Traditional Knowledge

  • 28m 54s

    Nunavut (Our Land) Episode 7: Qulangisi (Seal Pups)

    uploaded by: Norman Cohn

    channel: Jon's Working Channel

    Igloolik, Spring 1946. Seal pups: springtime delicacy, prized for their soft fur and tender meat. When the pups start coming out on the ice, even small children and grandmothers can hunt.

    Packed up to travel, the families move slowly over the wet ice, through lakes of fresh melting snow, hunting on the way. Finding the breathing holes is a joyful game for everyone.

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    uploaded date: 05-12-1995

  • 28m 54s

    Nunavut (Our Land) Episode 9, Aiviaq (Walrus Hunt)

    uploaded by: Norman Cohn

    channel: Jon's Working Channel

    Igloolik, Summer 1946. The distant sound of the atookatookatook, the first gas engine to arrive in Igloolik, brings a surprise visitor to Qaisut, island of the walrus hunters. Father Qaukuluk arrives to study Inuit life, to dig in the ancient ruins and to see the hunt. When it's time to go hunting, Inuaraq thinks the Priest will bring bad luck but Qulitalik finally gives in.… Read more

    uploaded date: 03-12-1995

  • 28m 53s

    Nunavut (Our Land) Episode 11: Tuktuliaq (Caribou Hunt)

    uploaded by: Norman Cohn

    channel: Transmediale

    Igloolik, Fall 1945. Even here, news of the terrible world war raging outside makes people frightened and uneasy. They talk of the danger of the unknown future, of shamanistic intervention to protect their culture. The weather turns colder. With the north wind blowing, Inuaraq builds his sod house, while Qulitalik cuts the ice blocks for the porch.

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    uploaded date: 01-12-1995

  • 28m 51s

    Nunavut (Our Land) Episode 12: Unaaq (Harpoon)

    uploaded by: Norman Cohn

    channel: Jon's Working Channel

    Igloolik, Fall-Winter 1946. Sitting around the stone house carving a harpoon, Qulitalik starts talking about the year gone past. Everyone joins in with stories and laughter. Tea is boiling over the seal lamps, children playing on the caribou skin beds. Grandmother tells the old stories, everybody has a new one. Home is warm and cozy.… Read more

    uploaded date: 30-11-1995

  • 51m 23s

    Ajainaa! (Almost!)

    uploaded by: Norman Cohn

    channel: NITV Nunatinni Igloolik Community-TV 1995-2007

    Ajainaa! features Igloolik Elders discussing their views of contemporary Inuit life. Topics include the role of Inuit and "Southern" forms of education, survival strategies (such as how to save a drowning victim), and the differences between camp and settlement life. Written, produced, and performed by Isuma's Uqallangniq Elders Group.

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    uploaded date: 18-11-1994

  • 58m 23s

    Qaggiq (Gathering Place)

    uploaded by: Norman Cohn

    channel: MICH Living Archives

    First Isuma recreated fiction. A late-winter Inuit camp in the 1930's. Four families build a qaggiq, a large communal igloo, to celebrate the coming of spring with games, singing and drum dancing. A young man seeks a wife. The girl's father says no, but her mother says yes...

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    uploaded date: 30-09-1988