COVID-19 like so many of us, one of my projects was a collaboration with Alaska Native culture-bearers to create distance-learning resources based on museum collections.

With children in mind, my thoughts turned to how we learn from playing games and how there are levels of meaning in both the games and the items used to play them. One example is the storyknife, called a yaaruin in Yugtun, the Yup’ik language.

To learn more about the yaaruin and to co-create an education unit on Alaska Native games, I contacted Veronica Kaganak, a Yup’ik culture-bearer and fluent speaker from Scammon Bay who is also a teacher, transcriber and translator. The finished education unit included an essay about the yaaruin written from a phone conversation Veronica had with Yup’ik Elder Vivian Jimmy, which was recorded and translated. Though a bit awkward and not as fruitful as speaking in person during a visit over ayut (tundra tea in Yugtun), both enjoyed sharing memories of playing with a yaaruin in their youth.

Vivian and Veronica learned how to tell stories with a yaaruin by watching other little girls. Veronica said they would spit on the mud and use their yaaruin “to make it very flat

Storytelling

and shiny,” then sketch figures for a story as they told it to their audience. They drew things like the layout and furniture of a house or scenes outside, imagining a life they wanted in the future. Veronica told me that although children in the Yup’ik community no longer play with a yaaruin, she shares this experience from her childhood by using a dry-erase marker and a whiteboard in her classroom to draw and tell stories.

The ivory yaaruin pictured was collected for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in 1879 from Kongiganak, a Yup’ik village in Southwest Alaska. Fathers and grandfathers sculpted them from ivory, antler, bone, wood or scrap metal into a shape similar to a large butter knife. Although girls outgrew using them, this one was made with great artistry and care and seems to be a clear demonstration of love for a daughter. Some storyknives held in museum collections are plain and some are embellished, but this yaaruin is exceptionally complex and beautifully detailed. There are many thoughtful elements: animal heads for the grip, a delicate face in profile at the tip, and near its centre, the circle-and-dot motif representing the spiritual belief of ellam iinga (in Yugtun). Ellam iinga is defined as “the eye of the universe and

21

awareness” by Yup’ik scholar Theresa Arevgaq John in her PhD thesis, Yuraryararput Kangiitllu: Our Ways of Dance and Their Meanings.

She writes that “the use of this decorative motif is associated with both spiritual vision and the creation of a pathway between the human and spirit worlds.”

During this pandemic, when we no longer take so many things for granted and miss new experiences, there are cultural treasures waiting to be shared through museum collections—like this yaaruin—that can help us engage in new ways to play, to imagine and to share. These treasures from the past can teach us the values of making everyday tools we work and play with visually and symbolically beautiful, connecting us to others and to beliefs we hold dear.

— Dawn Biddison is the Museum Specialist at the Alaska office of the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center. Since 2002, she has worked with Alaska Native Elders, scholars, culturebearers and artists on collaborative heritage projects, from museum exhibition and website work to community-based documentation and revitalization residencies, workshops and public programs.

Front

CHOICE

Jessie Oonark Untitled (Young Woman, Ulus, Birds & Figures)

by Kajola Morewood

Inuit Art Quarterly

22

Spring 2021

CHOICE

For this deceptively symmetrical work, Oonark uses embroidery thread in a similar way as the coloured pencils for her drawings, adding detail and texture to the fabric cut-outs. Oonark’s interest in the variations of Inuit clothing styles and facial tattoos is subtly expressed through these fine lines.

Jessie Oonark, OC, RCA (1906–1985) began her artistic career in her late fifties and left an indelible mark on the contemporary Inuit art world. She started her 20-year artistic journey in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU, suggesting that, if given the chance, she could draw better than the local school children, a remarkable statement considering that, as a child, her grandmother had warned her against making drawings for fear they would come to life in the darkness of night. Putting these admonishments aside, she beautifully translated her sewing skills, honed in the isolated camps northwest of Hudson Bay, into large-scale wall hangings.

In this untitled piece from 1973, we see a young woman, her figure composed of six green crescent shapes vertically dividing a black-edged, blue circular background. She is surrounded by alternating red and white horizontal rows of human figures, interspersed with birds of varying sizes and markings.

For this deceptively symmetrical work, Oonark uses embroidery thread in a similar way as the coloured pencils for her drawings, adding detail and texture to the fabric cut-outs. Oonark’s interest in the variations of Inuit clothing styles and facial tattoos is subtly expressed through these fine lines.

The work exemplifies Oonark’s use of recurring motifs in her wall hangings that reflect objects or practices associated with

women. The ulu, a crescent-shaped knife commonly used by Inuit women, is transformed into the body of a young woman. This transformation possibly signifies the importance of the ulu in fulfilling the woman’s family and community responsibilities.

Another notable feature is her hair sticks, the embroidery thread effortlessly defining the spiral pattern created when wrapping hair and hide around the sticks.

Many of the figures surrounding the young woman are paired off, facing each other, and appear to be touching because of the manner in which the fabric has been cut.

This immediately reminded me of katajjaq— another practice specific to Inuit women— which requires partners to be in intimate relation to one another, standing close enough to hold each other’s arms at the elbows as they sway together in their shared vocal rhythms.

This depiction of closeness within community is especially poignant in today’s context as we all strive to keep our connections strong through a pandemic that forces us to be, temporarily, apart.

— Kajola Morewood is a visual artist of Inuit ancestry through her birth mother. She is a student at the University of British Columbia, completing a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies.

OPPOSITE

Jessie Oonark (1906–1985 Qamani’tuaq) — Untitled (Young Woman, Ulus, Birds & Figures) c. 1973 Wool stroud, felt and embroidery floss 189 × 190.5 cm COURTESY WALKER’S AUCTIONS PHOTO DIETER HESSEL

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Front

PROFILE

Hannah Tooktoo

by Emily Henderson

Multidisciplinary artist Hannah Tooktoo is, in many ways, already a household name in Canada. Originally from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, QC, and now working from her home in Montreal, QC, Tooktoo is known for her advocacy work, which includes her famous bike ride across Canada in 2019 to raise awareness for the suicide rate in Inuit Nunangat. Now studying Fine Arts at Dawson College, Tooktoo has begun exploring a Inuit Art Quarterly

range of media, from painting and beading to carving and amauti-making, while raising her two young children. While her art and advocacy may appear to exist in separate arenas on the surface, Tooktoo leads with the same intention in her artistic production as she does in her activism.

“The energy you put into anything will come out in the final product,” she explains.

“Like my grandmother taught me, you need 24

to think good thoughts whenever you’re creating anything, like a pair of boots.

If you’re frustrated and you’re having a hard time, you have to put that work down and come back to it later. The person that will wear them will carry the energy you have put into them, so they may have anger or difficulty in life if that is what you put into the boots.”

Tooktoo tends to favour figurative painted work depicting everything from legends passed down through generations to depictions of women. Women are key in her work, as many of her earliest artistic influences growing up in Kuujjuaq were the women in her life, including her mother, aunts and grandmothers. These women taught her skills such as beading and sewing, which she still employs to this day.

The women in Tooktoo’s paintings radiate a sense of calm or wisdom and are frequently adorned in traditional clothing and tattoos against vivid or patterned backgrounds. In one, a baby nestles into the hood of an amauti wrapped with a tartan shawl. In another, Sedna dances against a hypnotic background of blue whirlpools. In yet another portrait, a woman with braided hair and closed eyes is shown with a bright red handprint splashed across her mouth—an increasingly recognizable symbol for awareness of the gendered violence faced by Indigenous women across North America.

“My work is about showing pride,” she says. “When I enter my workspace, I carry in my pride in my culture, but I also bring in issues that Inuit, especially Inuit women, face. I want to find ways where I can work through them and make them make sense, or better understand them.” For Tooktoo, artmaking provides the dedicated space needed, “to really dig deep and look at abstract issues from different angles.”

The safety of Inuit women is among the many causes that Tooktoo explores through her art, as well as through her advocacy. For Tooktoo, art, culture, trauma and resiliency continually overlap and converge, becoming paintings, multimedia works and campaigns.

They also demonstrate her intention to continually create positive change and healthy futures for Inuit. While women are Spring 2021

PROFILE

OPPOSITE

Hannah Tooktoo (b. 1995 Kuujjuaq) — Fireweed 2020 Acrylic and gouache 25.4 × 20.3 cm ALL COURTESY THE ARTIST

RIGHT

Arnaapik 2020 Acrylic and gouache 17.8 × 12.7 cm

her favoured subject matter, Tooktoo also creates images reflective of the flora and colour of Kuujjuaq that remind her of, and connect her to, home. Her paintings Cloudberry Dreams (2020) and Fireweed (2020) are such examples of her highly pigmented style, depicting berries that look juicy enough to eat and the brilliant hues of arctic flowers.

For Tooktoo, there is always a message Storytelling

in her medium. “Whether through creating art or storytelling, I am here to talk about issues that we face,” she says. “I’m just trying to shine a light and improve things for [those who] come after me.”

— This Profile was made possible through support from the RBC Foundation’s Emerging Artists Project.

25

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Spring 2021

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ABOVE

Zebede EvaluardjukFournier (b. 1985 Yellowknife) — See Me After Class 2021 Coloured pencil crayon 25.4 × 34.9 cm COURTESY THE ARTIST

Inuit Art Quarterly

30

Spring 2021

See Me After Class

by Jamesie Fournier — Growing up in the North, you learn about the many cultures who call it home. You have field trips, culture camps and, if you’re lucky, your family comes in when it’s time to learn about Inuit. It can be a little nerve-racking.

You never know how the class or the teacher is going to react.

One year my mother came in and taught us about Inuit customs, food and Inuktitut!

She’s a retired Inuktitut language interpreter and my classmates delighted in learning how to write their names in syllabics and how to pronounce a few words. My mother then brought out her ulu and showed us how to carve quaq and maktaaq. It was entertaining to watch my classmates try them for the first time. Their faces made me laugh. Even my younger brother, who was in a different class, stopped by to have some before running back with his cheeks full.

