Arvik! In pursuit of the Bowhead Whale
By Sylvie Côté Chew
NOW AVAILABLE!
We still come across many bowhead whale bones in some of the places we hunt. I’ve heard stories about how the Inuit used to get together for those bowhead hunts. The people, mostly widows, who were left behind in the camps would sing songs as they waited for the men to come back from the hunt. One old song says that the maktaq is like the lichen that sticks to the rocks. J. Nappaaluk, p. 139
Arvik! In pursuit of the Bowhead Whale
Following the first bowhead whale hunt authorized in Nunavik in over a century, this large-size, full-color book presents the cultural, anthropological, historical, geopolitical and biological contexts surrounding the event.
The sum of the research completed by the authors is considerable and allows for light to be shed on several aspects that have been ignored up until now.
Over 60 color photographs intimately document the preparation for the hunt, the waiting, the tracking and the hunting itself, portraying at the same time a close-knit Nunavik community where hunting is a vital and healthy part of contemporary life.
For the general reading public, this book presents an opportunity to learn more about the unique Inuit culture and offers a better understanding on little-known facts about the history of the Canadian Arctic. For our fellow Inuit, this book is witness to their determination and courage. This publication commemorates an important historical event, and we hope, will serve as a reference work for generations to come.
Fréchette, Robert, ed. Arvik! : in pursuit of the bowhead whale, Publications Nunavik TM, Westmount, Québec, 2013, 216 pp. Text in English with some Inuktitut. ISBN 978-2-921644-87-7
$95.00
Contents
Foreword - Charlie Arngak
Preface - Daniel Francis
Part I : The Context
Ecology of Bowhead Whales: A Summary of Knowledge and Recent Findings - Thomas Doniol-Valcroze and Mike Hammill
Pre-Contact and Contact Period Bowhead Whale Hunting in the Eastern Canadian Arctic - Susan Lofthouse
Bowhead Whale Hunting Among the Inuit of Canada’s Arctic: Thirty Years of Challenges (1978–2008) - Bernard Saladin d’Anglure
“We’re Back With our Ancestors”: Inuit Bowhead Whaling in the Canadian Eastern Arctic - Frédéric B. Laugrand and Jarich G. Oosten
Part II: The Hunt
Interviews and Photos - Putulik Ilisituk and Robert Fréchette
Introduction to the Hunt - Stas Olpinski
Fisheries and Oceans Canada Approval for the Hunt - Viviane Haeberlé and Danielle Baillargeon
Reflections on Hunting a Whale - Robert Fréchette
Conclusion - Lisa Koperqualuk
Contributors
