JESUS
Armand Tagoona, the first ordained Anglican deacon in the eastern Arctic, explains how his traditional beliefs were affected when he become a minister of the Christian faith.
On a solo trip to Mallik, the author has an odd dream in which he is warned by a woman never to return. The author would later be told that he was visited in his dream by the much-loved shaman Aliguq.
Deciding to follow Christian beliefs yet saddened at the same time, a woman and her companions seek peace by making an offering to Sedna, who lived at the bottom of the sea.
INCANTATIONS, CURSES, AND THE POWER OF WORDS
The author learns about incantations that attract animals, calm storms, offer protection against evil spirits, and give thanks for a safe journey or successful hunt.
The author met Issuhungituk Pootoogook during his first visit to Cape Dorset. The two built a strong bond, spending hours together at the kitchen table talking about all manner of things.
QIATSUQ AND THE IMAGINED WINDOW
Issuhungituk shares the story of her father, Qiatsuq, a shaman and artist who depicted traditional life on the land and scenes of violence and killings.
An elder talks about the rituals and understanding of death.
The author learns about a terrible battle between Attachie’s and Kinarnaq’s camps. Thirty bodies were later dumped on a small island known as Iluvirqtuq.
In desperation, hunters place the lifeless body of one of their friends into an iron rendering vat. Several years later the body is removed and given a Christian burial.
THE OLD WOMAN WHO WAS CARRIED OFF BY WOLVES
Fantastic tales about Arctic wolves, real and mythological.
The author serenades a old friend on his death bed.
Final words to the elder Joanassie Salamonie.
An everyday experience as simple as observing the melting of ice reveals an event of epic proportions.
Pudlo Pudlat watches as his nephew floats out to sea on an ice floe to face certain death. Miraculously, the young boy is saved by the turn of the tide.
The transcendental part of the world that lies between the land and the open sea and between different hunting techniques.
THE PEOPLE WITH THE POINTED SHOES
Simeonie Quppapik talks about the Sami reindeer herders and 600 reindeer who arrived in the Canadian Arctic in 1921, in a failed experiment to establish the herd in Canada.
What was the meaning of the tattoos on Charles Gimpel’s arm, Qaqqaq Ashoona wants to know.
Abuse in some camps during traditional times and repentance.
On a trip with a dominant hunter, the author experiences abuse and humiliation, but in the end a measure of redemption as he is carried ashore by his tormentor who becomes a close friend.
THE LAST TRADITIONAL INUIT TRIAL IN SIKUSIILAQ
The author comes upon a site where the Great Council sat in judgement, and offers a unique account of the Inuit traditional system of justice in action.
The author recounts what he has learned about the Tuniit, the mysterious people who preceded today’s Inuit.
The Inuit understanding of the Tuniit.
WORDS: THE VANISHING ARTIFACTS
The importance of gathering names, meanings, and characteristics of places considered significant to the elders. For the Inuit, words are carriers of culture, and their loss is profound.
Osuitok Ipeelie reveals how Inuit shamans kept alive ancient words spoken by Tuniit shamans; life in the early days before the arrival of guns and missionaries; and how the magnetic North Pole is constantly shifting its position.
THERE IS GREAT BEAUTY IN FOND MEMORIES
The author accompanies Itidlouie on the elder’s final trip to his most beloved places.
The author shares stories with a niece of one
