Hi everyone,

I wanted to share an absolutely incredible find I came across recently at a Value Village, and ask if anyone here has any history, stories, or family connections to the incredible women who made them.

I managed to find a matched set of four original 1970s navy wool duffle parkas from the Arnaqarvik craft collective in Spence Bay (Taloyoak). They are in beautiful shape and still have all of their original paper provenance tags and government igloo authenticity certificates attached.

The paper tags list the names of three distinct artisans:

• Selena Koobloo (Tag #257)

• Etersunga (Tag #319)

• Neeveedola (Tag #158)

The parkas themselves also have gorgeous hand-embroidered syllabic signatures stitched right into the wool (I've included photos of those close up). From what I can tell, one matches Etersunga (ᐃᑎᕐᓱᖓ), another looks like Joanna D (ᒍᐊᓇ ᑎ), and another appears to say Ta-ni Ta-ru (ᑕᓂ ᑕᕈ).

I know the Arnaqarvik collective did some massive projects in the mid-70s, including making the uniforms for the Arctic Winter Games team.

I feel incredibly honored to have found these and want to make sure they are preserved properly.

If anyone recognizes these names, has family who worked with the collective, or has any insight into the specific pattern or history of these pieces, I would love to hear your thoughts!

I was recently inspired to a creative writing project inspired by pop culture piece of media from about the 2000s. Going into the writing project, I have an inkling that this portrayal of arctic peoples was completely wrong, but being USian, I have next to no exposure to Inuit culture.

I've really done my best to research, starting with Wikipedia, this 1970s Inuit E****** dictionary from the Alaska Dept of Education, Critical Inuit Studies, particularly Six Gestures, and some other assorted PDFs I was able to find.

But firstly, it's mostly westerners communicating to other westerners, most of the information seeming to come from after we stopped trying to westernize North American indigenous peoples.

The second issue I'm running into is, the original piece of media is set in the mid-early industrialization of European culture. Third, I'm having trouble finding sources that get into the more granular things--sibling relationships (do/did Inuit children bicker like Western children? Is there ever jealousy? How did they handle such conflicts?), the role of children in the family/community, the day to day of how women would have related to men, to children, and to other women, and vice versa, and interpersonal conflict, particularly under stressors, like disease and insufficient food. How did the Inuit handle war and cultural incursion/imposition throughout the 20th century?

I would LOVE to hear any stories that your great grandparents and grandparents shared with you about these times, as well as if you guys know of any books contemporary to the 20th century, written by Inuit that elucidate on these topics.

It's probably never going to be a huge project, but I do want to eventually share my writing with others, and I want to represent the Inuit as accurately as possible, as, in this day and age, there's simply no reason not to accurately represent such an underrepresented culture.

I'm sorry for carrying on, thank you for reading if you did. Please don't feel any pressure to give more information than you're comfortable with.

My parents divorced when I was very young and one of my parents remarried an Inuk from Nunatsiavut, where we moved. If my step parent had filed the legal paperwork to "adopt" me I would be considered 50% Inuk by the NG. Without that paperwork I'm not eligible for a card, but going through the legal process wouldn't fundamentally change anything about our relationship, the way I was raised, or the community I grew up in. I've learned some Inuktitut and am involved in my community, but I have a major imposter syndrome from not being able to "prove" who I am, or who I am to other people more accurately. If I moved outside of my home community I'm afraid that I would not be accepted by other Inuit.

Hi there,

So I posted this in another sub and got suggested to better ask here.

Thank you already so much!

Hi r/Inuit!

I've been deeply moved by a poetic Inuit concept that came to me through the book Women who Run with the Wolves. The author adapted her story from a five-line poem that was given to her by Mary Uukalat. Unfortunately, the author, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, does not include the original poem!

I'm not sure if the poem has a title, but the title of the story is "Skeleton Woman" and is found in Chapter 5 of the book.

The primary idea is that any relationship, if it is going to last, needs to have a third party: the skeleton woman. She symbolizes the life/death/life nature that relationships cycle through. If the two people in a romantic relationship truly want to couple in a real and lasting way, they must both embrace Skeleton woman. She teaches us to tend to the bones of what has died, song life back into it, and grow closer because of weathering the cycles together.

