Inuvialuk Elder Rose Nirliq Iriarr̂uk Tuuqłak Kirby,79, gives readers a glimpse of the past, untouched by colonization, in her first book and family memoir.
It is called Kunuuksayuukka: The Spirit of Winter Storms and was launched in Inuvik over the weekend.
“I’m not sure how I started it, but I was sure that whatever I’m gonna write is gonna be from my background, from my family, not from the university courses that I took concerning the native people,” she says. “And when I got really deep into it, I was so excited.”
“I can’t wait to read it as it includes the traditional lifestyle our family lived,” says Lanita Thrasher, “very proud of you auntie!.”
She says she started this process over 40 years ago, despite having a stroke in between writing and having to type with one hand, she was still able to accomplish her goal of documenting her family’s history.
This 300-page book is broken down into four parts surrounding major events in Kirby’s life, upbringing and personal experiences; travelling with a dog team in the Beaufort Delta, her residential school experience in Aklavik, working the Distant Early Warning Line system with her father and moving out of the bush and into a city.
“My earliest years were the most exciting part of my life,” says Kirby.
Her favourite stories were told by her mother, like string games, the crane dance and stories from a fish head, “she used everything to tell stories.”
“When mom tells the story, it didn’t last one night,” she says, “It was a story that continues the next day in between cleaning fish, hanging fish, cooking fish, making Bannock, raising us children.”
Kirby says the ability to craft and share stories is the reason she became a teacher and language specialist later in life. She also advocated for the rights of her people in political settings.
A young Kirby took a stand against big oil in Paulatuk during the Berger Inquiry. (NWT Archives)
“What everybody will get out of this is how the Inuvialuit lived, what they treasured most in life,” says Kirby. “I believe it was children that were most treasured in their lives and our values, the animals around us and just the natural things.”
Cover artwork by Mary Okheena.
(Background photo by Kristian Binder)
The book is published by Tusaayaksat magazine and the Inuvialuit Communications Society (ICS).
“Most importantly, it is a heartfelt tribute to Inuvialuit culture, language, history, life, and experiences—all through the eyes of an Inuvialuk who has learned to move with the changing world as she grew up,” says the ICS in a book summary.
All Inuvialuit members living in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region will be able to receive a copy for free. Others can purchase the book on the ICS website.
Kirby says she’s already working on another installment to her book, this time with a focus on Inuvialuit genealogy, trappers and gold miners.
