Minik's Story
Grade 6-9-Minik, a 12-year-old Inuit, tells of coming of age before the introduction of outside cultures. Interwoven with daily activities are many cultural facts, such as the belief in shape-shifting, taboos, and tattooing a girl's face in preparation for marriage. When the Dog Children (white whalers) arrive, the tranquillity of the camp is disturbed as the two worlds collide. Ashoona, Minik's wise grandmother, warns against trusting these strangers, believing that this will only bring unhappiness to their people. After a short, disruptive visit, the whalers depart, leaving behind an English minister who hopes to teach and convert the Inuits. Trouble does arrive at the camp, and even though he is not at fault, Longskirt is blamed. He is banished from the camp, and must find his own way back to his society. Minik's first-person narrative reveals her thoughts, fears, reactions, and misconceptions about these strange people. She calls on the fulmar, her "helping spirit," to guide her as she deals with each new experience. Readers come to know her as a caring, competent young woman, true to her environment. At story's end, she is married to the young man she was promised to as an infant, and pregnant. Through language that is appropriate and consistent with the times and culture, Dewey provides an accurate view of the Inuit way of life, yet this background information does not overwhelm the story.Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.