In her second book on life in the Arctic, West Coast author Yvette Edmonds deals with Inuit culture during mid 20th century, at a time when many Inuit were turning from traditional life and adopting modern European ways. Liak is a courageous ten-year-old Inuit girl who talks her grandfather into letting her adopt an orphaned albino seal pup she names Yuit. But the shaman banishes Liak and her pup from the community for offending the Sea Goddess Nuliajuk. Liak’s adventures lead her eventually to the new life she has dreamed about and a chance to attend school.

Yvette Edmonds is the author of the classic juvenile novel Yuit (1993), published by Napoleon Publishing. This delightful book is now in its third printing. Yvette has studied Inuit culture for many years and has visited Taloyoak (called Spence Bay in the protagonist’s time) and the area where the story takes place. She is determined to help preserve that heritage she so greatly admires. A French translation, Liak et la déesse de la Mer, was published in 1996.Yuit was selected by the Canadian booksellers for their Books for Young Readers Catalog (1993). Yvette has also published a collection of poetry called Perfume & Crystal (1995), and a collection of short stories set in the Arctic called Beyond the Snowstorm (1992). An adult novel called Ice Fire, also set in Canada’s north and whose principal character is an Inuit woman, was published in 1995. Yvette has taken a keen interest in the Inuit and the harsh realities they overcome daily—which has brought her recognition from the highest level of government in Canada. In 1997, upon being invited to give talks and readings in Taloyoak, she received a personal letter from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien commending her for her books that have helped promote a greater understanding of the Arctic. Yvette studied Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, and has traveled extensively. She is the great-great-granddaughter of a Siamese princess and an American sea captain, and was born British in then colonial Malaya in the Far East. Before settling permanently in Canada, she lived in England and Argentina. With her interest in diverse peoples and their unique offerings of culture and heritage, she feels very much at home in multicultural Canada. She lives in British Columbia, and is currently working on her memoir.

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Yuit

A work of fiction, Yuit portrays Inuit people, their heritage and way of life. The traditional Inuit migrate with the changing seasons to fish and hunt for food. In early spring, camps are set up in tents by the river for the summer fishing season. At the beginning of winter, they migrate to the sea ice to build igloos and hunt seals. A young Inuit girl, Liak, adopted by her grand parents because her family had too many children, spends her early years hunting for food. Liak rebels against her community and their beliefs when she tries to care for a young abandoned albino seal pup. This act of kindness results in banishment by the leader of her community and therein changes her life completely. Her travels take her to a nearby settlement where the traditional and modern way of life is highly contrasted. Here, children have the opportunity to attend school and the streets are filled with wooden houses and shops where the Inuit work to earn money to buy food.