Across Time and Tundra: The Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic

Book Description
This is the definitive, illustrated history of one of North America’s most interesting and least known Native peoples: the Inuvialuit, the Inuit of the Mackenzie Delta. For hundreds of years they enjoyed a rich and secure lifestyle, augmented by great annual hunts of beluga and bowhead whales. All that changed with the arrival of Europeans, and particularly American whalers, in the late 19th century. Decimated by diseases and cultural dislocation, the Inuvialuit have successfully rebounded in the last fifty years. They signed a major land claim in 1984 and have since pursued a political path distinct from the Inuit of Nunavut. Across Time and Tundra includes many rare archival photographs from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the McCord Museum of Canadian History. The rich text includes contributions by elder Ishmael Alunik, who tells traditional stories and tales of life in the Mackenzie Delta, and Inuviuluit writer Eddie Dean Kolausok.

About the Author
David Morrison is director of archaeology and history at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the author of Inuit: Glimpses of an Arctic Past. Ishmael Alunik was raised on the land, hunting and trapping with his family for most of his early life. He was a CBC radio announcer in the Inuvialuit language and is the author of Call Me Ishmael: Memories of an Inuvialuit Elder. Eddie Dean Kolausok is a lands-claim negotiator with the Canadian Government in Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, and the author of Aurora Shining.


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The result of a collaboration between an archaeologist and historian, an Inuvialuit elder, and an Inuvialuit writer and translator; this illustrated text narrates the history of a distinct Inuit group of the western Canadian Arctic. Oral history is presented alongside archaeological and historical reconstructions of Inuvialuit life. Economic and social traditions and practices are explored, as are artistic productions of the past and present. Archival photos and reproductions of works of art accompany the text. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


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