At the end of the unit, we had to complete a test that assessed our comprehension. I figured a test on Inuit would be a breeze and I finished it quickly with confidence. However, when it was returned to me there was no grade. I was shocked. Everyone else’s paper had a bold-red graded mark. I opened the first page of my test and it read, See me after class.

My heart sank. How could this be possible?

I had written with such zeal and panache! As I looked through the exam, I saw that I had scored well on every question except one: “What did Inuit use their ulus for?” A simple question to which I had proudly replied, “To cut their pizzas with!” I thought I had smashed that question, yet a large red question mark punctuated my drawing of an ulu and a carved pizza pie.

When I approached my teacher, she asked about my confusing answer. Without missing a beat, I replied, “Well, I’m Inuk and that’s what we use our ulu for.” She studied me for a moment and then laughed. What my qallunaat teacher had really been asking was what did Inuit traditionally use their uluit for.

The idea of culture as fluid and dynamic had caught us both off guard. In the end, I was sent on my way with full marks and now every time I hold an ulu, I can’t help but think back on that test and laugh.

Storytelling

31

IAQ Shorts

Carrying in Groceries

by Alberta Rose W./Ingniq — My feet were crunching on mid-January snow, icy and compacted from being walked on by many feet. My small, sky-blue amauti protected me from the cold wind stinging my face and exposed hands. Nanuck and I had arrived home from the grocery store and were unloading Nanuck’s small but mighty red truck.

“Help me bring the groceries in, then I’ll make us some soup and doughnuts,” she instructed, smiling. Nanuck was usually in a good mood after shopping. As we started to walk towards the house, I saw a boy from my school passing by on the sidewalk and he gave me a dirty look. Nanuck didn’t notice as she was already walking through the yard to our house. He was one of the kids at school who would tease me, asking stupid questions at recess. “Do you live in an iglu?”

“Do you take sled dogs to school?”

Sometimes they made fun of my amauti.

Up until then, I loved my amauti, but since we moved here I wasn’t so sure about it anymore. The kids at school wore different coats. My friend Jenny bragged about the new Adidas coat that she got for Christmas, and it caused a sinking feeling in my tummy.

Our family didn’t have coats like that. We were different.

“Mom, I’m cold!” I heard the boy whine down the street. Once again feeling the warmth of my coat, I smiled and walked towards home.

OPPOSITE

Kablusiak (b. 1993 Calgary) — Carrying in Groceries 2019 Thread and felt 22.2 × 28.6 cm COURTESY JARVIS HALL GALLERY

Inuit Art Quarterly

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Spring 2021

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IAQ Shorts

BELOW

Couzyn van Heuvelen (b. 1987 Bowmanville) — Qamutiik 2019 Steatite and polypropylene rope 238.8 × 30.5 × 91.4 cm COURTESY ARTSPACE PHOTO MATTHEW HAYES

The Qamutiik

by Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona — My Ski-Doo engine’s rumbling fills my ears as I follow my hunting buddy, Alex, through the dark. All I see is snow and Ski-Doo tracks lit by our headlights in two small, jittering pools of light. My hoods are pulled up and cinched, creating a fur-lined tube, my peripheral vision non-existent. I am concentrating on revving up hills, leaning back while going downhill, staying upright while driving sideways on mountains and keeping warm. While climbing a mountain around the centre of the peninsula, my Ski-Doo climbs higher than it has before, and I catch a glimpse of the northern lights and thousands of stars. I think to myself with surprise, “Oh it’s nice out!” Then I am again pointed earthward by the slope’s end.

My jerry cans have developed a pesky habit of falling off the back of my qamutiik.

The rope tying them down keeps bumping loose and one or two of them jump ship.

When we stop for tea or a snack, Alex looks at me, exasperated, and asks, “Where are your jerry cans?”

Each time this happens I turn and head back into the night, cursing my knot tying and embarrassed of my hunting abilities.

I have developed a habit of standing up on the Ski-Doo while driving, turning my whole body and yanking my hood sideways and down to check on my jerry cans.

I think everything is going well until we stop again. Alex looks me dead in the eye and asks, “Where is your qamutiik?”

I burst out laughing from the warm interior of my two parkas, thinking he has to be joking, until I look backward. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Here I am pulling a Great. Big. Nothing.

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IAQ Shorts

Solo Mission

by Curtis Mesher — I left the South in late summer during the heart of the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns to connect with my family and the nuna near Kuujjuaq. I flew up north as the oncevibrant Montreal was reduced to a ghost town. It was the best decision of my life.

I landed and was immediately thrown into the bed of a pickup truck alongside my luggage; hiding from the cold rain and wind that welcomed me, I sped off north of town to the cabin where I quarantined without electricity, internet and essentially no human contact for the next two weeks.

This was a period of genuine connection to the land and animals. Despite being “alone,” I felt the joy of what it means to be Inuk. I realized storytelling is found in our silent, endless starry skies and in the howls of the amaruit that accentuate it. This period taught me that isolation or physical distancing does not take us further away from storytelling—it can bring us closer.

From the qupanuapuit who greeted me every morning, to the berries found in the imarsuk, I was given the opportunity to recognize the sweet stories shared by Northern nuna and the shifting seasons.

These are the foundations of Inuit culture and the foundation for our storytelling.

Stories are more than the written or spoken word, they are the experiences and knowledge which are shared all around us.

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Jennifer La Page (b. 1975 Kuujjuaq) — Silent Predator 2016 Digital print 27.9 × 35.6 cm COURTESY THE ARTIST

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IAQ Shorts

—

by Jolene Banning

PREVIOUS SPREAD

Portraits of Elisapie © VANESSA HEINS

BELOW

Elisapie wearing a red arnauti-inspired outfit at the Polaris Music Prize awards night in 2019 COURTESY POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE PHOTO DUSTIN RABIN

Inuit Art Quarterly

As an artist, Elisapie defies categorization. With her latest album, the lushly orchestrated The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, the Montreal singer-songwriter once again reinvented her genre-busting folk sound, using her platform to draw attention to issues facing Indigenous women. Whether she is stunning audiences with her on-stage performances, leading protests or standing behind the camera as an award-winning filmmaker, it is the power of Elisapie’s voice and message that shines through.

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For her performance at the 2019 Polaris Music Prize awards, Inuit singer Elisapie Isaac, known simply as Elisapie, wanted to wear something that would make a statement. Elisapie, who was nominated for the prestigious prize for her third solo album, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, aimed to use her clothing to raise awareness about issues facing Indigenous women.

“I needed to feel that Inuk-woman power and also pay tribute to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls by wearing my red arnauti,” Elisapie says to me by phone in December. “It gave me strength.”

Elisapie commissioned Inuit designer Victoria Okpik of Okpik Designs to create the stunning, sheer arnauti (different from the amauti, which has a bigger pocket in the back to carry a baby).

Watching the awards show from her home in Montreal and seeing Elisapie don the outfit she had painstakingly sewn, Okpik says she felt pride in herself, as well as in Elisapie and the culture to which they are both deeply rooted.

“Being in the North, among my people or even First Nations people, we have something. We are very free people,” Elisapie says.

“What you wear can give you something, and sometimes I need that extra strength and to show off the beauty.”

Elisapie is driven by a strong sense of self and carries with her stories that celebrate where she comes from and who she is—a strong, Inuit woman. Her lyrics are like anthems of Inuit ancestry that refuse to be erased or forgotten. The opening to her song “Arnaq” is spoken in Inuktitut and gives the definition of woman, her roles and responsibilities. Elisapie’s true-to-life approach is reflected in all her music, including her 2004 debut, Taima, a collaboration with musician Alain Auge that went on to win the 2005 Juno Award for Indigenous Album of the Year. The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was nominated for the same award in 2019.

Elisapie’s lyrics—sung in a combination of Inuktitut, English and French—describe the inequalities facing Indigenous communities and our interconnectedness to animals, land and people. In the powerful “Call of the Moose,” a cover of a Willie Thrasher folk-rock song on The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, Elisapie sings, “I listen to the man of the law, I listen to his way/ I listen to the crack of the gun and the one that had to pay... And I listen to the cry of the people/ Dying of mercury.”

The lyrics may have been written by Thrasher, but Elisapie and her band musically put their own stamp on the song. The beat starts low but the drumming builds, faster and faster, causing hearts to race. You can feel the urgency for change as Elisapie sings, “Don’t you know? Can’t you see? Don’t you know, you gotta let them be.”

It sounds like a warrior’s cry, demanding an end to systemic racism and Indigenous lives lost.

The videos that accompany Elisapie’s songs also reflect where she comes from: an isolated community surrounded by the beauty of the people who reside there. There is a mix of sorrow and celebration, an interplay between strength and vulnerability. In the video for her song “Wolves Don’t Live by the Rules,” children play on huge ice formations as the ice breaks. It’s an image that could be interpreted as either playful or dangerous. But Elisapie shows there is another way to interpret it: in being confident in where you stand, complete.

“Sometimes [my songs] can be very beautiful, and fragile and quiet and then it could smash you in the face,” she says. “I’m just trying to be honest with who I am.”

ABOVE

Stills from The Ballad of the Runaway Girl music video directed by Elisapie and Maurin Auxéméry COURTESY BONSOUND

FOLLOWING SPREAD

Portrait of Elisapie © JONATHAN BRISEBOIS

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Mirror Image

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Mirror Image

Adopted at birth in 1977, Elisapie grew up in Salluit, Nunavik, QC, moving to a camp during the summer months and hunting caribou, ptarmigan and goose with her family. Although she has lived in Montreal since 1999, Elisapie remains deeply connected to her culture.

