Inuit Autobiography to be Re-launched

A series of propitious historical, geographical and cultural forces have come together to produce a reissue of Mini Aodla Freeman's groundbreaking Life Among the Qallunaat. Out of print since its original publication in 1978, this stunning text tells the story of one woman's experiences growing up in the Inuit communities of James Bay and her journey in the 1950s from her home to the strange land and stranger customs of the Qallunaat, those living south of the Arctic. The book is co-edited by EFS faculty members Prof. Keavy Martin and Prof. Julie Rak with Inuk writer and Education graduate student Norma Dunning, and will be launched on Tuesday May 19th, 3 pm, with a lively event of readings, film clips, and a talk by Mini Aodla Freeman. When Prof. Rak, a specialist in autobiography studies, and Prof. Martin, an expert in Inuit literature, followed their mutual interest in the text into Freeman's living room, they discovered a shared vision of re-issuing this important work based on Freeman's original manuscript. Later joined by Norma Dunning, the new edition will make accessible a compelling and heartbreaking story of an Inuit woman's movement between worlds and ways of understanding as well as contributing to the strong literary tradition of Indigenous life writing. For more information about the launch, click here.