Memories of a Beluga Whale Hunt from I, Nuligak by Nuligak
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20361/G2F60RAbstract
Nuligak. Memories of a Beluga Whale Hunt from I, Nuligak. Inuvik, NT: Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, 2015. Print.
Itqaginaqtuat Qilalugarniarnikkun Uvanga, Nuligak. Inuvik, NT: Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, 2015. Print. (Uummarmiutun edition)
Puigulaitatka Qilalugaqhiurnik Umanga Uvanga, Nuligak. Inuvik, NT: Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, 2015. Print. (Kangiryuarmiutun edition)
Puigulaitkiga Qilalukkiqiniq Uvanga, Nuligak. Inuvik, NT: Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, 2015. Print. (Siglitun edition)
I, Nuligak is a classic Northern Canadian work and was the first Inuvialuit book to be published. Nuligak was an orphaned Inuvialuit who documented his life and the lives of his people. The work was published in 1966 and printed in paperback in 1971. The Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, the primary keeper of the documentary record of cultural and historical knowledge of the Inuvialuit people also has a mandate to help preserve and promote all three of the Inuvialuktun dialects: Uummarmiutun, Kangiryuarmiutun and Siglitun. This is one example of their work, taking a short passage from the beginning of I, Nuligak, in which Nuligak describes a Beluga whale hunt and turning it into an illustrated children’s book, published in all three dialects, as well as English.
The text is simple and closely follows the original English language publication. Nuligak describes what the scenes of the hunt were like, how the kayaks were built, how the hunt was structured, both practically and socially and how the catch was managed. The text for the story in each dialect was created by local native speakers from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
The illustrations are the same in all four books. Each pair of pages is a beautiful illustration by Toronto artist, John Mantha. Mantha has done an excellent job of capturing the Inuvialuit people, their clothing, kayaks, tools and their environment.
All four volumes should be added to library collections that collect Northern Canadian Children’s literature. The English language volume should be added to all Canadian public and school libraries.
Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4
Reviewer: Sandy Campbell
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