Elisapie carries the names of four strong Inuit women, including her grandmother. “Before you’re born,” she explains, “sometimes as soon as your mom feels you in her—she starts connecting to other people around her who have passed.” This naming tradition has been carried on for centuries. The mother will ask, “‘Who are you? Who do you want to be? Who wants to be with me?’ It’s an opportunity to bring someone back that may have passed in order to mourn and heal.”

It is a special honour to be named after a loved one. Now a mother of three, Elisapie named her son after her brother, who was known for his carefree, easy ways of being social. She sees her son’s ability to adapt naturally to any social setting as him taking on some of her brother’s traits. The tradition is also a way to honour someone by keeping their name and spirit alive. It is a practice with deep meaning

ABOVE

Stills from Elisapie’s music video Arnaq directed by Jonathan Brisebois COURTESY BONSOUND

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Stills from Elisapie’s music video Una (Part II) directed by Frédérique Bérubé COURTESY BONSOUND

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for Elisapie’s family, and one that keeps her grounded, regardless of where her musical career takes her.

Cultural connection is also a vital component of motherhood, Elisapie says. “I took it for granted when I was a kid. But it’s so powerful. I think the older we get, it’s undeniable—your roots. You want to go back there, to the land. It’s powerful.”

She returns with her children to Nunavik as often as they can to spend time on the land. “It’s a place where I want them to feel it’s their home, too,” she says. “Even if they don’t live there, even if they don’t speak the language, it’s part of who they are.”

Elisapie’s community also extends to a broader network of musicians, artists and activists. In late 2020, Elisapie, along with more than 20 other musicians, put on a concert to honour the life of Joyce Echaquan, the 37-year-old mother of seven who died while seeking health care in a hospital in Joliette, QC. The idea was to create a space for people to safely express their emotions: the hurt, the anger and the love for Joyce and her family. Just as importantly, the concert was intended to raise awareness of systemic racism in

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health institutions and the staggering rates of violence faced by Indigenous women and girls.

“We wanted to gather Indigenous and non-Indigenous [artists], our allies, our friends,” explains Elisapie. “We’ve been feeling the pain a lot. I think it was time for us to just feel a safe place for our emotions.”

However, the response from both the federal and provincial government was disappointing. Quebec Premier François Legault stood firm in his stance, denying systemic racism during an October 2020 press conference where he formally apologized to Echaquan’s family.

In an open letter to the Premier (to which he has not responded), Elisapie included her name along with 36 other Indigenous women demanding his acknowledgement. The letter reads: “Systemic racism does not mean that the people of Quebec are racist. Rather, it is defined by practices and policies within an organization that lead to prejudices and stereotypes that cause discrimination and inequality in public services. To fail to recognize the pervasive discrimination in all your institutions is to give it the right to exist and worse, it is to perpetuate it.”

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The Ballad of the Runaway Girl The memory of the runaway girl still lingers on and on But I wasn’t born to follow her you know that very well But my days are long and my mind is short since she turned her tail But now she’s gone, I’ll have to cry and tell the world that she was mine I remember when we started out which I will never forget She was so young and natural unlike most of the girls Then came along a man with stars, love stars in his eyes But the man ran away with the girl behind that’s the end of the runaway Let’s hope some day we’ll revive the scene with no care in the world The ballad of the runaway girl won’t exist that very long In the meantime all the tables are turned since she turned her tail The ballad of the runaway girl lives on and on and on The ballad of the runaway girl lives on and on and on

Elisapie has always been a storyteller. In 2003, she wrote and directed the documentary If the Weather Permits for the National Film Board, which takes a closer look at what it means to be Inuit in a changing world. The short documentary won several awards including the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Claude Jutra Award for Best New Director.

She’s currently working on a documentary based on The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, which follows the artist as she travels home.

The film will also shed light on topics close to the musician’s heart, including her own adoption and its effect on her identity as a woman.

“It’s like a road trip through the songs, behind the scene of the album, where I’m travelling,” Elisapie says. It also provided an opportunity to highlight her relationship with, and pay tribute to her biological mother, the subject of her song, “Una,” and whom she dearly loves.

Elisapie is currently working on another project, an interactive musical event at the Society for Arts and Technology in Montreal.

The performance features a dome rigged to look like the night sky, creating an immersive, interactive experience.

Whether she is creating art or performing onstage, Elisapie wants listeners to recognize themselves in her music. For Indigenous audiences, her music illustrates the hardship and violence of colonialism, yet also shows the strength that comes from our interconnectedness to one another.

“I think trying to be very close to the songs or to the work that I do, it makes it a little bit like a mirror to people,” she says. “By seeing me go into that vulnerable or that very strong side, it’s only going to remind them what they probably feel.”

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Dayle Kubluitok’s The Ballad of the Runaway Girl poster for the Polaris Music Prize, 2019 COURTESY POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE

OPPOSITE

Elisapie performing at the Polaris Music Prize awards night in 2019 COURTESY POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE PHOTO DUSTIN RABIN

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BRINGING

LEGENDS TO

LIFE — Germaine Arnaktauyok’s passion for understanding the past

Inuit Art Quarterly

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PREVIOUS SPREAD

Germaine Arnaktauyok (b. 1946 Iglulik) — Night and Day 2006 Etching and aquatint 52.1 × 41.9 cm COURTESY WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO

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Germaine Arnaktauyok — Mother Earth 2007 Ink and coloured pencil 72.7 × 53.6 cm COURTESY WINNIPEG ART GALLERY PHOTO ERNEST MAYER

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Stills from the animated short film Owl and the Raven directed by Co Hoedeman COURTESY NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA

Germaine Arnaktauyok has dedicated her artistic life to storytelling, in particular, sharing Inuit myths and legends through her drawings.

Born in Manittuq, a couple hours away from Iglulik (Igloolik), NU, in 1946, Arnaktauyok showed early promise, selling her first artwork at 11 years old. Her singular focus on becoming an artist continued through the seven years she spent in a residential school, a time she has described as lonely. The isolation Arnaktauyok experienced at school in Igluligaarjuk (Chesterfield Inlet), NU, where she first learned to paint, became an underlying influence on her work exploring Inuit stories and femininity. In particular, her serene depictions of motherhood and familial bonding found a captive audience and have become a constant motif in her work.

Arnaktauyok went on to study fine arts at the University of Manitoba in the 1960s, followed by stints at Algonquin College in Ottawa, ON, for commercial and fine arts, and printmaking at Arctic College in Iqaluit, NU. She also took one year of arts and crafts training in Pembroke, ON. But it was drawing that ignited her passion. The late art dealer Thomas Webster, who was an early supporter of her work, told IAQ in 2010, “She has wonderful control of her pencils, and that gives her the greatest pleasure.”

Over the years, Arnaktauyok has experimented with various techniques, including a unique style in which she used layers of thin, coiled lines to give the illusion of a textured etching. Her earlier works have been described as mostly pared-down line drawings, but in the 1990s, the artist’s palette expanded, and she began experimenting more with other mediums, such as printmaking and textiles.

Many of Arnaktauyok’s works were created with younger audiences in mind. One of her first professional jobs was as an

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illustrator for educational books published by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND, now CrownIndigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada [CIRNAC]). In 1971, she expanded her mediums, designing the titular puppets for the National Film Board of Canada’s short animation, Owl and the Raven. Directed by the renowned stop-animator Co Hoedeman, it’s Arnaktauyok’s charming, expressive sealskin characters that bring the Inuit legend to life.

Arnaktauyok, whose work has been exhibited internationally, returned to children’s publishing later in life as an illustrator with Inhabit Media, an Inuit-owned press focused on preserving oral history through books. She has published several titles with Inhabit, including the 2015 illustrated memoir, My Name Is Arnaktauyok: The Life and Art of Germaine Arnaktauyok, co-written with Gyu Oh. Her latest, Inukpak & His Son, written by Inhabit co-founder Neil Christopher, appeared in 2019 under the press’s educational arm.

In this interview from 2017, Arnaktauyok discusses her celebrated career and passion for Inuit mythology.

INUIT ART QUARTERLY: As the daughter of two carvers, did you start making art at a young age?

GERMAINE ARNAKTAUYOK: I was interested in art and have been doing little drawings since I was very young. Art is the only thing I ever did in my life.

IAQ: Your artwork has graced the pages of close to 20 books in just over the past decade. When did you begin your book-illustration career?

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Bringing Legends to Life

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Bringing Legends to Life

I think it’s so good for young people to know that we also have legends, except they were all oral.

Other countries, like India and China, had a written language. We have as much story except it’s just coming out now.

Inuit Art Quarterly

GA: I was going to school in Winnipeg, MB, and during summer break I would go to Ottawa, ON, and illustrate educational stuff [for the then-Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development].

Just little books, here and there. A few years ago, I started illustrating books again a little more seriously. It’s not a full-time job; I refuse to be a full-time worker at my age. But I always say that with artwork you never stop—you just keep going as long as you can.

IAQ: You’re sharing traditional stories with new generations through your art and your books. Why is that important to you?

And how did you learn about these legends and stories?

GA: My favourite thing is legends and myths. You have more freedom because a lot of Inuit stories don’t have as many little details.

In my early twenties I took commercial art classes, but I didn’t like it. I refused to follow instructions or do realistic-looking animals, and I am not good at copying. I don’t know why. I even have a hard time copying my own work unless I trace it.

When I was in my thirties, I really got into legends and myths.

I like to research as far back as I can to see how people used to dress.

I mean, nobody knows before maybe the year 1300, because our history is all oral. So maybe we’ll never know how they used to be.

It’s something I’ll never see—maybe that’s why I’m so curious.

When I was a child, there were at least four of us that were pretty close to the same age. We used to ask my father to tell us stories.

Most of us never knew what the ending was because we’d fall asleep before the story was over. And then, of course, through books.