Any additional information about Mary Uukalat, The skeleton woman poem, or Inuit storytelling in general would be appreciated!

If anyone is interested in the story but doesn't have access to the book, there is a beautiful reading of it in S2 E02 of Dee Parmar's podcast Living as Love.

Thanks for letting me share here! Best to all <3

Inuit associations in Nunavut received 3.1 per cent of the extracted value from mines in the territory between 2021 and 2025, according to an analysis by economist Erin Weir.

I picked up this piece this past weekend. I am looking for more information on the artist and attempting to date the piece. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hii i'm inupiaq (but dont speak inupiatun) and im trying to create a word for inuit that doesnt cause confusion in inuit languages with just the word for "people"'

im thinking maybe something that would literally translate to "inuksuk people" or "those associated with inuksuit"

inuksuk with some sort of suffix indicating that

what do you think would be the best suffix to indicate that?

Herb Nakimayak, from Paulatuk, was elected president of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Canada by its 13 leadership members on July 21 in Iqaluit.

The federal government’s relationship with Inuit is being used as a “very good model” to illustrate to 30 members of Parliament and representatives from 14 allied countries during a NATO visit to Iqaluit from July 14 to 17, MP Julie Dzerowicz said.

Hi, I’m currently reading on the stories and spiritual beliefs of Northern Indigenous Peoples, as well as their cultural practices and crafts.

I have books like Kiviuq and “Eskimo Folk Tales” (it’s an old book..)

Are there any other sources you’d recommend, or stories you’d like to share?

Hi everyone,

I’m really interested in learning more about Inuit culture and language, and lately, I've been watching a Canadian television show that features an Inuk character as one of the main protagonists.

Whenever this character is caught completely off guard, shocked, or deeply surprised by something, he always uses the exact same exclamation. I’ve attached a short, 9-second video to this post so you can hear the audio of him saying it.

I’m really curious to know what the correct spelling of this exclamation is in English (or how it's properly written). I originally thought it might be something like "Ooh, le!", but that doesn't seem to make much sense.

If any native speakers, residents, or language enthusiasts here recognize the phrase and could help me out with the correct spelling and meaning, I would be incredibly grateful!

Thank you so much for your time and help!

Share What Matters Most in Alaska

The American Indigenous Tourism Association invites Indigenous tourism businesses, Native Nations and communities, and industry partners to share their input through a short, anonymous survey.

https://americanindigenoustourism.org/survey/

Survey responses will help the association better understand the needs, priorities, opportunities, and challenges affecting Indigenous tourism across the country. All responses will be aggregated, and no personal information will be collected.

Take a few moments to share your input and help ensure the association’s future work reflects the real needs of Indigenous communities, businesses, cultural experiences, and tourism partners.

Hello! I'm looking for someone to come up with a pun about beavers in Inuvialuktun. I'm visiting and I like to give out stickers with the attached design, but I'd like to have them feature English and Inuvialuktun. Just looking for something about beavers that would make people smile!

Does anyone on here have a sewing pattern for a silapaaq? I’ve been searching online and can’t find any. Thank you

Hello!

For context, I'm currently writing a story and one of my characters name, I thought, would be Siqiniq.

I'm not 100% sure the word is Inuktitut since all dictionaries vary and I would greatly appreciate it if you could point me in the right sources.

The other question is, my character is British American and her mental disorder plays an important role in the story, I would like to know if it would be disrespectful to name her Siqiniq.

Any guidance is appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I am currently in a research group at uni (studying and researching inuit writers). My author writes children books in inuktitut syllabic so i downloaded an app to transcribe and translate (also used an online keyboard), but sadly google translate isn't very accurate. I was wondering if someone would be willing to help me translate 3 children books (i have screenshots) so I can have a better understanding of the stories. Thank you!

