Saqiyuq: Stories from the Lives of Three Inuit Women PDF
Preview Saqiyuq: Stories from the Lives of Three Inuit Women
S A Q I Y U Q Stories from the Lives of Three Inuit Women Praise for Saqiyuq: "This book is a living text." Geist "An absorbing collection of stories from the lives of three Inuit women." MacLeans "Invaluable [to] anyone interested in Inuit culture. The implications for the future from generation to generation are enlightening, and at times, overtly frightening." Edmonton Journal "Saqiyuq is a delightful and inspiring work - delightful in its read- ability and inspiring in the example it offers of how good multi-gen- erational histories can be produced." Choice '''Saqiyuq is a thoughtful and important tribute." The Montreal Gazette "A moving account of three generations in the Arctic that sends a fascinating mixture of messages about its hardships and it riches." Hugh Brody, Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Studies, Univer- sity College of the Fraser Valley "Saqiyuq gives an intimate view of these women's lives and of their essential ability to adapt and survive." The Left Atrium N A N C Y W A C H O W I C H is a lecturer in social anthropology, The Uni- versity of Aberdeen. A P P H I A A G A L A K T I AWA spent most of her life on the land in the Eastern High Arctic. She died in September 1996. R H O D A K A U K J A K K A T S A K lives in Pond Inlet and works as the assistant senior administrative officer for the hamlet. SANDRA PIKUJAK KATSAK lives in Pond Inlet and works as a legal assistant for Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik legal aid office in the settlement. This page intentionally left blank SAQIYUQ STORIES FROM THE LIVES OF T H R E E INUIT WOMEN Nancy Wachowich in collaboration with Apphia AgalaktiAwa, Rhoda Kaukjak Katsak, and Sandra Pikujak Katsak McGill-Queen's University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca © McGill-Queen's University Press 1999 ISBN 0-7735-1887-8 (cloth) ISBN 0-7735-1144-1 (paper) Legal deposit fourth quarter 1999 Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper First paperback edition 1001 Reprinted 1003, 1005 McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for its activities. We also acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Wachowich, Nancy, 1966- Saqiyuq: stories from the lives of three Inuit women (McGill-Queen's native and northern series ; 19) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7735-1887-8 (bnd) ISBN 0-773 5-1144-1 (pbk) i. Awa, Apphia Agalakti, 1931-1996. z. Katsak, Rhoda Kaukjak. 3. Katsak, Sandra Pikujak 4. Inuit women—Nunavut—Biography. 5. Inuit women—Nunavut—History. 6. Nunavut—Biography. I. Awa, Apphia Agalakti, 1931 — 1996. II. Katsak, Rhoda Kaukjak. III. Katsak, Sandra Pikujak IV. Title. V. Series. E99.E7W33 1999 9?i-9'5 099-900996-6 Typeset in 10/11 Sabon by True to Type In September 1996 as this book was being prepared for publication, Apphia Agalakti Siqpaapik Awa, who suffered from congestive heart failure, took off her oxygen-therapy machine and made a patchwork quilt - her granddaughter Sandra's wedding gift. She died on 16 September 1996, two days after Sandra's wedding. This book is dedicated to Apphia Agalakti, to her ancestors, and to her descendants. May her strength and good humour carry on through the generations. This page intentionally left blank C O N T E N T S Acknowledgments ix Maps xi Introduction: The Life History Project 3 PART ONE: APPHIA AGALAKTI AWA 15 Growing up on the Land: I Start to Recollect Bits and Pieces 18 Marriage and Family: We Were Full of Children 3 6 Shifting Winds: The First Time We Ever Lived with Qallunaat around Us 103 The Old Culture: Stories Since a Long, Long Time Ago 113 An Elder in the Settlement: There Is No Ending to the Stories of My Life 137 PART TWO: RHODA KAUKJAK KATSAK 151 Growing Up on the Land: My Beautiful Lakes! 152 From Inuit to Qallunaat Culture: I Remember My First Day of School 165 Marriage and Family: All This Stuff in My Hands, Carrying Lucas on My Back 183 Reflections on a Childhood: They Spent All Those Years Trying to Change Me into a Qallunaaq 192, Vlll CONTENTS PART THREE: SANDRA PIKUJAK KATSAK 211 Growing up in the Settlement: I Am the Oldest 2.12. Teenage Years: When the Coffee Shop Closed 222 Settlement Culture: At First None of the Teenagers Would Square-Dance 242 Reflections on the Future: Acting Inuit or Acting Like Qallunaat 252 Postscript 257 Note about Spelling 259 List of People Mentioned in the Stories 261 Significant Dates in Eastern High Arctic and Awa Family History 263 An Overview of Iglulingmiut and Mittimatalingmiut Culture and History 267 List of Stories 273 Suggested Readings 277 Glossary 281 Notes 283 Bibliography 291 Index 297 A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S This book has been over five years in the making. We want to extend especially warm thanks to Lucy Quasa, Bernadette Dean, and Apphia Killiktee for spending many of their valuable evenings in Pond Inlet during the spring and fall of 1993, helping translate Apphia's eloquent Inuktitut stories into spoken English for the book. We are grateful to the editors at McGill-Queen's University Press, Aurele Parisien, Joan McGilvray, and Maureen Garvie, for their guidance in getting this manuscript into its final form. Patricia Badir, Gretchen Brundin, Bette Wachowich, Leslie Robertson, Kerri Wylie, and Andrew Stewart all read versions over the years and offered sound editorial advice. Thank you to Mathias Awa in Pond Inlet and Kenneth Bragg at Ground Control Geotechnologies for the place-names maps and Leah Otak in Igloolik for her help with Inuktitut spellings. Rhoda's aunt, Koopa Maktar, her brothers and sisters, her husband, Josh Katsak, and their children were reassuring audiences throughout several rounds of edi- torial changes. I also want to thank my parents, Allan and Bette Wachowich, for their ongoing support and inspiration. The original impetus for this project came from the Royal Commission on Aborig- inal Peoples and some of the material initially collected for this book appeared previously in a report prepared for the Royal Commission. Many of my ideas for shaping this book came from conversations and seminars with Julie Cruikshank at the University of British Columbia.
The list of books you might like
