Inuit Culture

I have learned so much about Inuit culture since arriving in Nunavut in August, and I am grateful to my Inuit friends and colleagues for sharing their culture with me daily.  The Inuit people have a long and fascinating history, and their inventiveness and resilience is inspiring.  Their arts and crafts are outstanding, and some of the handiwork I have seen for sale is incredible: beautiful handmade parkas, sealskin kamiks (boots), jewelry, toques, quilts, in addition to carvings and prints.  Many communities have a sewing centre where sewers congregate to sew and share ideas and skills. The Inuit also have an incredible history of oral legends and myths, many with fantastical creatures, including shape shifters!  Google Inuit legends or mythology to find out more, if this interests you. There are also a number of books of legends available through book stores.

                                                                                  (image: http://www.inuitmyths.com/ijirait.htm)

The qulliq is the traditional Inuit oil lamp/stove.  It was used to keep tents and igloos warm, and for cooking bannock and other items.  The fuel is whale or seal blubber and the wicks are specific types of moss or other plants.

I have had the opportunity to try a variety of "country food" as the food of the land is called.  The traditional Inuit diet has been identified as one of the healthiest in the world, and it contains all of the vitamins and nutrients required to maintain a healthy body.  For southerners, it is hard to imagine a land of permafrost located above the tree-line where vegetation is limited to low,  ground-hugging plants and flowers that grow only in the short summer season.  Naturally, this means that ones primary food source here must come from the sea: fish (arctic char is wonderful), seals, beluga, whales, walrus, seaweed, and other seafood.  Because there is no source of wood for fires, food from the land is often eaten raw or frozen.

Muktuk (beluga) Inuit sushi!

Walrus Stew

Hand made nasak (hat)

2015 Cape Dorset Print Show and Auction

Cape Dorset is called the "Capital of Inuit Art" for good reason.  Twenty-two percent of its inhabitants make their living in the arts and crafts industry through printmaking, carving or other forms of art.   Each fall the printmaking shop releases its annual collection through its marketing arm, Dorset Fine Arts in Toronto, and around this time of year, one set of the prints is sold on site in Cape Dorset where the prints are made.  Today was the big day, and I was fortunate to be able to attend the 2015 Print Collection Show and Sale at the print shop.

Normally, the event is packed with people, but today the weather wasn't very cooperative, and it was very cold (-23) with gusts of cold wind up to 60 km/hr blowing at the opening time of 5 p.m.  It was also Radio Bingo night, so perhaps that is why attendance was down.  This was all good news for me though, as it meant I wouldn't have to arm wrestle for my favourite print!

The prints were displayed around the shop on tables and walls, and surrounded by the tools of the trade.  Numbered post-it notes assigned each print a number and the sale catalogue provided the artist details and prices.

It was hard deciding on a print.  I knew I wanted to purchase one, if there was one that caught my eye, because I couldn't think of a nicer souvenir of my time here in Cape Dorset than a Cape Dorset print.  There were about thirty prints to choose from, and I really liked this one titled "Polar Bear in Camp" by Papiara Tukiki (Stonecut and Stencil) and the one below titled "Opulent Owl" by Ningeokuluk Teevee (Stonecut).

In the end, after much humming and hawing, I decided upon "Dog with Kamiks" by Ningeokuluk Teevee (stonecut and stencil, 59 x 50 cm).  I love the subject, texture, colours, and movement.  I can't wait to see it mounted and hanging!

Which would you choose?  If you would like to view the complete collection, go to http://www.dorsetfinearts.com/2015-print-collection/ .

Dog with Kamiks