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PREVIOUS SPREAD

Germaine Arnaktauyok — Throat Singing 2006 Pen and ink 32.4 × 39.4 cm COURTESY WINNIPEG ART GALLERY PHOTO ERNEST MAYER

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Germaine Arnaktauyok — The Sun and the Moon 2003 Etching and aquatint 41.9 × 52.1 cm COURTESY WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO

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Book covers for Takannaaluk (2018), Way Back Then (2015), My Name is Arnaktauyok (2015), Uumasuusivissuaq (2016) and Inukpak & His Son (2019) COURTESY INHABIT BOOKS

These stories were a big part of the reason as to why I started doing legends later on in life.

I think it’s so good for young people to know that we also have legends, except they were all oral. Other countries, like India and China, had a written language. We have as much story except it’s just coming out now. Inhabit Media has helped so much, doing all of these stories that we probably would have never known otherwise.

IAQ: In your depictions of the sea goddess Takannaaluk (Sedna), for instance, she doesn’t have a fishtail. She’s just a woman. So many artists draw her with a tail, and I’m curious why you don’t.

GA: When I really got into legends and myth and trying to understand how Inuit used to live, I started seeing carvings of Takannaaluk with the fishtail. I was wondering how they came up with a fishtail because when you read about her in the early 1500s, maybe later than that, you never read anything about a fishtail. Did some Inuit pick that up from mermaids? I didn’t want to make up something that I never heard before, so I never drew a tail. I tried to keep it the way Inuit talk or tell a story.

IAQ:

Are you still drawing every day?

GA: Almost. Your mind never goes old—it’s always the same.

It’s like you are 25 the rest of your life. That’s how my mind works.

I hope everyone else is like that and it’s not only me! But your body is breaking down slowly. It doesn’t sync in with your soul anymore; one is going down and one is always the same.

IAQ: I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me. You have a really important story and you put so much of yourself into your work and into your research.

GA: Hopefully I’ve added something in my life. Sometimes people know exactly what they want to do with their lives. And then there are people who can never find what they’re supposed to do.

I’ve been lucky. Art just came along, and it feels right.

This interview was conducted in November 2017 by the IAQ’s former Senior Editor, John Geoghegan, in Toronto, ON. It has been edited for clarity and condensed.

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Bringing Legends to Life

ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑦ ᐱᓪᓚᕆᐅᑎᒋᔪᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᒐᖏᑦᑎᑐᑦ, ᑖᓐᓇ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᖅ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓂᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑲᐅᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᔾᔨᖃᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᓂᒃ, ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᖃᓄᖅ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑦ ᐃᒃᐱᒋᑦᑎᐊᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ. ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᐅᖃᐅᓰᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᒌᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᒪᑕ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑦ ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇ ᑎᑎᕋᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᕙᖏᑦᑐᑦ. ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᑎᑎᕋᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᖅ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᐳᑦ, ᐃᓛᓐᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᐊᖏᖢᑎᒃ, ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ. ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᑎᑦᑎᓇᓱᓕᖅᐳᒍᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ, ᐅᑎᖅᑎᑦᑎᓇᓱᒃᖢᑕ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᑐᑭᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᐊᕐᒪᑕ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᓂ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᖅᑐᓄᑦ.

ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒥᑦ ᐊᒃᓱᕈᒻᒪᕆᒃᖢᑎᒃ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᒍ ᐊᑐᓂ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖃᕐᒪᑕ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐱᑕᖃᓕᓲᖑᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑎᒍᑦ. ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐅᖃᐅᓰᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑎᒍᑦ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓂᖃᖅᐳᑦ ᓴᖏᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᓲᕐᓗ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᑎᑐᑦ. ᑎᑎᕋᖅᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᑦ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑕᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᑎᑦᑎᓇᓱᒃᓗᑎᒃ ᐃᒃᐱᒋᒻᒪᕆᒃᑕᖏᓐᓂᒃ.

ᐊᒃᓱᕈᕈᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᕐᓕ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑦ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᒐᐃᓪᓗ ᐃᓚᒌᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓇᓱᒃᖢᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓂᖃᒻᒪᕆᖕᒪᑕ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓄᓇᒧᑦ ᐃᒪᕐᒧᓪᓗ ᐃᓄᒃᓄᑦ ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᒻᒪᕆᒃᑐᓂᒃ. ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᐸᒃᑕᖏᑦ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓂᖃᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᖑᐊᖅᖢᑎᒃ, ᓱᕐᓗ ᓂᕐᔪᑎᒍᐊᑦ, ᐊᖑᓇᓱᖑᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐊᕐᓇᐃᑦ ᐊᒫᖑᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᑯᓗᖕᒥᓂᒃ. ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᖏᑦ, ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓂᖃᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐊᖏᓂᖅᓴᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑐᑭᓕᐅᕈᓐᓇᖏᖢᑎᒍᑦ ᖃᓄᖅ ᑐᑭᖃᓪᓚᕆᖕᒪᖔᑕ. ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᑲᑎᖅᓱᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᓂᖃᕆᕗᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᑎᒻᒪᕆᐅᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᑕᒪᑮᖑᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᕈᓐᓇᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᑲᒻᒪᕆᐅᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ.

ᑕᓪᓕᒪᐅᔪᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑲᐅᓯᖏᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓴᓇᒍᐊᖏᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪ

ᑎᑎᕋᖅᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᓇᐸᑦᓯ ᕗᑦᔪᒧᑦ

ᐋᕐᒃᑭᒃᓱᐃᓂᕐᒃ ᐅᕐᑲᐅᓯᕐᓂᒃ

Sculpting the Verse Four Traditional Inuktitut Poems and Carvings to Match

by Napatsi Folger

In recognition of storytelling as an integral part of Inuit art, this Portfolio features pairings of Inuktitut poems with stone sculptures, chosen to encapsulate the feeling of each poem.

While there are many examples of translated poetry available to an English-speaking audience, it is rare to see an Inuktitut poem published alone with no translated text. The poems featured on the following pages have previously been translated, sometimes more than once, into English. As a result, we have decided to showcase each exclusively in modern Inuktitut, in part to bring them back full circle and to allow the carvings to act as guides for the reader.

The carvings in this Portfolio were painstakingly chosen because each communicates ideas and imagery that exceeds its physical form while evoking the emotions relayed within their accompanying poems. The flowing language of these poems demonstrates their strength as personal and communal art. They were written or spoken with the express purpose of sharing deep feelings.

The challenge in determining these pairings lay in finding physical manifestations of the primary themes these poems follow and the deep connection between their speakers and the land and water that sustain Inuit. Inuit carvings in particular are often depictions of action, whether they be animals, hunters or mothers amaaqing their round-faced babies. Inuit poetry, in contrast, often expresses ideas bigger and more abstract than what can easily be translated into a physical form. This collection of art reveals another layer of the brilliance of Inuit artistry, both as oral storytellers and as visual artists able to embody the most abstract ideas in elegant physical sculptures.

ᐃᓕᓴᐱ ᖁᓚᐅᑦ ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᖓ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑐᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᐊᕐᓇᑲᒃᒧᑦ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑑᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᖅᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᒪᓂᑲ ᐃᑦᑐᒃᓵᕐᔪᐊᕐᒧᑦ

TRANSLATION BY ELIZABETH QULAUT POEMS TRANSLATED BY JAYPEETEE ARNAKAK TRANSLATIONS EDITED BY MONICA ITTUSARDJUAT

Inuit Art Quarterly

ᖁᕕᐊᓇᒻᒪᕆᒃᐳᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᖁᕕᐊᓇᖅᑐᑦ ᑎᑭᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᖁᕕᐊᓇᒃᑲᓐᓂᒪᕆᒃᑐᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᒃᖢᓂ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᓇᐃᑦᑐᑯᓗᖕᒥᑦ ᐃᖏᐅᓯᕐᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᑎᑦᑎᕗᑦ, ᐊᑯᓂᐅᓂᖅᓴᒥᒃ ᐅᓪᓘᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐅᐱᕐᒑᒃᑯᑦ. ᐃᓄᖕᓄᓪᓕ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᑕᓪᓕᒪᐅᔪᑦ ᐊᓯᔾᔨᓲᖑᔪᑦ ᓲᕐᓗ ᐊᕐᕌᒍᒥᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅ, ᐅᐱᕐᖓᒃᓵᖅ, ᐊᐅᔭᖅ, ᐅᑭᐊᒃᓵᓯ, ᒪᓕᓲᖑᖏᒻᒪᑕ ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᒪᓕᓲᖑᔪᑦ ᓯᓚ ᖃᓄᐃᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓂᒃ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓂᕐᔪᑏᑦ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᓇᒧᖓᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒡᓗ (ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᒪᓕᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐃᒻᒪᖄ 6-ᓄᑦ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐊᒥᓲᓂᖅᓴᓄᑦ). ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᐅᑭᐅᒃᑯᑦ ᓂᒡᓚᓱᒻᒪᕆᓚᐅᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐅᖅᑰᓯᕙᓪᓕᐊᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓂᒃ ᐊᖑᓇᓱᒍᓐᓇᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᖅᑰᓯᕙᓪᓕᐊᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓂᒃ ᓯᕿᓂᕐᒧᓪᓗ ᐆᓇᖅᑐᒧᑦ ᐃᒃᐱᒍᓱᑦᑎᐊᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᐳᑎᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᒃᐸᓪᓕᐊᔾᔪᑕᐅᓂᐊᖅᖢᓂ. ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᓂᒃ, ᒪᐃᑯ ᒫᓯ, ᑲᑎᖅᓱᐃᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᐅᔭᖅᑲᓂᒃ, ᓴᐅᓂᕐᓂᒃ, ᕿᔪᖕᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᕕᕋᔭᖕᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᑎᑦᑎᓇᓱᒃᖢᓂ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐃᓄᓕᒫᑦᑎᐊᑦ ᑕᑯᖃᑦᑕᖅᑕᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᓂᒃ ᐊᒥᓱᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᖕᓂᒃ. ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᓴᕕᕋᔭᐃᑦ ᓯᕿᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᖃᐅᒻᒪᒃᑎᑕᐅᒑᖓᑕ ᕿᓪᓕᖅᓯᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᓲᕐᓗ ᐅᓪᓗᕆᐊᑎᑐᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐃᓄᖑᐊᑦ ᐃᔨᖏ ᑕᐅᑐᖑᐊᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᑕᑉᐸᐅᖓ ᕿᓚᖕᒧᑦ.

