Stones, Bones and Stitches: Storytelling Through Inuit Art by Shelley Falconer & Shawna White
Stones, Bones and Stitches is a fascinating and beautiful introduction to the art of the North. Focusing on several important works from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, curators Shelley Falconer and Shawna White take you on an impressive journey through the artistic landscape. The evolving character of the North is explored through the lens of some of Canada’s most significant Inuit artists, past and present.
Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations by Alootook Ipellie
Today’s Arctic communities have all the comforts of modern living. Yet the Inuit survived in this harsh landscape for hundreds of years with nothing but the land and their own ingenuity. Join authors Alootook Ipellie and David MacDonald as they explore the amazing innovations of traditional Inuit and how their ideas continue to echo around the world.
Some inventions are still familiar to us: the one-person watercraft known as a kayak still retains its Inuit name. Other innovations have been replaced by modern technology: slitted snow goggles protected Inuit eyes long before sunglasses arrived on the scene. Andother ideas were surprisingly inspired: using human-shaped stone stacks (Inunnguat) to trick and trap caribou.
The Legend of the Caribou Boy by John Blondin
Maintaining the Dene storytelling tradition of passing along the teachings to their children, John Blondin relayed the story of The Legend of the Caribou Boy as he heard it from his father, George Blondin a respected Elder and storyteller. Now written down in dual language the legend is passed on to you. Discover one small part of Dene history and the lessons that have been passed on for generations.
A young boy is having trouble sleeping at night. He is being called to fulfill his destiny, a destiny which lives on today in the traditions and culture of the Dene people and their relationship to the caribou and the land on which they live.
The multimedia CD included allows readers to hear and see the Dogrib legend in Dogrib or English on a Mac or PC computer, or insert it into a CD player to listen to the story in either language.
The Old Man with the Otter Medicine by John Blondin
It is winter and the people are starving. There are no fish. They must seek the help of a medicine man to save them. The Old Man with the Otter Medicine tells of medicine power, the struggle for survival and an important part of the history and culture of the Dene people as it has been passed down through stories and legends for generations.
The multimedia CD-Rom allow readers to read, see and hear the legends on Macs, PCs and on CD players.
Although Dogrib Elder George Blondin is being acknowledged as the author/story teller of this legend. This story comes from several generations of Dene oral tradition. George told this story to his late son John Blondin, who presented and performed this story publicly to educate children. Barb Cameron, then curator of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre recorded Johns’ words.