Life among the Qallunaat

326 Pages·2015·2.97 MB·English

by  Freeman

FIRST VOICES, FIRST TEXTS
SERIES EDITOR: WARREN CARIOU

First Voices, First Texts aims to reconnect contemporary readers with some of the most important
Aboriginal literature of the past, much of which has been unavailable for decades. This series reveals the
richness of these works by providing newly re-edited texts that are presented with particular sensitivity
toward Indigenous ethics, traditions, and contemporary realities. The editors strive to indigenize the editing
process by involving communities, by respecting traditional protocols, and by providing critical
introductions that give readers new insights into the cultural contexts of these unjustly neglected classics.

1. Devil in Deerskins: My Life with Grey Owl by Anahareo 2. Indians Don't Cry / Gaawiin Mawisiiwag
Anishinaabeg by George Kenny 3. Life Among the Qallunaat by Mini Aodla Freeman
LIFE AMONG THE
QALLUNAAT
MINI AODLA FREEMAN
Edited and with an afterword by Keavy Martin and Julie Rak,
with Norma Dunning
University of Manitoba Press Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3T 2M5
uofmpress.ca

© Mini Aodla Freeman 2015
Afterword © Keavy Martin, Julie Rak, and Norma Dunning 2015
Interview © Mini Aodla Freeman, Keavy Martin, and Norma Dunning 2015
Printed in Canada
Text printed on chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper
19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, or stored in a database and retrieval system in Canada, without the prior written
permission of the University of Manitoba Press, or, in the case of photocopying or any other
reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency).
For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca, or call 1-800-893-5777.

Cover image: Elisapee Ishulutaq, “Downtown Vancouver,” stencil, 66 cm x 51 cm Cover
design: Mike Carroll Interior design: Jess Koroscil
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Freeman, Mini Aodla, author Life among the Qallunaat / Mini Aodla Freeman ; edited and with
an afterword by Keavy Martin and Julie Rak, with Norma Dunning.

(First voices, first texts ; 3) This reissue includes revisions based on the original typescript, and
an interview with the author. Includes bibliographical references.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-0-88755-775-0 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-88755-492-6 (PDF e-book) ISBN 978-0-88755-
490-2 (epub)
1. Freeman, Mini Aodla. 2. Inuit—Canada—Biography. I. Martin, Keavy, editor II. Rak, Julie,
1966–, editor III. Dunning, Norma, editor IV. Title. V. Series: First voices, first texts ; 3

E99.E7F64 2015 971.004’971 C2014-907495-6
C2014-907496-4
The University of Manitoba Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support for its
publication program provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund, the
Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage, Tourism, the
Manitoba Arts Council, and the Manitoba Book Publishing Tax Credit.
To
Milton, Graham, Elaine and Malcolm and for Caroline,
Jennifer, Jasmine, Grant, Emily, Evan, Megan, and
Alexandra
Teach, learn, care and love while you can for nothing
ever stays the same.
Love, Moms
CONTENTS

Map

“One Day, Somebody is Going to Forget”: A Conversation with Mini Aodla
Freeman

LIFE AMONG THE QALLUNAAT
Elevator
First Day At Work
Lost
Alikatu
Loneliness Had Many Reasons
I Knew Him and Yet Not
The Screen Had To Do With It
My Clothes Were Valuable
So Close Together and Yet So Far Apart
Exhibition
Exciting for a Qallunaat Girl
It’s a Terrible Dream
To Please a Friend
They Are Out of the Box
I Did Not Hear Him Arrive
Grandmother’s Qullik Was Very Bright
It and Her
Almost Lost an Arm for a Stamp
Grandmother’s Helpers
Grandmother’s Elegance Came In Handy
Artificial River
I Would Like to See to Whom I Am Talking
Something Familiar?
Meeting a Grand Lady
Dog Meat in the South?
They Too Have Their Own Way of Writing
I Hate Water
My Most Silly Moment
My First Square Dance in the South
Twenty-One, but One Year Old in the South
I Thought I Was a Queen
Caught Between Two Lives
A House In the Air
He Wrote Only Few Words
My Feelings Were Hurt
Visiting a Mint
We Were Nomads
The Fish Like to Be Dressed Up For
Hospital Visits
Newspaper Office
Buttons Count a Lot
My Frustration
Feeling Crushed
Just Close Your Eyes and Eat
Goose Pimples All Over
He Read Backwards
Life Or Death
So Many and So Quiet
I Have Seen Many Deaths
I Am In the Middle
“Life-or-Death” Had a Reason
I Am Crazy About It
Language Was Pulling
Silly Cry
Second Look
Inuit in the South
The Situation Was Familiar
Weetaltuk Died and They Became Weak
My Inuk Way That I Was Born Into
I Remember
It Was a Strange Winter
I Will Never Know Another Summer Like That
Trading Was a Chore But Necessary
They Came Bearing Gifts
The World War in the Qallunaat World Rubbed on Us Too
Did They Really Pamper Their Eyebrows?
Other Fears Emerged
It Was a Time of Joy and a Time to Learn
To Learn Is Sometimes Painful
James Bay Robbers
It Was Peaceful
No More Baby Hammocks
The Doll Lasted Much Longer on the Wall
Nature Can Be Mean Sometimes
Giant Berries
Grandmother Sometimes Needed Help
Grandparents Seemed to Have Made It For Me
I Was Dumped
My Feet Were Smelly But They Were Warm
I Think I Was Kidnapped
They Came To Get Me But They Had No Ransom
So Much Had Happened While I Was Away
School Is Not the Only Place of Education
Pain, Pain and More Pain
Getting Used To It Is Part of Survival
Bad Pains Have Good Rewards?
A Mourning Trip
Desperate Chance
We Almost Had an Indian Mother
Father Knew How to Hold Our Tongues
How Grandmother Got Flat Fingers
Common to Natives, But Not to Doctors
She Had Cold Hands, But the Least Painful
One Could Tell That They Were Warriors
Growing Pains
Mighty, Fantastic and Mysterious
Only Beaver Pelt Collectors
Nobody Told Me That I Had to Grow Strange
Certainly It Was a Time of Joy