58

There is so much joy in anticipation that the excitement of things to come is sometimes even more delightful than the actual event.

In this short song, stars are harbingers of the longer, brighter days of spring. For Inuit, seasons don’t follow the typical four-season cycle, but instead follow weather and animal migration patterns with regional variation (usually six seasons, sometimes more). The period after the coldest days of winter brings better hunting and warmer days spent basking in the sunlight that reflects off the bright gleaming snow.

In the accompanying carving, Michael Massie, CM, RCA, combines stone, bone, ebony and brass to great effect and captures the wonder that humans gazing into the heavens have felt for millennia. The shine of the brass in the right light twinkles like stars, while the figure’s large round eyes take in the grandeur of the sky. One can imagine the light specks of green in the dark stone as the very constellations of which the singer speaks.

Spring 2021

ᐊᑯᑦᑐᔫᒃ (ᐅᓪᓗᕆᐊᒃ ᐅᐱᕐᖓᒃᓵᒥ) ᐃᙱᖅᑐᖅ ᒫᑕ ᓇᓱᒃ Akuttujuuk (Stars that Herald Spring) Sung by Martha Nasook —

ᐊᑯᑦᑐᔫᒃ! ᓴᖅᑭᒋᔅᓯᒃ! ᐅᓪᓘᓕᕋᓗᐊᖅᐳᖅ. ᖁᕕᓱᒃᐳᖓᓗ ᐃᓅᒐᒪ ᓱᓕ ᐅᓪᓗᖅᑐᓯᕙᓪᓕᐊᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᓯᓂᖕᓂᐊᓕᖅᐳᖓ

ᐃᒡᓗᐊᓃᑦᑐᖅ

ᒪᐃᑯᓪ ᒫᓯ (ᐃᓅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ 1962 Happy Valley-Goose Bay) — ᑑᕐᖓᕐᒧᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᑕᐅᔪᖅ : ᐃᓚᒌᒃᑐᑦ 2013 ᐅᒃᑯᓯᒃᓴᖅ , ᓴᐅᓂᖅ , ᕿᔪᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᕕᕋᔭᒃ 22.9 × 20.3 × 12.7 ᓴᓐᑕᒦᑕ ᑐᓂᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᐅᑯᓇᖓᑦ WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, ᑐᕌᓐᑐ

OPPOSITE

Michael Massie (b. 1962 Happy ValleyGoose Bay) — Creativity of the Spirit: Distant Relations 2013 Stone, bone, ebony and brass 22.9 × 20.3 × 12.7 cm COURTESY WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO

Storytelling

59

Sculpting the Verse

ᐱᓯᖓ ᑎᒎᓪᓕᒐᐅᑉ Untitled I Attributed to Tegoodligak —

ᐊᐃ ᐊᐃ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᕙᒃᑲ ᐊᑐᖅᓯᒪᔭᒃᑲ ᐊᓄᕆᕐᒥ ᖃᔭᒐ ᑎᒃᑕᐅᕗᖅ ᓇᖏᐊᕐᓇᖅᑐᒦᑦᑐᒋᓕᖅᐳᖓ ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓱᒃᐳᖓ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᒥᑭᔫᒐᓗᐊᑦ ᐊᖏᓪᓕᖕᒪᑕ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᖅᐸᓚᐅᖅᑕᒃᑲ ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᖅ ᑖᓐᓇᑐᐊᖅ ᐃᓅᓗᓂ ᓱᓕ ᐅᓪᓗᖅᑐᓯᓕᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᑯᓗᒍ ᓯᓚᕐᔪᐊᖅ ᖃᐅᒪᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ

ᑕᓕᖅᐱᐊᓂᑦ

ᐱᐊᕆ ᐊᐅᐱᓛᕐᔪᒃ (ᐃᓅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ 1967 ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᖅ ) ᓕᐅ ᓇᐸᔪᖅ (ᐃᓅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ 1961 ᓴᓪᓕᖅ/ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᖅ ) — ᐅᖃᐅᓯᐅᔪᖅ ᑐᖁᓚᐅᖅᖢᓂ ᐃᓅᓂᖅ 2014 ᒪᕋᖅ 61 × 33 × 33 ᓴᓐᑕᒦᑕ ᑐᓂᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᕐᕕᖕᒥᑦ ᐴᓕᖕᑕᓐᒥᑦ

Inuit Art Quarterly

OPPOSITE Pierre Aupilardjuk (b. 1967 Kangiqliniq) Leo Napayok (b. 1961 Salliq/ Kangiqliniq) — Messages for the Afterlife 2014 Ceramic 61 × 33 × 33 cm COURTESY ART GALLERY OF BURLINGTON

60

Spring 2021

ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᓪᓗᖓ ᓄᑕᕋᐅᑎᓪᓗᖓ, ᓯᓚᒥᑦ ᐱᖑᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᖓ, ᐊᓄᕌᖏᓐᓇᐅᔭᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᖅ ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇ ᐊᓄᕆᑐᑦ ᐱᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᓲᕐᓗ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑑᑉ ᐊᓄᕆᖓ ᐊᖑᓇᓱᒃᑎᐅᓪᓗ ᓄᔭᖓᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑎᑦᑎᓪᓗᓂ. ᐃᓱᒪᓲᖑᔪᖓ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐊᑯᓂᐅᑎᒋᔪᖅ ᐅᑕᖅᑭᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᖑᓇᓱᒃᑏᑦ ᕿᓂᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᓂᕐᔪᑎᓂᒃ ᐊᖑᓂᐊᖅᑕᖏᓂᒃ, ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᑖᓐᓇ ᑎᑎᕋᖅᑐᖅ ᐅᖃᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ, “ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇ ᐱᕐᔪᐊᖏᓐᓇᐅᔭᖅᐳᒍᑦ.” ᐅᖃᓪᓚᖃᑦᑕᖏᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᖢᑎᒃ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᑭᒃᑯᑐᐃᓐᓇᕐᓄᑦ ᐃᒃᐱᒍᓱᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᓄᕆᒥᒃ ᐅᓗᐊᖏᑦᑎᒍᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᖏᓂᖓᓂᒃ ᖃᐅᔨᓪᓗᑎᒃ. ᓄᓇᒦᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐅᖓᓯᒋᔮᓂᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᖢᑎᒃ, ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᓄᓇ ᐊᖏᑎᒋᓂᖓᓂᒃ ᐅᐱᒍᓱᓲᖑᕗᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᐃᒪ ᑎᒍᓕᒐᐅᑉ ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᓄᓇ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕆᑦᑎᐊᓚᐅᖅᑕᖓ. ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕆᔭᖓ ᐊᔾᔨᓯᔾᔪᑎᒋᓚᐅᖅᐸᕋ ᐊᒥᐊᓕᑲᒥᐅᑕᒧᑦ ᕗᐊᓚᔅ ᔅᑏᕕᓐᔅᒧᑦ. ᐅᖃᓯᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᓕᒫᒥᑦ ᑕᒪᑦᑕᑦᑎᐊᖅ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓄᓕᒫᖅ ᐊᔪᕐᓇᖅᑐᖅᓯᐅᕐᓇᖅᖢᓂᓗ ᑐᑭᓯᓇᓱᒋᐊᒃᓴᖅ. ᑕᐅᑐᒃᖢᒍ ᐱᐊᕆ ᐊᐅᐱᓛᕐᔪᑉ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓕᐅ ᓇᐸᔫᑉ ᖃᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᒃᖢᑎᒃ ᑐᓴᖅᑎᑦᑎᔾᔪᑎᖏᑦ ᑐᖁᓚᐅᖅᖢᓂ ᐃᓅᓂᕐᒥᒃ (2014), ᐊᔪᕐᓇᖏᑦᑐᑯᓘᕗᖅ ᑕᑯᓪᓗᓂ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᓂᒃ ᖃᓄᖅ ᑲᑎᓯᒪᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᑮᓇᖑᐊᕐᒥᑦ ᖁᒻᒧᑦ ᕿᕕᐊᖓᖑᐊᖅᖢᓂ ᑐᑭᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᔪᖏᑦᑐᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᖕᒥᒃ ᑖᔅᓱᒪ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᑉ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕆᔭᖓᓂᒃ; ᑕᑯᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᓅᓯᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᑐᓐᓂᖁᓯᐊᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᐱᒋᒻᒪᕆᒃᖢᒍ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑐᑭᓯᓇᓱᒃᖢᒍ ᑕᒪᑐᒥᖓ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ. ᐊᒥᓱᑦ ᑮᓇᐃᑦ ᑎᒥᒦᑦᑐᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᐊᓗᖕᓄᑦ ᐃᓄᖕᓄᑦ ᐃᒃᐱᒋᔭᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᑖᓐᓇ ᐃᓄᖑᐊᖅ ᒥ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᖕᒥᒃ.

When I think of my childhood playing on the tundra, there is always wind in my memories.

