Siuluk: The Last Tuniq

Written by Nadia Sammurtok

Illustrated by Rob Nix

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-178-2

28 pp.

Ages 5-8

April 2018

The Inuit stories about the Tuniit are of a legendary people akin to friendly giants.  They were considered to be immensely strong, massive in size and gentle in demeanour. It was not surprising then that Siuluk, a very large man of considerable strength who lived quietly by himself, should be considered the last Tuniq by his Inuit neighbours. 

From Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by Nadia Sammurtok, illus. by Rob Nix

When several of the Inuit men taunt Siuluk about his size and strength, he knows they are being mean but he responds with a challenge for them to lift a sheet of rock.  Of course, none can lift the massive rock except Siuluk who lifts it with ease and leaves his legacy in a message he carves into the stone.

From Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by Nadia Sammurtok, illus. by Rob Nix

Though you can read about the Tuniit in Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley’s Tuniit: Mysterious Folk of the Arctic (Inhabit Media, 2015) and in How Things Came To Be: Inuit Stories of Creation (Inhabit Media, 2015),  Siuluk: The Last Tuniq takes a different perspective on the Tuniit.  Nadia Sammurtok tells a very simple story about teasing and differences in which a man finds a straightforward but elegant response to dismiss his intimidators.  So while children will learn about Siuluk and his status as the last Tuniq, they will also learn that anyone can be ill-treated by others and still  handle that treatment with self-possession and poise.  Siuluk, who is given graphic life by American illustrator Rob Nix, could have hurt the men who teased him about his size and strength but instead he demonstrated his brawn in a quiet but impactful manner, and even left a message for generations to come.

From Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by Nadia Sammurtok, illus. by Rob Nix

The best part of this story is revealed in Nadia Sammurtok’s afterword in which she reveals that her father had been told as a child a story about a man purported to be the last of the Tuniit who'd allegedly lived close to Chesterfield Inlet in Nunavut.  In fact, there’s a photo of her father, Tom Sammurtok, with Siuluk’s rock.  So it seems that Siuluk: The Last Tuniq, which is also available in Inuktitut, may be a traditional story about the last remaining Tuniq from the oldest community in Nunavut but it’s all the more special for the evidence of its veracity and the life lessons it encompasses.

Putuguq and Kublu

Written by Danny Christopher

Illustrated by Astrid Arijanto

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-143-0

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2017

The children of the title, Putuguq and Kublu, are a high-spirited brother and sister who love playing pranks on one another but in this early reader-graphic novel, they are no match for the wisdom of their grandfather who supervises and enlightens them.

The smaller and younger Putuguq tries to prank his sister Kublu with a snowball but she is older and onto his tricks and gets him with an even bigger snowball.  As he chases her across the tundra, Kublu trips on a rock and almost falls head first into an inukshuk.  Their grandfather takes this opportunity to tell them about the purpose of inuksuit (plural of inukshuk) and of the ancient Tuniit people who used them as hunting markers.  Putuguq, always wanting to show himself as the better-bigger-stronger sibling, tries to lift a heavy rock and just ends up looking silly.  But, he finds his own way to use an inukshuk and to get back at his snowball-dropping sister.

From Putuguq and Kublu 

by Danny Christopher 

illus. by Astrid Arijanto

These kids have spirit and lots of it and a good dose of sibling rivalry–of the friendly nature–that fuels their antics in their home town of Arviq Bay north of the Arctic Circle. (A double-spread graphic maps out key places in their community.)

From Putuguq and Kublu 

by Danny Christopher 

illus. by Astrid Arijanto

But the story is more than a sister and brother trying to "get" the other with snowballs or showing off.  It's a story of family and history and environment.  Danny Christopher has penned a simple story but it is perfect for a child who is an early reader.  The story teaches in a fun way and will help in developing visual literacy skills with the bright and bold graphics of Astrid Arijanto.  From the map to the explanations about inuksuit and the Tuniit, Putuguq and Kublu is a fun romp across the tundra that will spark discussions about the Arctic, the Inuit and getting along with your siblings.

From Putuguq and Kublu 

by Danny Christopher 

illus. by Astrid Arijanto

n.b. The word "putuguq" and "kublu" are Inuktitut words that mean toe and thumb respectively.  

Tuniit: Mysterious Folk of the Arctic

by Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley

Illustrated by Sean Bigham

Inhabit Media

978-1-927095-76-8

32 pp.

Ages 9-12

February 2015

Forget about references to the Dorset and Thule cultures that I once taught as part of the Grade 6 Heritage and  Citizenship curriculum.  (Of course, since then, that curriculum has changed from Aboriginal Peoples and European Explorers to First Nation Peoples and European Explorers and now Communities in Canada Past and Present.)  While I thought I was so enlightened ensuring that my students were made aware of pre-colonial Arctic cultures, my understanding was flawed.  Happily, this tome corrects any misconceptions I had and expands on the limitations in my knowledge by clarifying the veritable history of the people whom the Inuit encountered when they first arrived to the North American Arctic.

According to the stories passed by oral tradition and by archaeological evidence, Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley share the history of the Tuniit, a people who had been part of a migration coming out of Alaska and the people that the Inuit encountered upon their own migration into Canada’s Arctic.  Though the authors make it clear that what is told about the Tuniit is a blend of Inuit myth and fact, three attributes upon which all agree are that the Tuniit were short, strong, and shy.  They were not a nomadic people, like the Inuit,  instead establishing stone longhouses.  Their hunting, less reliant upon their flint-based tools, was based on their strength and speed, as well as use of inuksuit.  And, amidst the stories of their eccentricities and the Inuit predilection for kidnapping the beautiful Tuniit women, it was believed that the Tuniit were powerful shamans who could access the power trapped in the land.  But, as Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley offer,

We must remember the Tuniit as those who inspired myths, but who were real humans. (pg. 28)

Tuniit: Mysterious Folk of the Arctic is a reader-friendly and accessible history organized into 3 main discussions:  1) the differences between the Tuniit and the Inuit; 2) the unique features of the Tuniit; and 3) the science behind our understanding of the Tuniit.  But, beyond the information, told objectively but with the sensitivity needed when approaching discussions of a little understand peoples, the artwork of Sean Bigham provides visual interpretation of the Tuniit story and how they lived.  What a superb choice, using a concept artist such as Sean Bigham, who works in the video game industry, to generate illustrations of a people without visual representation.  In a neat package, Tuniit: Mysterious Folk of the Arctic presents readers, who should include all Canadian students, with a story that can and should be read, for history's sake.