Mary Ittunga
Date of Birth:May 10, 1939
Place Born:Fort Ross
Parents:
Mother ~ Kakooteenik
Father ~ Tarrajuk
I was born in Fort Ross. I don't know what the place looks like. I was born May 10, 1939. I'm named after my grandmother's name Arnangujaq. It's not her real name. Her real name is Kalingujaq. In those days they called my grandmother Arnangujaq, because the ladies disliked her from being jealous of her due to men. So the name Arnangujaq stuck and now people call me Arnangujaq. I don't mind being called Arnangujaq.
My biological mother was Kakooteenik. I was her very first child. She tried to raise me, but she kept telling her older sister Kakiarniut that I was having seizers. I was born during the spring when we lived in tents. When Kakiarniut first heard her sister saying that I was having a seizer, she got very scared. She ran over to Kakooteenik and went to see the baby (me). The baby was just fine. When newborn babies open their eyes and roll back and then close their eyes, that's what I was doing. So that is why Kakooteenik thought I was having seizers. My biological mother kept telling her older sister that I was having seizers. After the first incident Kakiarniut wasn't as scared anymore. Every time she went and looked at the baby, the baby was always fine. She told her younger sister that she could keep her baby until she gets bigger. Kakooteenik agreed. Kakiarniut kept me and I grew bigger and fatter. As I got bigger my father Tarrajuk got very attached to me, he grew fond of me. I wasn't trying to be adopted, but in the end Tarrajuk and Kakiarniut adopted me. I never thought of being as an adopted child. I was raised very spoiled and bossy. I never thought Kakooteenik was my biological mother. Uquqtuq was my grandfather and Arnangujaq was my grandmother. Aleekee is my Uncle, he's the only brother and the youngest in the family. He's the only one living to this day. His sisters are Kakiarniut, Ablusirjuaq, and Kakooteenik.
Hunting and Fishing at Netsilik Lake
We just recently started to live in Netsilik Lake. Netsilik Lake was very cold during the winter. It still is to this day. When other places were warming up it would still be very winter at Netsilik Lake. I don't know why it's like that.
My father Tarrajuk used to fish at a place called Qi'nguq at Netsilik Lake, when he was not seal hunting. Netsilik Lake was now our land. I know the place very well.
In those days we didn't have any fishnets, because there were no white people around yet. During the spring we would fish for char, while the fish were going down the river to the sea. Men hunted for food all the time. They were always busy.
During the fall the fish would start going back up the river to the lake. It is known that when the star is first seen, that is the sign of the fish going back up the river. In those days they didn't have fishnets or boats.
My father and his family lived along the river in a narrow area. They would fish all day near the mouth of the river, waiting for fish that are passing through. When he finally speared a fish he'd go back to the camp holding a nice fresh char.
Our ancestors used to hunt caribou that swam across the Netsilik River. I've heard about men racing by kayaks and trying to catch caribou that are swimming across the river. I have never seen it myself, but I have heard about it.
Sometimes people would drown in the river. We once gathered caribou skin and wrapped it with skin and tied it with rope very tightly. We did this to cross the river with a homemade float. We went with Oonaq's family. Oonaq was my Tarrajuk's older brother. They were always together, they were never apart from each other. My father couldn't really hunt by himself. So his brother always stayed with his younger brother Tarrajuk, because Oonaq would be worried about his brother. In those days kayaks were hard to get, in that case they had made a float. They tied a rope long enough to reach the other side of the river. It was either my father or uncle who crossed the river first. My mother told me to hang on to the skin and don't move. If you let go you will drown, don't move! I did as I was told. I was trying to stay very still. I think I even stopped breathing from trying to stay still. When I made it across, boy was I ever relieved! When we all made it across I don't remember where we went from there. I think we went to Qikirtaqtuuq. I think we had dogs. I don't know how they let the dogs go across the river, possibly by swimming. They used to let dogs swim even though they didn't want to swim. They have a mind too just like humans.
Ittuarturvik
There were a lot of people who used to live in Ittuarturvik. There weren't very many people living in this area (Talurjuaq). The men worked hard to have oil lamp. Men went sealing with their dogs to find seal hole for their master. It those days they never stopped, they had to work very hard in order to survive. The men hunted and the woman sewed and did their chores. Most of the people are gone now.
Quunnguq
After we went to Qikirtaqtuuq my father wanted to go to Quunnguq. I wasn't walking well so I was on the sled with a few mattresses. I was told to go on the sled by myself. I didn't feel good because Maudie and Qauqjuaq were walking. Maudie and Qauqjuaq thought I was very bad because I was very spoiled. They don't like me to this day. As a child we grew up with them. They are my uncle Oonaq's children.