This poem flows as though carried on an arctic breeze and through the hair of a pensive hunter. I can’t help but think how much waiting and contemplating Inuit hunters must do in their daily search for, as the writer says, “all the vital things.” The words here may be rarely spoken, but resonate deeply with anyone who has ever felt the northwinds on their cheeks and been awed by its power. No matter how much time one spends on the land or away from it, the vastness of the tundra is breathtaking, and Tegoodligak expresses that feeling with precision. His language calls to mind the emotional tone of American poet Wallace Stevens. Expressing a kind of deep knowledge of the world that is both all around us and simultaneously difficult to grasp.

Looking at Pierre Aupilardjuk and Leo Napayok’s collaboration Messages for the Afterlife (2014), it is easy to see the link between the sculpture and the poem. The details in this upturned face reflect the knowledge of the one great thing of which the poem speaks; seeing life as a gift and appreciating it on a grander scale than just one’s individual experiences and the time it takes to come to understand that knowledge. The many faces on the body of this figure have the potential to crowd the image, yet he still holds an expression of knowing serenity, which is precisely evoked when looking at this piece.

Storytelling

61

Sculpting the Verse

ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᒥᒃ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᕐᒥᑦ, ᑖᓐᓇ ᐃᖏᖅᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᖃᐃᖁᔨᕗᖅ ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᖑᓇᓱᒃᑎᒧᑦ. ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐱᐅᓱᒋᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᓂᒋᑦ ᓄᓇᒥᐅᑕᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᑕᖃᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᖏᑦ ᓂᕿᒃᓴᐃᑦ ᓄᓇᐃᑦ ᑯᑭᓕᕋᓛᓪᓗ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓄᖓ ᑐᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᓂᕆᔭᐅᕙᒃᑐᑦ, ᐃᖏᖅᖢᓂᓗ ᖃᓄᖅ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᒪᒪᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᖅᑐᖅ ᐃᓱᒪᒃᓴᖅᓯᐅᖅᖢᓂ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐅᖃᕈᓂ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᐱᕈᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᖃᐃᖁᔨᓇᔭᕐᒪᖔᑦ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᓂᕐᔪᑎᓂᒃ. ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᑐᒃᑐᖑᐊᓂᒃ ᓴᓇᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᐃᓱᒪᓕᕋᖓᒪ, ᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᐃᐱᓕᒃ (1923–2005), ᑖᓐᓇ ᐱᐅᒋᓂᖅᐹᕆᒐᒃᑯ ᑐᒃᑐᖑᐊᓂ ᓴᓇᓲᖑᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑦ. ᐅᒥᓲᖏᑦᑐᓂᒃ ᐅᒃᑯᓯᒃᓴᓕᖕᓂᒃ ᓴᓇᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᑐᒃᑐᖑᐊᑦ ᐱᐅᔪᐊᓘᒐᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᑖᔅᓱᒪ ᓴᓇᔭᖏᑦ ᓴᓇᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ ᐊᐃᐱᓕᐅᑉ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᖏᑦ ᓲᕐᓗ ᐃᖏᐅᓯᕐᒥᒃ ᐱᔭᐅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ. ᑐᒃᑐᐃᑦ—ᑕᑭᔪᔪᑦ, ᐊᐅᓚᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓲᕐᓗ ᖁᒃᔫᓪᓗᑎᒃ—ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᑖᓱᒧᖓ ᑎᒍᑦᓕᕋᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒧᒥᖂᔨᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᖏᐅᓯᐊᓄᑦ.

Easily the most playful of the selected poems, this one is a song that invites caribou to come join the hunter on the land he inhabits.

Boasting of the richness of the tundra and the plentiful moss and lichen for the caribou to eat, he sings of how delicious it is and the reader is left to wonder if he speaks of the flora he uses to lure or the fauna he is luring.

When I think of caribou art, Osuitok Ipeelee, RCA (1923–2005), is my favourite creator that comes to mind. There are few stone caribou as elegant as his and this sculpture in particular is shaped as though Ipeelee’s inspiration came directly from the words in the poem. The caribou—long, lithe and swanlike—embodies every word of Tegoodligak’s description and he dances as though entranced by the words sung to him.

ᑕᓕᖅᐱᐊᓂᑦ

ᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᐃᐱᓕ (1923–2005 ᑭᙵᐃᑦ ) — ᑐᒃᑐᑦ 1976 ᐅᒃᑯᓯᒃᓴᖅ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓴᒡᔪᒃ 52.7 × 45.7 × 24.1 ᓴᓐᑕᒦᑕ ᓴᓇᔭᐅᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᐱᕆᓚᐅᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᑐᐊᓯᑦ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᒐᖃᕐᕕᐊᓂᒃ ᑐᓂᔭᐅᔪᖅ WADDINGTON’S

AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, ᑐᕌᓐᑐ © ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᑎ

RIGHT

Osuitok Ipeelee (1923–2005 Kinngait) — Caribou 1976 Stone and antler 52.7 × 45.7 × 24.1 cm REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION DORSET FINE ARTS COURTESY WADDINGTON’S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO © THE ARTIST

Inuit Art Quarterly

62

Spring 2021

ᐱᓯᖓ ᑎᒎᓪᓕᒐᐅᑉ Untitled II Attributed to Tegoodligak —

ᐃᕝᕕᑦ, ᐃᕝᕕᑦ, ᑐᒃᑑ ᐄ, ᐃᕝᕕᑦ ᑲᓈᑯᑖᓕᒃ ᐄ, ᐃᕝᕕᑦ ᓯᐅᑎᐊᐱᒃ ᐃᕝᕕᑦ ᕿᓕᖅᑎᓕᒃ— ᐅᖓᓯᒃᑐᒥᒃ ᑯᒪᐅᔮᖅᐳᑎᑦ: ᑲᖑᖅᑎᑐᑦ, ᐅᕙᓐᓄᒃ ᖃᐃᒋᑦ, ᓇᔾᔪᑎᑦ ᓄᓗᕋᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐸᖕᓂᕐᔪᐊᖅ ᑐᒃᑐ−ᑑ−ᑑ ᑐᒥᑎᑦ ᒪᐅᖓ ᓄᓇᒧᑦ ᑐᓪᓕᑦ— ᒪᓐᓇ ᓄᓇ ᓇᔪᖅᑕᕋ ᓂᕿᒃᓴᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᐳᖅ ᐱᔪᒪᔭᕐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᒋᑦ ᑎᒍᒥᐊᖅᐳᖓ ᓂᕿᕐᓂᒃ ᒪᒪᕆᔭᕐᓂᒃ— ᒪᒪᖅᑐᖅ, ᓂᐊᒻ, ᓂᐊᒻ, ᓂᐊᒻ— ᖃᐃᒋᑦ, ᑐᒃᑑ, ᖃᐃᒋᑦ ᑲᐃᒋᑦ ᑲᓈᑯᑖᑦ ᑐᐊᕕᐊᓪᓚᒡᓕᑦ ᑲᓈᑯᑖᑦ ᑐᑦᑕᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐅᕙᓐᓄᓪᓗ ᑐᓂᓚᐅᕆᑦ ᒪᓃᑉᐳᖓ ᐅᑕᖅᑭᕗᖓ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᑐᐊᖅ ᐃᕝᕕᑦ, ᐃᕝᕕᑦ, ᑐᒃᑐ ᐊᓚᒃᑲᓚᐅᕆᑦ! ᖃᐃᓚᐅᕆᑦ!

Storytelling

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Sculpting the Verse

ᐱᓯᖓ ᐅᕙᕝᓄᒃ Untitled III

by Uvavnuk —

ᐃᒪᕕᖕᒧᑦ ᓴᕐᕙᕗᖓ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᕗᖓᓗ ᐳᒃᑕᔪᑐᑦ ᑰᒃᑯᑦ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᖅ ᐊᓄᕆᕐᔪᐊᕐᓗ ᑎᒃᑕᐅᓚᖓ ᐅᖓᓯᒃᑐᒧᑦ ᐃᓗᓐᓂᓪᓗ ᖁᕕᐊᓪᓚᖓ ᐃᒡᓗᐊᓂᑦ

ᓂᖏᐅᑦᓯᐊᖅ ᐊᓲᓇ (ᐃᓅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ 1979 ᑭᙵᐃᑦ ) — ᐊᓯᔾᔩᓂᖅ n.d. ᐅᒃᑯᓯᒃᓴᖅ 20.9 × 7.6 × 19.1 ᓴᓐᑕᒦᑕ ᓴᓇᔭᐅᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᐱᕆᓚᐅᖅᖢᑎᒃ ᑐᐊᓯᑦ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᒐᖃᕐᕕᐊᓂᑦ ᑐᓂᔭᐅᔪᖅ COASTAL PEOPLES ᓴᓇᖑᐊᒐᖃᕐᕕᐊᓂᑦ © ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᑎ

OPPOSITE

Ningeosiak Ashoona (b. 1979 Kinngait) — Transformation n.d.

