Makivik Magazine Issue 114
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ᐱᕕᑦᓴᑭᑦᑐᒪᕆᐅᓕᕐᓱᑎᒃ,<br />
ᐊᓐᓇᑐᕐᑐᕕᓃᑦ!<br />
ᐊᓄᕐᕋᑐᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐊᕐᖁᓇᓕᕐᓱᓂᓗ ᐊᕐᕕᐊᓗᒃ ᐊᓚᒃᑲᓕᕋᑕᓚᐅᔪᕗᖅ ᐊᖑᓇᓱᑦᑎᓄᑦ.<br />
With just hours remaining,<br />
they caught it !<br />
The winds were howling and the water was rough when the crew of hunters<br />
finally spotted the giant beast.<br />
ᑕᓪᓕᒣᒍᑦᓱᑎᒃ ᖃᔭᕆᐊᑦ, ᐅᖑᔨᒋᐊᓯᓚᐅᔪᕗᑦ ᐊᕐᕕᐊᓗᒻᒥᒃ ᐁᑉᐸᖓᓂᒃ<br />
ᕿᒪᑦᓯᑎᒐᓱᐊᕐᓱᒍ. ᐊᖏᔪᐊᓘᒐᓗᐊᕐᑎᓗᒍ ᔨᐊᓯᑲ ᐱᓗᕐᑑᒧᑦ ᓇᐅᓕᑦᑕ-<br />
ᐅᓕᓚᐅᔪᕗᖅ ᐊᕐᕕᕋᓱᐊᖃᑕᐅᔪᒧᑦ ᓄᓇᕕᒻᒥ ᓄᓇᓕᖓᓂ ᖁᓕᐅᒋᐊᕕᑦᑐᓂᒃ<br />
ᐊᕐᕕᑐᖃᕈᓐᓀᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐱᖓᔪᒋᔭᐅᑦᓱᓂᓗ ᐊᕐᕕᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᕐᕌᒍᓂ<br />
ᐅᓄᕐᑐᒪᕆᓐᓂ ᐊᕐᕕᒐᓱᐊᕐᑐᖃᓚᐅᕐᓯᒪᔪᖃᕈᓐᓀᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐱᕐᖁᓯᑐ ᖃᖓᑎᒍᑦ<br />
ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᕐᕕᕋᓱᐊᕐᓂᖅ ᐱᒋᐊᕐᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᕐᒥᑎᓪᓗᒍ.<br />
ᐱᓗᕐᑑᑦ ᒪᓕᓚᐅᔪᕗᖅ ᓄᓇᕐᖃᑎᒥᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᕐᖃᑎᒋᖕᖏᑕᒥᓂᓪᓗ<br />
ᓄᓇᕕᒻᒥᐅᓂᒃ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕈᓯᕐᓂᒃ ᐱᖓᓱᓂᒃ ᐊᕐᕕᓯᐅᓕᕐᓱᑎᒃ ᐊᓐᓂᑐᓚᐅᔪᔪᓂᒃ.<br />
ᐊᕐᓇᐅᓱᓂ ᑲᖏᕐᓱᔪᐊᕐᒥᐅᒍᑦᓱᓂ ᐊᕐᕕᓯᐅᖃᑕᐅᒋᐅᕐᑐᕕᓂᖅ, ᓄᓇᕕᓕᒫᒥ<br />
ᐊᕐᓇᐅᓱᓂ ᐊᕐᕕᓯᐅᖃᑕᐅᒋᐅᕐᓱᓂ.<br />
“ᓴᔪᑐᐃᓐᓇᓚᐅᔪᕗᖓ, ᓴᐱᓕᕐᑌᓕᓂᐊᖕᖏᒋᐊᒥᒃ ᐃᓱᒪᑦᓱᖓ, ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓱᓚ-<br />
ᖓᖕᖏᒋᐊᒥᓪᓗ,” ᐱᓗᕐᑑᑦ ᐅᖃᕐᑐᕕᓂᖅ. “ᓇᐅᓕᒋᐊᖕᖓᐅᑎᒐ, ᓴᐅᓂᖓᓂᒃ<br />
ᑭᓪᓕᒍᑎᓚᐅᔪᖕᖏᑐᖅ. ᓇᐅᓕᒋᐊᕆᐊᓪᓚᖁᔨᒻᒪᑕ ᑭᓪᓕᒍᑎᓕᓚᐅᔫᖅ ᐲᑦᓵᕋᓂ.<br />
ᐊᕐᕕᓂᐊᕐᑐᑦ ᓇᕿᑕᕐᓯᔪᑦ ᐊᕐᕕᒥᒃ, ᐱᓚᓯᑦᓱᒍ, ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒧᑦ ᐅᑎᕐᒥᓱᑎᒃ<br />
ᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᒋᒋᐊᕐᑐᓱᒍ.<br />
ᐱᓗᕐᑑᑦ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᑦᓯᐊᒪᕆᓕᓚᐅᔪᕗᖅ “ᐊᑕᓂᐊᓗᑦᑎᑐᑦ.”<br />
“ᐃᓘᓐᓀᓄᑦ ᐅᐱᒋᔭᐅᒻᒪᕆᓚᐅᔪᕗᖓ. ᖁᖁᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᓕᕐᓱᑎᒃ,<br />
‘’ᐊᓐᓇᑐᕐᐳᑎᑦ!” ᐅᖃᕐᑐᕕᓂᖅ ᐱᓗᕐᑑᑦ.<br />
With their entire expedition crammed into five canoes, they<br />
moved in close to herd the immense bowhead whale away from<br />
its partner. Despite its hulking stature, the animal could not escape<br />
the harpoon of Jessica Pilurtuut as she helped to land the first<br />
whale caught by her Nunavik community in almost a decade and<br />
only the third since they revived the hunting tradition after more<br />
than a century off.<br />
Pilurtuut was part of a team from her village and other Nunavik<br />
villages which headed out on the hunt three weeks prior to getting<br />
the whale. Not only was she the first woman from Kangiqsujuaq<br />
to take part in a bowhead whale hunt, she was equally the first<br />
woman in all of Nunavik.<br />
“I was shaking a lot, thinking I’m not going to give up, I’m not<br />
going to be scared,” Pilurtuut said. “When I first threw my harpoon,<br />
it bounced off the back bone. Then they encouraged me to throw<br />
it again, so it went in and never came off.<br />
The crew tied the whale down, began the butchering process,<br />
and went back to town where there was a big celebration.<br />
For her part, Pilurtuut said she was treated like “the Queen.”<br />
“They were all so excited for me. They were all yelling, ‘You did<br />
it!’” she said.<br />
ᒪᑭᕕᒃ ᕿᒥᕐᕈᐊᖏᑦ<br />
© ROBERT FRECHETTE<br />
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