Children's Nonfiction Native Canadian
Proud to Be Inuvialuit
Quviahuktunga Inuvialuugama
- Publisher
- Fifth House Books
- Initial publish date
- May 2010
- Category
- Native Canadian
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781897252598
- Publish Date
- May 2010
- List Price
- $19.95
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 8 to 12
Description
2011 Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable - Information Book Award
James Pokiak is proud to be Inuvialuit, which means "real people."
The Inuvialuit are the most westerly Canadian Inuit. He lives in the hamlet of Tuktoyuktuk, NWT, which is above the Arctic Circle on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The community is often just called Tuk to save time. Even though he lives in town now, James grew up on the land, learning the traditional values and survival skills of his people. In this book, the fifth in the The Land is Our Storybook series, James and his daughter, Rebecca, go on a trip to harvest beluga whale. Harvesting and preparing beluga meat together as a family is an integral part of what it means to be Inuvialuit. Join James and Rebecca and learn about how the beluga whale is interlinked with Inuvialuit culture and history.
About the authors
Mindy Willett lives in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. She is a teacher at heart although no longer in the classroom. She first came north to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut in 1987 and most recently taught in Kugluktuk, Nunavut from 1996 to 2000. Mindy stopped being a classroom teacher when she had her son Jack. To remain home as much as possible, she started her own home-based business, writing educational materials.
James Pokiak lives in Tuktoyaktuk, NT, a community above the Arctic Circle, on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Even though he lives in town now, James grew up on the land, learning the traditional values and survival skills of his people.
"Tessa Macintosh is an award-winning northern photographer who raised her family in Yellowknife. In 35 years she has been fortunate to photograph many wonderful northerners and fantastic places across the North. Her photos illustrate the 7 other books in The Land is Our Storybook series, and her work is included in Canadian Shield (2011). She has fond memories of previous visits to Great Bear Lake, beginning 30 years ago, toddler in tow, to photograph Elders making snowshoes."
Editorial Reviews
"Proud to be Inuvialuit is a beautiful photo-essay about a traditional community of Beluga whale hunting Inuvialuit in Tuk, short for Tuktoyaktuk, on the Arctic coast of the Northwest Territories of Canada. In addition to details about a modern whale-hunting expedition, there are traditional stories and definitions of Inuvialuit words and other bits and pieces of traditional lore associated with Beluga whale hunting by this aboriginal people. Particularly interesting is the dual ability of the Inuvialuit to live bestriding two cultures and two time frames, traditional Inuvialuit and the dominant culture, and ancient times and modern days. Translating some of their stories and traditional ways can help explain how the Inuvialuit respect and conserve the Beluga whale population while they rely on it for good, tools, and a sense of real community connectedness with nature and the world. Proud to be Inuvialuit is a fine addition to any native American studies curriculum for elementary school students."
— THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"Text, illustrations, and captions work together well to present the Inuvialuit way of life. . . An informative introduction to an Inuit community today."
— Booklist
"The text's conversational writing style is almost like having a personal tour of the area. Appended facts provide additional information. A map and excellent colour photographs help readers to see the community with its pingoes and ice roads, and to better understand the steps in the harvesting and processing of the whale. A blue floral border along the top of each page is a detail from a baby belt belonging to James's daughter, Rebecca. Worthy of purchase for the elementary school classroom or library, Proud to be Inuvialuit affords readers a rare glimpse of an Arctic community and its culture.
Recommended."
— CM Magazine
Librarian Reviews
Proud to be Inuvialuit
Here is the fifth title in a lovely series, The Land is Our Storybook, about the First Nations people of the Northwest Territories. Teacher Mindy Willett, who lives in Yellowknife, has co-written each book with a person from the local community. The other titles are The Delta is My Home, We Feel Good Out Here, Living Stories and Come and Learn With Me. Each one is set in a different part of the territory. The Inuvialuit are the Inuit living in the most westerly part of the territory in the village of Tuktoyuktuk, known to the residents as, simply, Tuk. The author, James Pokiak, runs a local tour company, Ookpik Tours. The traditional food for the community is beluga whale. The book takes us with James and his family on a beluga hunt — tracking, killing and processing the whale.Tessa Macintosh’s sharp, bright photos give the reader a good sense of the village and the importance of the whale to the survival of the people and their traditional culture. Each book in the series includes traditional stories interspersed with the main text and there are two pages with more information at the back. There is also an excellent map of the region and its place in the Northwest Territories. My only criticism is that it would have been helpful to have a pronunciation guide to the Native words.
Other books in this series look at the traditional medicine of the region, and the importance of learning traditional ways, as well as the ways of the white people. I really got a strong sense of the place, of the land and community and how different the North is, while still being a part of our country. The narrator of Come and Learn With Me is a very typical nine-year-old, with similar interests of any girl her age (as shown in the photo of her bedroom). But in many ways, her life is completely different from a little girl in urban Canada. She helps her grandmother process moose meat and tan the hide, and makes birchbark baskets with her aunt.
The authors take a very positive look at life; there is no mention of the many struggles and challenges that so many northern communities face. Yet it does not feel false; everyone works hard to preserve traditions and make a better life. This series provides an excellent window on life in the North for both Native and non-Native students.
Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Fall 2010. Volume 33 No. 4.
Proud to be Inuvialuit (Land is Our Storybook)
James Pokiak is proud to be Inuvialuit. This story is about James’s family and community and the importance of keeping traditions and teaching them to the young in an ever-changing world. Join James and his family as they harvest and process beluga whales and learn how the beluga whale is interlinked with Inuvialuit culture and history.Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. 2011.
Other titles by
Sharing Our Truths
Tapwe
Au coeur de nos croyances
No Borders
Kigliqangittuq
Fiers d'etre Innvialuits
Le caribou nourrit notre �me
The Caribou Feed Our Soul (French)
Viens avec moi
nous apprendrons ensemble!
Nos histoires sont vivantes
At the Heart of It
Dene dzó t?áré
Comme on se sent bien ici!
Le delta, c'est mon chez moi
Other titles by
Other titles by
Sharing Our Truths
Tapwe
Au coeur de nos croyances
No Borders
Kigliqangittuq
Fiers d'etre Innvialuits
Le caribou nourrit notre �me
The Caribou Feed Our Soul (French)
Viens avec moi
nous apprendrons ensemble!
Nos histoires sont vivantes
At the Heart of It
Dene dzó t?áré
Comme on se sent bien ici!