Stone 20.9 × 7.6 × 19.1 cm REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION DORSET FINE ARTS COURTESY COASTAL PEOPLES GALLERY © THE ARTIST

Inuit Art Quarterly

64

Spring 2021

ᐅᕙᕝᓄᒃ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖃᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᓄᓇᒥᐅᑕᕐᓂᒃ ᐃᒻᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᖏᓂᖅᓴᐅᑎᖦᖢᓂᒋᑦ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᑎᑎᕋᒻᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᒥᑦ. ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖃᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᒥᓱᐃᖏᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᖢᓂ ᖃᓄᖅ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᓄᓇ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᒪᖅ ᐃᒻᒥᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᐅᒻᒪᕆᖕᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᐊᕐᒥᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓂᖅ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᐅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᐱᐅᒻᒪᕆᖕᓂᖓᓂᒃ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᒪᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᓄᕆ ᐊᐅᓚᑎᑦᑎᕗᖅ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖅᑐᒥᒃ. ᓂᖏᐅᑦᓯᐊᖅ ᐊᓲᓇᐅᑉ ᐅᓂᒃᑲᐅᓯᕆᔭᖓᓂᒃ (n.d.), ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐅᒃᑯᓯᒃᓴᐃᑦ ᓇᓗᓇᐃᖅᓯᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐊᕐᓇᖅ ᑎᖕᒥᐊᖑᔪᖅ, ᐃᖃᓘᓐᓗᓂᓗ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓅᓪᓗᓂ. ᓄᓇᒥᐅᑕᐅᔪᖅ, ᑕᕆᐅᕐᒥᐅᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓯᓚᒥᐅᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᓴᓇᖑᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᑕᐅᓚᐅᕆᕗᖅ ᓲᖃᐃᒻᒪ ᑖᓐᓇ ᐊᕐᓇᖅ ᓰᖅᑯᒥᐊᖅᑐᖅ, ᖁᔭᓕᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᓄᓇᒥᑦ, ᐃᑲᔪᖃᑦᑕᕐᒪᒍ ᐃᓅᑎᑦᑎᓂᖓᓂᒃ. ᐊᑐᓂ ᐆᒪᔪᑦ ᐃᒻᒥᓂᖔᕐᒪᑕ ᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᒋᓪᓗᓂᒋᓪᓗ.

Storytelling

Uvavnuk speaks of all the natural things greater than herself in this untitled piece. It takes only a few words to express the grandiosity of the earth and water that fill her to the core with joy. Movement is central in this poem, and water and wind move the speaker gently and smoothly through the world.

In Ningeosiak Ashoona’s Transformation (n.d.), the dark stone depicts a woman who is simultaneously bird, fish and human. She is of the land, sea and air in one body. This sculpture was also chosen because of the woman kneeling in a kind of reverential position, giving thanks to the land that sustains her. Each creature within her emanates the joy that nature brings to her.

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Sculpting the Verse

PRODUCTION NOTES

Kiviuq Returns

BELOW

Avery Keenainak, Keenan Carpenter, Christine Tootoo, Agaaqtoq and Natar Ungalaq performing the Sea Woman Poem in Kiviuq Returns, Nuuk, 2018

2017–2019 CANADA-WIDE

PHOTO JAMIE GRIFFITHS / CHICKWEED ARTS

by Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and Vinnie Karetak

When it opened in Iqaluit, NU, in 2017, Kiviuq Returns: An Inuit Epic was such an immediate success it was remounted in 2019, this time solely in Inuktitut. Centring on the legendary titular character, whose stories are familiar to Inuit audiences across the circumpolar world, Kiviuq Returns has been performed in more than five cities in Canada and Greenland and six communities in Nunavut since its debut. Created by the Nunavutbased Qaggiq Collective and produced by Inuit Art Quarterly

the performing arts company Qaggiavuut, directors Vinnie Karetak and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, who oversaw the 2017 and 2019 productions respectively, see performance not only as a foundational medium through which to tell Inuit stories, but also as an act of self-determination.

The following is a conversation between Karetak and Williamson Bathory as they discuss their unique approach to Kiviuq Returns.

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INUIT ART QUARTERLY: Can you share how this production came together, and what originally drew you to Kiviuq’s story?

VINNIE KARETAK: The idea of putting together folklore and stories and turning them into a play had been around for a few years.

There was a chance to record Elders who wanted to talk about Kiviuq, and that’s when we learned how many stories there are. One person stated that she could

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PRODUCTION NOTES

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Pierre Aupilardjuk (b. 1967 Kangiqliniq) Leo Napayok (b. 1961 Salliq/Kangiqliniq) — Kiviuq c. 2000 Low-fired earthenware 32 × 66 cm PRIVATE COLLECTION PHOTO GARDINER MUSEUM

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count more than two hundred different stories of Kiviuq. So a few of us sat down in a room to see how we could string together something that we could perform in an hour.

LAAKKULUK WILLIAMSON BATHORY: One of the amazing things about Kiviuq as this mythological figure is that he exists across Inuit Nunaat. All the way from Siberia through Alaska, the same figure exists. Sometimes when we’re collecting these stories from Elders, we get the exact same wording from different regions of Inuit homelands. My family’s from Greenland and we have some Kiviuq stories—of him going over and then we have stories of him being received here [in Nunavut]. So, the strength of the stories for thousands of years is pretty mind-blowing.

How do we condense Kiviuq’s character to show as many aspects of him as possible within that time? He was this human being, and as a human, he was flawed and made all sorts of mistakes, but through the continuous action of travelling, he became immortal and supernatural, with the ability to marry geese, and talk to animals and go through supernatural experiences.

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IAQ: This production, spanning both the 2017 and 2019 iterations, features the contributions of more than 30 individuals—from Elders to actors to the creative teams—in bringing the story of Kiviuq to audiences. Can you explain how each of you approached this story as directors?

VK: I didn’t seek out the director role, I signed on as an actor. As we were preparing to get into production workshopping, we suddenly found ourselves without a co-director. I took that on, and because it was all so new to me, my approach was to do it to the best of our ability.

LWB: Vinnie did an incredible job of taking all of these different confluences of language, story and movement and the literal travel of the cast and crew all across the country to come up with a cohesive piece. When I took over the directorship, Vinnie had done all of the groundwork. I was able to take the opportunity to say these are the artistic choices that we can make in this piece that exists now—adding more violence here, more sexuality there, more Inuktitut, too.

That was one of the major choices we had to make in the second round, where we

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PRODUCTION NOTES

OPPOSITE (ABOVE)

Miriam Aglukkaq sharing the story of Tiriganiaq (The Fox) in Kiviuq Returns, Nuuk, 2018 PHOTO JAMIE GRIFFITHS / CHICKWEED ARTS

OPPOSITE (BELOW)

Tuna (possibly Kugaaruk) — Fox Shaman with Bird Familiar n.d.

Ivory 11.4 × 5.1 × 3.8 cm COURTESY WADDINGTON'S AUCTIONEERS AND APPRAISERS, TORONTO

wanted to take the opportunity to take this play nationally, and not use a word of English.

ABOVE

Ningiukulu Teevee (b. 1963 Kinngait) — Fox Turning into a Human 2014 Graphite and coloured pencil 76.2 × 111.8 cm REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION DORSET FINE ARTS © THE ARTIST

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Avery Keenainak in Kiviuq Returns, Nuuk, 2018 PHOTO JAMIE GRIFFITHS / CHICKWEED ARTS

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VK: That was one of the things I really enjoyed from when you directed. There were some very nice monologues that were developed specifically for the people who were retelling them, but they were in English.

But when the second round happened and Laakkuluk, who truly is a great artistic director, was able to say, “Let’s change it so that it’s more for us,” and more to the core of what we believe Qaggiavuut should be, which is to do plays for us and not for the masses. The result was a truly unilingual Inuktitut play.

LWB: I really wanted to make sure that everybody was doing their very best and

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felt supported and ownership. The second time around, the focus was much more on creating the play for Inuit, by Inuit. And it was in Inuktitut. And it wasn’t just Inuit on stage, but in technical roles, directorship, stage management and lighting. It was an all-Inuit team, and it was such a strong expression for all of us.

IAQ: You noted earlier that you collected stories from Elders as part of the early creation of this production, which audiences experience in the form of large-scale projections on stage throughout the performance. Why was it important to include these stories by Miriam Aglukkaq, Qaunaq Mikkigak, Madeline Ivalu and Susan Avingaq, and for audiences to hear from them directly?

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PRODUCTION NOTES

VK: The way they spoke in a very old precise language was very beautiful to see and to hear. We placed those clips to switch over from one story to the next as a mesmerizing segue into the next story.

LWB: We wanted to ensure that the audience understood that we have utmost reverence for Elders who have retained these stories through a tremendous amount of colonization.

The strength that they show in being able to give us these stories is almost incomparable.

To see our language being taken away through the education, justice and health systems, and to see our self-determination being eroded, and yet still fighting to keep these stories in the original language is mind-blowing. We wanted to make sure that we showed the stories being told by the holders of the stories, and that we gave them our love onstage.

IAQ: When the show was mounted at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, ON, in 2019, audiences received a note in the playbill stating, “Inuktitut is the language of Kiviuq Returns.

Let it wash over you. Look for the intent, listen for the emotion, hear the cracks of smiles, the lines of sorrow […] With this performance we immerse you in our language…Inuktitut.”

What was the response and feedback to mounting this national-touring play entirely in Inuktitut?

VK: The response was mostly positive. A couple times we heard, “Oh, I didn’t know it was going to be done like that.” Up here [in the North], I think there was a huge appreciation for us showing the play in Inuktitut at a high production value. You could hear some people say, “I know that story, I know that story! So that’s how it finishes.” Because these stories were told late at night, so that they could listen to their parents telling stories and fall asleep. When we were performing in Toronto and Laakkuluk was directing, there were lots of people who were really pleased and said it was easy to follow.

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PRODUCTION NOTES Some were asking why we didn’t have subtitles, but it’s not what we wanted. We wanted the purity of the show instead of read-through translations.

LWB: We gave the audience a prologue beforehand in English, saying that the amount of work to make sure this play is entirely in Inuktitut is tremendous because of colonization. Even some of the actors who are speaking 100 per cent in Inuktitut have worked so hard to reclaim language. And as audience members, you have a duty to hear a language being reclaimed right in front of you, to allow the words to flow over you so that you can feel the body of the language.

IAQ: Kiviuq’s stories have been told many times and across many formats, including drawings, sculptures and prints by some of the most celebrated Inuit visual artists including Jessie Oonark, Ningiukulu Teevee and Mary Yuusipik Singaqti. Can you explain a little bit about how you made it personal to the audience for both Inuit and non-Inuit?

