Akilak's Adventure
Fictional tale in Baker to be published in Inuktitut, English
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
BAKER LAKE/OTTAWA
A new children's book has the literacy spotlight shining brightly on of Baker Lake this month.
A customer waits as author Deborah Webster autographs a copy of her first children's book, Akilak's Adventure, during its official launch through her publisher, Inhabit Media - photo courtesy of Diane Webster |
Deborah (Kigjugalik) Webster, originally from Baker Lake, has had her first children's story, Akilak's Adventure, published by Inhabit Media.
The book was officially launched in Ottawa on Nov. 13.
The story is set at Harvaqtuuq, the lower Kazan River, south of Baker.
Webster, 48, did two seasons of archaeological/oral history research there while working for Parks Canada.
The story revolves around a young girl, Akilak, who must travel a great distance to another camp to gather food.
Akilak thinks she will never be able to make the journey, but, with a little help from her grandmother's spirit, and her own imagination to keep her entertained, she manages to turn a long journey into an adventure.
Webster said when her two daughters, Sonja Akilak, 18, and Nicole Amaruq, 15, were young, they would all read and tell stories together.
She said in that sense, her daughters played a major role in the writing of the book.
"My children, really, were my inspiration for the book through wanting to tell stories to help them learn Inuit culture and where I came from," said Webster.
"Akilak's adventure is a fictional story during a time in the not-too-distant past near my hometowm.
"I imagine the story to have taken place at Harvaqtuuq, because I have such wonderful memories of my childhood in Baker Lake.
"I can see both my daughters and myself in Akilak, who I named after my daughter, Sonja, and I hope Inuit children can relate to the main character, who I see as being seven-to-nine-years old."
Webster, who also lived in Arviat for a time, said her parents, David and Sally, were both teachers when the family lived in Baker.
She said there was no high school in Baker at the time, so, with five children, the family moved to Ottawa.
"That was really a good move for us to continue on with our education.
"I started Grade 10 in Ottawa and, after finishing high school, I continued on to university and have a BA in anthropology from Carleton University.
"My book was just launched on Nov. 13, so there are no reviews on it yet, but a number of my friends read it and their comments have all been very positive.
"People are very proud of me, they're happy I'm talking about Baker Lake, and they see it's important to talk about Inuit culture and have children learn from that."
Webster said there are many themes in Akilak's story.
She said Manitok (Bruce) Thompson was taken by how the book shows respect for elders and love for the land.
"She (Thompson) said the story makes you want to go back to being on the land like that.
"It's a good story that deals with how it sometimes feels like it's taking forever to reach your destination when you really want to get somewhere.
"Akilak has to walk to her uncle's camp, which is a day's trek, so she's worried about making it on her own and, like kids everywhere, she's afraid of it getting dark.
"But she knows where she's going and she befriends a caribou along the way - which, in reality, is her grandmother's spirit - that walks with her and helps turn her journey into an adventure."
Webster loves to write and tackle numerous genres when putting pen to paper.
Her first book is titled Harvaqtuurmiut Heritage: The Heritage of the Inuit of the Lower Kazan River, and she's currently working on a piece of nonfiction with the working title of Inuit RCMP special constables from Nunavut.
Webster said as far back as when she lived in Baker Lake, she's always known she can write.
She said she would get A's in high school and university for her essays.
"I like writing, and research and writing go hand in hand for me.
"I guess I'm also some kind of a teacher at heart, because I like promoting and explaining Inuit culture and heritage to people.
"So, with both my parents being teachers, I suppose they've also inspired me to a certain extent."
Webster said it's hard to say just how long it took her to write Akilak.
She said she would drop notes into her notebook before turning to the computer to start the actual writing.
"It's a process and, for one who had never written a children's story before, I had to learn about the structure of the story, word count, the importance of repetition, and recognizing what age group, or reading level, I was writing for.
"After writing and editing, I had to research which publisher to send it to and there aren't too many choices in Canada for children's story books on Inuit culture.
"Inhabit Media is very supportive of Inuit writers, and it's having my story published in Inuktitut by Sadie Hill, who's also from Baker Lake and is a professional interpreter/translator living in the Ottawa area.
"She knows the Baker dialect, and the story will be more authentic with someone like Sadie translating it.
"The Inuktitut version will be out in March of 2017."
