Approaches to Inuit Literature in Nunavut
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STORIES IN A NEW SKIN: APPROACHES TO INUIT LITERATURE IN NUNAVUT by Keavy Martin A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto © Copyright by Keavy Martin (2009) Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your Tile Votre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-81230-3 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-81230-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada ABSTRACT "Stories in a New Skin: Approaches to Inuit Literature in Nunavut" Keavy Martin Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (2009) Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto This dissertation examines the ways in which the work of Inuit writers and storytellers from Nunavut might achieve a more prominent position in literary studies. The project engages with a wide range of material (the classic stories and songs of the oral tradition, life narratives, oral histories, and contemporary fiction, poetry and film) in order to examine the idea of an Inuit literary tradition, and to formulate ways in which these texts might be brought into southern classrooms. The first chapter discusses the way in which traditional and contemporary tales about the Tuniit (or Dorset) people work to articulate an Inuit identity, and so lay the foundations of an Inuit 'national' literary tradition. The second chapter proposes a series of strategies for reading unikkaaqtuat - the myths, or classic tales - as literary texts, and thereby aims to expand the definition of 'sovereign' Indigenous literary criticism. The third chapter reads contemporary elders' oral histories alongside Minnie Aodla Freeman's autobiography, Life Among the Qallunaat, and asks whether a definition of the 'literary' might be found in the distinction between unikkaaqtuat (classic stories) and inuusirminik unikkaat (life stories). The final chapter explores the song traditions recorded by the Greenlandic Inuk anthropologist Knud Rasmussen along with their later iterations in the work of Igloolik Isuma ii Productions, and discusses the possibilities and pitfalls of fitting these songs with the label of'poetry.' The dissertation therefore re-dresses Inuit literary forms in 'new skins' - or conceptual frameworks - in order to redress southern misunderstandings (or ignorance) of Arctic intellectual traditions. This approach is inspired by the work of the Indigenous Literary Nationalists, and also draws upon theories of nation, oral tradition, and literary history. Most broadly speaking, this project aims to locate aspects of an Inuit literary criticism by exploring the ways in which the texts - and the language of their expression - might instruct readers and listeners in the use, interpretation, and enjoyment of Inuit literature. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was generously funded by a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, as well as by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship. I am also grateful for travel funding provided by the Centre for Comparative Literature. I would like to thank the authors and publishers who granted permission for the use of their materials: Tom Lowenstein, Nunavut Arctic College (for Aupilaarjuk et al.), Oberon Press (for Colombo), Education Development Center, Inc. (for Field), Igloolik Isuma Productions (for Kunuk and Cohn), and the Canadian Museum of Civilization (for Spalding). The maps were provided by The Canadian Encyclopedia, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, McGill-Queen's University Press, and Natural Resources Canada. The enclosed recording of Emile Imaruittuq's [Immaroitok] song is from Igloolik Isuma Production's CD Unikkaat Sivunittinnit: Messages from the Past, and is included with their kind permission. I am grateful to the many scholars and experts who took the time to provide me with feedback, advice, and to lend me materials. Thanks to Richard Dauenhauer and Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Louis-Jacques Dorais, Maurizio Gatti, Kenn Harper, Jonathan Hart, Peter Irniq, Peter Kulchyski, Frederic Laugrand, John MacDonald, Mick Mallon, Robin McGrath, Saila Michael, Terry and Leslie Ryan, Susan Sammons, Marianne Stenbaek, Andrew Stewart, and Christopher Trott. I would also like to say qujannamiik to Sim Akpalialuk, Ooleepeeka Arnaqaq, Evie Anilniliak, Silasie Anilniliak, Seemeeonie Moe Evic, Levi Ishulutak, Jaco Ishulutaq, Annie Maniapik, Alukie Metuq, Noah Metuq, Joanasie Qarpik, and Hannah Tautuajuk from Pangnirtung and Marie Uvilluq from iv Igloolik for their hospitality, their patience with my language-learning, and for everything that they have taught me. I am also grateful to the administrative faculty and staff at the Centre for Comparative Literature - John Fleming, Aphrodite Gardner, Barbara Havercroft, Roland Le Huenen, and Bao Nguyen - for their assistance and sound advice. Meanwhile, the friends and colleagues who supported, fed, questioned, and consoled me made the last five years not only manageable but also enjoyable. Thanks to the students at the Centre for Comparative Literature, to the students of the 2007 Pangnirtung Summer School program, and especially to Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Jonathan Allan, Jason Bornstein, Joe Culpepper, Laurie Maag-Woodward, Heather Macfarlane, Ian MacRae, Meaghan Marian, Sam McKegney, Stephanie Mooney, Annie Mullins, Ronald Ng, Joshua Nichols, Sara Osenton, David Reibetanz, Erin Runnalls, Niigonwedom J. Sinclair, Richard Van Camp, Kyle Wyatt, and Martin Zeilinger. Thanks also to Lindsay and Jay Durgan for their warmth and support, to Nadia Burger for her help with French, and to Michael Martin for his trusty editing. My greatest debts are to my committee. Alana Johns first introduced me to Inuktitut, and with Saila Michael has kept me learning and laughing. Daniel Heath Justice has provided me with a model of rigorous scholarship, as well as with straight talk when I needed it. Linda Hutcheon inspired me from my first days in grad school, and I am grateful her for her patient advice and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank Ted Chamberlin, who first got me thinking about stories and songs. I owe the best parts of this work to him. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract / ii Acknowledgements / iv List of Appendices / vii List of Maps/ viii Introduction: The Lost Ones /1 1. 'It Was Said They Had One Song': 'Tuniit' Stories and the Origins of Inuit Nationhood / 22 The 'Apolitical' Inuit / 22 The Meaning of Nation / 31 Reading Stories of 'Others' for Nationalist Themes / 36 The 'Problem' of Inuit Diversity / 63 2. A Very Strange Set of Tracks: Reading Unipkaaqtuat, the Classic Inuit Tales / 68 The Lost Classics / 68 Myth as Literature / 76 Sovereign Hermeneutics / 85 "Angusugjuk and the Polar Bears" / 96 3. Tall Tales and Truth-Telling: Inuit Life Writing, Oral Histories, and Literary Criticism /115 Inuit Life Narratives / 119 Oral History and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) / 129 Bringing IQ into Literary Studies /139 Life Among the Qallunaat as a Literary Text / 151 4. 'Let Me Sing Slowly and Search for a Song': Inuit 'Poetry' and the Legacy of Knud Rasmussen /161 Ivaluardjuk, the 'Little Thread' /168 Emile Imaruittuq and the Ikiaqtagait (Adapted Songs) /175 Editors, Ethnographers, and the Aesthetic of the Fragment /186 Isuma, or the Day When the Mountain Speaks Back / 201 Conclusion: Literate Landscapes / 212 Appendices/216 Glossary / 246 Bibliography / 247 VI LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: "Angusugjuk and the Polar Bears" / 216 I. Morphemic Translation / 216 II. Literary Translation / 227 Appendix B: Six Versions of Ivaluardjuk's Song / 230 I. Rasmussen's Danish (1921) / 230 II. Trans. W. E. Calvert and W. Worster (1929) / 230 III. Trans. Tom Lowenstein (1973) / 230 IV. Trans. Aenne Schrmicker (1947) / 232 V. Ivaluardjuk's song in The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (Inuktitut) / 233 VI. Ivaluardjuk's