LWB: I helped bring out the personalities of each of the actors when I was directing so that people could appreciate that these are hardworking actors. I wanted to make sure that you could see that there was sweat, that their makeup wasn’t perfect, that they’re hardworking people using their hands and their brains and expressing emotional intellect.

It works very well in Inuktitut because it goes straight into the veins from Inuit to Inuit.

ABOVE

Qaunaq Mikkigak telling stories of Kiviuq, 2017 PHOTO JAMIE GRIFFITHS / QAGGIAVUUT

RIGHT

Mary Yuusipik Singaqti (1936–2017 Qamani’tuaq) — Kiviuq and the Bee Woman 2009–13 Coloured pencil, felt-tip pen and graphite 38.5 × 56.7 cm COURTESY WINNIPEG ART GALLERY PHOTO SERGE GUMENYUK

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ABOVE

The Battle with Iguptaq (The Bee Woman) performed by Charlotte Qamaniq in Kiviuq Returns, Nuuk, 2018 PHOTO JAMIE GRIFFITHS / CHICKWEED ARTS

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For the non-Inuktitut–speaking audiences, it made the language more personable because they could see the actors being themselves and giving themselves on stage.

This is an example of a collaborative process that is really important to us as Inuit artists, and as Inuit community members. We honoured the Elders who gave us the stories, but these are also stories that we have in our families. They are our stories; as Inuit they belong to us. You can’t say it is written by a single person, or created by a single person or directed by a single person. It is a group effort in staking our ownership of our own stories.

VK: I agree 100 per cent with Laakkuluk. We always went back to the Elders and sought permissions, asking if this was acceptable. Sometimes in those conversations, a little gem of how you’re supposed to be telling stories would come out. Otherwise, we would never have known because those types of conversations simply don’t take place anymore.

I still feel honoured and privileged to have been part of that conversation.

dorsetfinearts.com @dorsetfinearts @kinngaitstudios

LWB: It is so important that we tell our own stories and that we acknowledge that we have the collective skills to pull things off like a nationally recognized play. We can do it ourselves, and we have to do it ourselves, otherwise the path of colonization continues.

This interview was conducted by former IAQ Managing Editor Kassina Ryder in January 2021. It has been edited for clarity and condensed.

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NEWS

Updates and highlights from the world of Inuit art and culture

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Marion Tuu’luq (1910–2002 Qamani’tuaq) — Untitled c. mid 1970s Stroud, felt, embroidery floss and thread 127 × 121.9 cm COURTESY FIRST ARTS PREMIERS INC. PHOTO DIETER HESSEL

Nine Records Broken at Inuit Art Auction First Arts’ December auction smashed nine world records, bringing in $1.8 million across 158 lots. This is the second auction First Arts has held during the pandemic; their July auction saw a further ten records broken.

A wall hanging by Jesse Oonark sold for $156,000, topping previous records for both the artist and for her community of Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU. Sculptures by John Pangnark, Lucassie Usaitaijuk and Henry Evaluardjuk all doubled records previously held for each artist’s work, while works by Marion Tuu’luq, Arnaqu Ashevak, Luke Anowtalik and Mark Tungilik set new highs.

Winnipeg Art Gallery Unveils Public Art by Goota Ashoona and Abraham Anghik Ruben The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) unveiled two massive outdoor sculptures by Goota Ashoona and Abraham Anghik Ruben this winter, which will serve as public art pieces in front of Qaumajuq, the new Inuit art centre which will open March 25 at the WAG. Ruben’s piece, Time to Play, features a family of polar bears and sits at the entrance to Qaumajuq’s outdoor plaza. Ashoona’s piece, Tuniigusiia/The Gift, features a mermaid arched over silhouettes of masks and women throat singing and sits at the corner of St. Mary Avenue and Memorial Boulevard.

Inuit Art Quarterly

Uvagut TV Becomes First-Ever IndigenousLanguage Channel in Canada

Beatrice Deer Band Among Finalists in Quebec-Wide TV Talent Show

This January, Uvagut TV became the first-ever Indigenous language channel in North America. Available to stream online or via select satellite and cable subscribers, the channel will feature Inuktut-language content from a variety of producers.

The new channel was created by the Nunavut Independent Television Network (NITV) and IsumaTV with the goal of delivering Inuktut television in order to preserve, promote and revitalize Inuit culture and language. “TV in Inuktut is a powerful way to keep a living language for future generations,” said NITV Chair Lucy Tulugarjuk in a statement. This comes on the heels of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s summer announcement committing funding to Inuit TV, which will also support Inuit language television.

The Beatrice Deer Band was among the finalists of talent show Les Talents Bleus in December, competing for a $100,000 prize against four other contestants who each represented regions from Quebec.

Competing for Nord-du-Québec, singersongwriter Deer and her eponymous band reached the finale after two months of competition. Despite not taking home the ultimate prize, the competition was an exciting adventure for Deer, who hopes to release her sixth album in spring 2021.

Ossie Michelin Named Editor-At-Large at Canadian Art Ossie Michelin, an Inuk journalist from North West River, NL, was named one of two Editors-at-Large at Canadian Art, alongside Adrienne Huard. A graduate of Concordia University’s journalism program, Michelin worked for five years as a journalist for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), during which he established APTN’s Labrador Bureau.

“I want to break down barriers over what is considered Indigenous art,” said Michelin about his new position.

Peter Igupttaq Autut Wins Creative Non-Fiction Award The 2020 Sally Manning Award for Indigenous Creative Non-Fiction has been awarded to writer and comedian Peter Igupttaq Autut for his story “Winter in Chesterfield Inlet.”

This year’s award was judged by authors Michael Kuguksuk and Richard Van Camp, Up Here publisher Marion LaVigne and past winner Cullen Crozier. “His descriptions are so real I can feel the cold right down to the ting in my ear!” said Kuguksuk of Autut’s piece.

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Kyle Natkusiak Aleekuk Designs Inuvialuktun Language GIFs for ICS This past fall, the Inuvialuit Communications Society released dozens of Inuvialuktunlanguage GIFs to bolster the language’s use in the region, featuring images designed by graphic artist Kyle Natkusiak Aleekuk.

“I hope that the language-learning aspect is a huge benefit for anybody trying to learn these languages,” he says. Funded in part through the Canadian Roots Exchange, the GIFs are available through the GIF keyboard in Facebook Messenger.

Jessica Winters wins $2,500 UNAAN Award Visual artist Jessica Winters became the inaugural winner of the newly created UNAAN Innu/Inuit Artist Grant this winter, given annually by industrial company UNAAN LLP to a visual artist from the Innu Nation or Nunatsiavut for a project of cultural significance.

Winters won the award based on a project proposal to complete two large, intricate sealskin mosaic series. “Without my Inuit identity, I would not be an artist,” said Winters in a statement.

Get the full news story faster at: inuitartfoundation.org/news Spring 2021

ᑕᕐᕿᑕᒫᑦ tarqitamaat.ca artist of the month of february sylvia cloutier Hush, 2020 © Laurence Plouffe/National Theater School

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Untitled (Seated Inuk) c. 1964 John Tiktak, RCA (1916 – 1981) Rankin Inlet, Nunavut Sculpted in grey steatite Signed in syllabics h: 8.3” w: 2.5” d: 6”

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PAPIARA TUKIKI Collection Studio PM

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LAST LOOK

Inuit Art Icons in Comics Karoo Ashevak

The Inuit Art Icons in Comics was a limited series of comics published on the IAQ Online between May and November 2020 that highlighted the art and lives of seven major figures in the Inuit art world. As the author of this series, this was a welcome opportunity to explore the work of artists who have had a profound effect on art history while honouring their legacies in a new way. This comic, featuring Karoo Ashevak (1940–1974), was the last in the series and the culmination of what I learned through writing about and drawing other artists’ work during the course of the series. The series also included comics about Kenojuak Ashevak, CC, RCA, ON (1927–2013), Helen Kalvak, CM, RCA (1901–1984), Joe Talirunili (1906– 1976), Jessie Oonark, OC, RCA (1906–1985), Pudlo Pudlat (1916–1992) and Tivi Etook.

In this last comic I wanted to capture the unique, bold expressionism that is so visceral in Ashevak’s magnificent carvings. I chose to draw the characters in bright white on black paper so that the forms would pop visually and mirror the emotional response the real sculptures elicit. I was particularly struck with Karoo Ashevak’s work and how playful his carvings were.

They capture the quintessential Inuit humour that has always been so warm and welcoming.

What I learned through creating this series, and wanted to portray in this comic specifically, was the depth of expression imbued in the work of mid-twentieth century Inuit artists. It amazes me that despite the demand for very specific types of Inuit art during this period, mainly prints and carvings, the artists in this series were able to produce art with incredible range and personality. Drawing these comics offered me new insight into the lives and perspectives these artists conveyed through their art, and it was a privilege to share their stories through my own art.

– Napatsi Folger

Napatsi Folger (b. 1983 Iqaluit) — Karoo Ashevak 2020 Acrylic paint and gel pen 21.6 × 27.9 cm © INUIT ART FOUNDATION

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Johnny Pootoogook Pootoogook Views from Home Home Spring 2021 2021

“WHALE HUNT, THE FIRST IN KINGAIT, 2009”, 2011, ink and coloured pencil “WHALE HUNT, THE FIRST IN KINGAIT, 2009”, 2011, ink and coloured pencil

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Amplifying Indigenous voices from across Canada through the TD Art Collection Image Credit: Judy Anderson, There is life in there (North), There is life in there (East), There is life in there (South), There is life in there (West), 2018, Mixed Media, Italian beads on stroud cloth, 40.6 x 40.6 cm, Nêhiyaw (Cree) from Gordon First Nation, Saskatchewan, TD Bank Corporate Art Collection.

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