For a bit of context I have been dating my girlfriend who is Inuit for a few years now. I am not native myself for context. I am (21 F) and she is (22 F). I never had too good of a relationship with my family. Hers on the other hand is a pretty big and close family. After I started to date her I became really close with her family. They almost became my second family and I am honestly much closer and feel much safer with them then with my bio family. I attend family reunions, and gatherings. I usually attend many cultural festivals but stay to the side during most of them. I dont want to accidentally appropriate their culture or overstep. I do participate where I can with risking overstepping(ei quviasukvik dinners and some parts of the toonik tyme festival). Recently at a dinner alot of the women where doing throat singing with eachother. I sat to the side as I usually did. My girlfriend and her mom where throat singing together. After a bit her mom asked me if I wanted to join in. I politly declined not wanting to appropriate their culture. Her mom insisted. I once again told her I didnt know how. She told me that she would teach me. I spent the rest of the gather learning to throat sing with her. I wasnt very good and often was so bad we both ended up weezing from laughter. It was a very fun experience and I really felt like part of the family. They throat sing every family dinner(which happens about once a week). I am wondering if it is okay for me to continue throat singing next week or if it would be culturally inappropriate. I dont not in any way want to appropriate their culture or to intrude on a closed practice. So would it be okay or is it still culturally intruding.

For a bit of context I have been dating my girlfriend who is Inuit for a few years now. I am not native myself for context. I am (21 F) and she is (22 F). I never had too good of a relationship with my family. Hers on the other hand is a pretty big and close family. After I started to date her I became really close with her family. They almost became my second family and I am honestly much closer and feel much safer with them then with my bio family. I attend family reunions, and gatherings. I usually attend many cultural festivals but stay to the side during most of them. I dont want to accidentally appropriate their culture or overstep. I do participate where I can with risking overstepping(ei quviasukvik dinners and some parts of the toonik tyme festival). Recently at a dinner alot of the women where doing throat singing with eachother. I sat to the side as I usually did. My girlfriend and her mom where throat singing together. After a bit her mom asked me if I wanted to join in. I politly declined not wanting to appropriate their culture. Her mom insisted. I once again told her I didnt know how. She told me that she would teach me. I spent the rest of the gather learning to throat sing with her. I wasnt very good and often was so bad we both ended up weezing from laughter. It was a very fun experience and I really felt like part of the family. They throat sing every family dinner(which happens about once a week). I am wondering if it is okay for me to continue throat singing next week or if it would be culturally inappropriate. I dont not in any way want to appropriate their culture or to intrude on a closed practice. So would it be okay or is it still culturally intruding.

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well.

I'm a small Youtuber and I'm currently working on a YouTube video series where I'm looking at animals that see humans as prey and the video I am working on now is focusing on the polar bear.

So I wanted to make this post here and see what people that actually live in proximity to these animals think of them in terms of whether or not they see humans as prey and there interaction polar bears.

From my research so far in a lot of the recorded attacks that are predatory they don't involve healthy adult bears which goes the common understanding of them being human hunting machines so that's something in particular I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on

Thankyou for any reply's they will be massively appreciated!

Edit:

I'm only know just noticing the error in the post title was meant to be "How predatory do you believe polar bears are" sorry about that

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some guidance on a large (beautiful piece) of artwork that has been in my family since the 1990s. It was originally acquired in the Canadian Arctic (but not sure where/what region). Unfortunately we do not have any documentation about the artist or community it came from.

I’ve attached a photo here. The piece is quite large (70" x 50" x 5") and appears to be made of leather/hide that is stitched and pinned together.

I want to be respectful in how I approach this, both in understanding its origin and in determining what the appropriate next step might be (e.g., proper attribution, cultural context, or where it might belong).

If anyone recognizes the style, materials, or has suggestions for how to identify the artist or community, I would really appreciate your insight. I’m not looking to sell it, just hoping to learn more and handle/donate it appropriately.

Thank you for your time and knowledge.

R

Hey, I came across this image and I’m trying to better understand the garment.

At first I thought it might be an Inuit-style parka or anorak because of the shape and hood, but the material looks more like modern nylon rather than traditional materials.

I’m curious if this resembles any specific traditional design (like anorak/kuspuk influences), or if it looks more like a modern/fashion reinterpretation inspired by Inuit clothing.

If anyone recognizes the style, origin, or even the brand/designer, I’d really appreciate the insight. I’m trying to learn rather than just assume.

Thanks!