Published fifty years ago under the title Harpoon of the Hunter, Markoosie Patsauq's novel helped establish the genre of Indigenous fiction in Canada. This new English translation unfolds the story of Kamik, a young hero who comes to manhood while on a perilous hunt for a wounded polar bear. In this astonishing tale of a people struggling for survival in a brutal environment, Patsauq describes a life in the Canadian Arctic as one that is reliant on cooperation and vigilance.

In collaboration with the author, Valerie Henitiuk and Marc-Antoine Mahieu return to the original Inuktitut text to provide English readers with a more accurate translation. With a preface by Patsauq and an afterword from the translators, this edition offers a fresh and contextualized interpretation of a cultural milestone.

Whether revisiting this classic or discovering it for the first time, readers will find in Hunter with Harpoon a sophisticated coming-of-age tale illustrating a way of life not as it appeared to southerners, but as it has survived in the memory of the Inuit themselves.

A new English translation of an acclaimed 1970 novel reveals a stark, powerful story, an Inuit worldview, and the unique voice of Markoosie Patsauq.

About the Author
Markoosie Patsauq (1941-2020) was a writer, retired pilot, and community leader. He lived in Inukjuak, Nunavik. Valerie Henitiuk, translation studies specialist, is provost at Concordia University of Edmonton. Marc-Antoine Mahieu is professor of Inuktitut at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, Universite Sorbonne Paris Cite, and consultant for the Kativik school board in Nunavik.

Reviews

"Both a pivotal work of Indigenous fiction and an effort to acknowledge and correct injustices, Hunter with Harpoon is a testament to the resilience of the Inuit people." Foreword Reviews

"Uumajursiutik unaatuinnamut priorise l'ecrit en inuktitut pour sa valeur en soi et dans ses propres termes. Enfin, la collaboration entre Henitiuk, Mahieu et Patsauq contribue a donner une visibilite a un auteur a la langue riche et vivante et a une culture litteraire proprement inuit." Anthropologie et Societes

"This remarkable scholarly edition, ... is renamed as Hunter with Harpoon, and reinstates the Inuktitut version by drawing heavily on the original handwritten story. The editors were also able to work in consultation with the elderly author, allowing them to discuss the production of this book in the context of his long career." The Northern Review

Book Information
ISBN 9780228004028
Author Markoosie Patsauq
Format Paperback
Page Count 104
Imprint McGill-Queen's University Press
Publisher McGill-Queen's University Press