When I looked back the sled seemed so long, it was far away. We were going through Kitingujaaq where there is nice gravel. It was very clean. As we were traveling the sled runners seemed to very loud. When they stopped to take a rest, my mom said as she was looking, because they used to look around for animals. She said, "I think there is fish down there, the seagulls seem to be eating". My older brother was told to go and see if there was fish. There was a narrow creek that was very deep and had a lot of weeds. There was fish. I remember that time my brother caught a fish right away. My mother said I knew there was fish. After that I don't remember when we went to Qu'ngulik. My father wanted to go to Qu'ngulik, so we went there. My father, brother, and uncle started to make a fish weir. My brother was so very small that we could barely see him. They seemed very far. I grew up with my stepbrother Aqqaq, and I pitied him a lot. I used to cry for him so much. He never did anything bad to me. He was always being told to work, he never stopped, and he was always busy helping his father. When they finished the fishing weir they started to catch white fish. So my mother was making fat using fish oil. In those days white peoples' stuffs were hard to get. My uncle Oonaq had cut out the top of a barrel and made a spoon. My father knew I was going to want one as well, so he made one for me.
The men used to make tools such as pana (snow knife), harpoon, and tools for seal. I used to bug my father when he was trying to make things or tools. My father was always busy working and he never stopped. Today food is plenty. In those days we had a hard time getting food.
People often see my toys at our old camp. My toys are out of rocks. They are still in place. I had made a toy igloo using rocks. In those days we had very little toys.
No One Touches It
No one must touch that particular rock. My mother told me about this story, that no one should touch that rock. If we touch it our body will get awful or no good. Because at one time someone had grieved on it. That person who was on that rock was grieving very hard. In those days our ancestors used to be shamans. Some people used to curse other people. that is how I heard it. No on should touch that rock at the Netsilik River. If someone touches that rock, that person will eventually get no good. We shouldn't touch or lean on it.
Kayak
In the old days we had very hard times. There wasn't much caribou around, hardly any caribou at all. It was very difficult to find caribou in the old days. I myself am not a very old person; I am not that old yet. There once was a kayak, the kayak was made out of skin. My father had made a kayak. I used to go in one. I was put in the kayak and I had to lay down flat on my tummy, and my dad had to paddle. My tummy was flat on the kayak inside and I could feel the water. I could see the water and it was very loud. So that is how it feels like to be inside a kayak. It was not a wooden kayak; the kayak was made out of skin. Although I am not a very old person I have been in a kayak.
Caribou Skins
During the fall in Qikirtaqtuuq, when there was snow, my father had caught a caribou. In those days we didn't have frames for caribou skins. My mother had cleaned the skin my father had caught. I didn't even know when my father went out caribou hunting. He had gone caribou hunting to Qikiqtaqtuuq. I didn't know because I was only a child at that time and so as my little brother Mangak. My older brother Aqqaq was always with our grandfather.
He wasn't with us much because he had to help our grandfather. I wasn't thinking of anything because I was just a child, my mother said "I think your father had caught a caribou, he didn't even take his rifle with him, and he's coming home." I couldn't believe it, I didn't even know when he went caribou hunting. I was trying to do something when my mother told me about my father. I thought my mom was very smart that time. I used to think that my mother is very smart since she can think like that. When my father came he said he had caught a caribou. So he harnessed two of his dogs and took the sled. When we got to Qikiqtaqtuuq where he caught the caribou, he skinned it and then we went home. My mother cleaned the skin and pegged it onto the bed. The skin was nice and thick. She pegged the skin onto the bed, with the skin facing up. When we went to bed, boy it was cold, and we lived in an igloo, and of course we had no Coleman stove, there was nothing. It was very cold at that time. I cannot forget that moment, I think about it once in a while.
When my husband catches caribou I never like to throw the skins away. I don't like to throw them away. We had a very hard time getting caribou in the old days.
My mother pegged the skin onto the bed and we went to sleep. We were naked; we dried up the caribou skin with our skin. I didn't even know when I fell asleep, and I didn't feel the cold anymore. The next day the skin was taken off the bed and the caribou skin was already dry. The caribou skins are very easy to dry up more than the sealskins. It was already dry so the next day we used it for mattress, and when we went to bed I was just sweating; it was as though we were in a building. It was very hot. We used to have hardships in the old days, particularly with caribou skins. The caribou skins were very hard to get. Today, there is no one to make the skins, and now they are so easy to get. When I see caribou skins that are thrown in the garbage I would really want them.
Flint Stones
I am going to talk about flint stones. This certain flint stone is called kukiksait, these ones are the best of all flint stones. They have more flint than a flint stone called uqsuriaq. Kukiksait were used more often. I would really like to make one for myself, using loon's skin for a bag, and then by putting dry moss into the bag. They wouldn't leave it anywhere because they used it to light fire. Also they use tingaujaq to start the fire easily.
Files were also hard to get in the old days. They would use even a small piece of file to strike the flint stone with. They would make the edge of the file very smooth. Even canvas was very hard to get. This material was easy to make light with. They would burn the edge of the canvas and shut it off right away. Then they'd use it to make fire with. Those people were very smart. They would keep them bagged, even baggage was hard to get. The flint stones kukiksait and uqsuriat were used. Those were the only flint stones they used to make fire with.
I had seen people use flint stone to make fire. Also people used to use the mouth drill made out of wood to make fire. They also used that to make fire with. Matches were another thing that was very hard to get. When someone would finally get matches, they would split the match in order to save matches. They were very careful to use things in those days. One match is not very thick. Even thought the match wasn't very thick, they would split the match so that the matches wouldn't finish right away. White mans things were very hard to get. We say that we need things, but we don't even have a hard time getting things anymore.