Description
Foreword by the Honourable Paul Okalik. David F. Pelly, a modern-day explorer of the North's cultural landscape, has lived in and travelled throughout the Arctic since the late 1970s. He is the author of ten books and numerous articles on the land and its people, including Ukkusiksalik, The Old Way North, and Sacred Hunt. Much of his writing is based on oral history shared with him by Inuit elders. For this work, he was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2025. He now lives near Ottawa.
Inuit elders say that the ancestors are happy when stories are told, retold, and preserved. In this “landscape of stories” about Canada’s Arctic — rooted in oral history — ethnographer and historian David F. Pelly continues his exploration of Inuit cultural tradition. Drawing on his more than forty years of experiences and encounters in the North, he takes the reader on a journey through the region —from a dog sled trek across Boothia to a spring seal hunt on the sea ice of Pelly Bay— and into the lives of several memorable northern characters — from Iquginnaq, whose life was saved by a shaman, to Mannik, who was Pelly’s first teacher in the ways of Arctic life. The ancestors are pleased.
REVIEWS
He writes with respect and clarity, which allows the reader to learn in a truly honest and insightful way.
Paul Okalik, First Premier of Nunavut
David Pelly is one guy who has learned to talk to our elders and listen to stories ... Nobody could have done a better job writing down my mother's memories of her childhood than David Pelly.
Manitok Bruce, former cabinet minister, Government of Nunavut
You will learn something from David's work — he writes about the real stuff.
Hon. Peter Irniq, First Commissioner of Nunavut
This book contains 79 Black & White photos, 5 maps.