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This is Kaniuekutat's book. In it, he tells the story of his life and that of Innu culture in the northern parts of Labrador. The pages of this book are filled with the voice of Kaniuekutat giving his account of an Innu hunter's life and the problems and distress that have been caused by sedentarization and village life. Kaniuekutat invites us to see Innu society and culture from the inside, the way he lives it and reflects upon it. He was greatly concerned that young Innu may lose their traditional culture and the skills necessary to make a living as hunters, and wanted to convey a message: the Innu must take care of their language, their culture and their traditions.
List of contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. The day I became a hunter
Chapter 3. Kauitatikumat: The boy who married a caribou
Chapter 4. Gifts from the animal spirits
Chapter 5. The shaking tent, Mishtapeu and the shaman
Chapter 6. The power of myths
Chapter 7. The elders always found a way to find animals
Chapter 8. Atshen and the shaman
Chapter 9. The myth of Aiasheu
Chapter 10. To travel alone is dangerous
Chapter 11. The myth of Mehutshu
Chapter 12. Meminiteu and Atshen
Chapter13. I dreamed the animals
Chapter 14. Impact with no return
Chapter 15. Atsheniss and the shaman
Chapter 16. Kuekuatsheu made the world
Chapter17. Only priests and God keep records
Chapter 18. Tshiushuass
Chapter 19. Innu-White relations: From mutual respect to mistrust
Chapter 20. Alcohol didn't solve my problems
Chapter 21. I wanted to die
Chapter 22. Some anthropological reflections
Glossary of Innu terms
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Georg Henriksen (1940-2007) was Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen (Norway). He first carried out extensive fieldwork among the Innu in 1966–68, and for the rest of his life kept returning to Labrador. It was his deep concern for the future of the Innu people, and that of other indigenous peoples, that drove him to participate in the founding of IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs). He always retained a special fondness for the Innu people, and a great personal, professional and political interest in their affairs.
