Joe Talirunili’s Migration Boats are among the most famous and highly prized works of Inuit art. His various depictions of a harrowing umiaq journey were all carved in the last dozen years of his life. This fine, impressively large example is made especially noteworthy with the addition of an illustrated text in the artist’s hand, and two photos of Joe carving the sculpture.

The exact year of Joe Talirunili’s birth has always been a bit of a mystery. Early community records list it as 1899 but Joe’s own recollections vary considerably. In his own text that accompanies this work he says he “was told” the year was 1906, yet here he gives his age as 79 – which supports the date 1893, often listed as well. We are inclined to go with the earlier dates; 1899, for example, would accord with the birth of his wife Lydia in 1899 and the birth of their daughter Sarah in 1917. If Joe’s memory is correct in his telling below, 1906 was in fact the year of the Migration. This would have been a life-changing adventure which left an indelible impression on him, even if he never quite seemed clear on the details (understandable given that he might have been seven years old at the time).

Here is a rare personal account of this remarkable story, written in syllabics and illustrated by the artist to accompany this sculpture:

Resident of Puvirnituq, JOE Talirunnilik’s story related to his sculpture.

Long ago, I have been told that I was born in the year 1906 in a land called Kuugaaluk and Niaqunnguuq. [1] The caribou hunt would occur in the month of August, lasting to the end of the summer. Then, Inuit spent their time inland until the end of fall; it was when the lake ice had melted and gone that they left their summer spot and moved camp, returning to the sea. This was at a time before the qallunaat [non-Inuit, white people] had moved to Kuujjuaraapik [Great Whale River], because they were actually at a place called Qilalugarsiuvik [Little Whale River] then. Inuit spent the winter closer to the sea and would return inland by winter’s end. It was due to Uqammaq [2] the minister, the one who [came] after the last, that Inuit wished to hear the word of God - Inuit travelled long distances to go to him. Some Inuit who had no belongings or were poor, would go along with those more able and who assisted them as to direction, in terms of food, and being kindly though they may have lacked in provisions.

And so during winter 1906 we began a journey to go to the qallunaat. [3] Having begun the voyage in mid-January meant they arrived to the qallunaat in the month of April. They would begin their return trip toward the end of April. On their way back they searched for seals for the making of the qajait [4] and tents. Inuit would travel in groups like this [for long voyages] and they would separate [into their family bands] as they returned to their homelands.

We were journeying to our homeland during the month of July. On this day, however, the ice broke and we were lost. There was a sled, and there were 17 Inuit, perhaps, I have forgotten.

The construction of a boat was attempted during a whole month while we were surrounded by nothing but ice. The lands called Arviliit [5] appeared as if they were above a strange great sea. There was great movement of ice. I know [from this experience] that God helps those in need.

With the boat finished and the weather having become excellent, the leader wanted to pray one morning. During the prayer, thunder came and lightning too. The sun was very warm, there was no wind, completely clear skies. Great booms of noise were suddenly heard and children fled spreading everywhere. It was only because their parents went after them that they returned to their spots. They had been overcome with fear because of the shock. Great amounts of ice that were all together and surrounding them, had broken apart and formed great ice shoves. A route for them was opened; God had divided the ice where it was impossible to divide.

In his drawing:

ᓄᓇ ᕈᐊᕈᓯ: The more northerly land.

ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐃᓄᓕᒃ: There are Inuit here. ᓄᓇᕐᕈᐊᖅ: The great land. ᓄᓇ: Land.

ᐊᖅᑯᑎᑦᓴᖅ ᐅᓛᑯᑦ ᑯᑎ ᐋᖅᑭᑕᖓ: The route that God made in the morning.

ᓯᑯᐊᓗᐃᑦ: Great amounts of ice.

ᑎᒪ ᓄᓇ ᕿᒫᔪᖅ ᐆᒪᔪᕐᑐᑦ ᑐᑭᓯᒐᒥ, ᖁᑭᐅᑎᒧᑦ ᖁᑭᕐᑕᕕᓂᖓ ᑐᐊᕕ ᑎᑭᓚᐅᕐᐳᖅ ᓄᓇᒧᑦ: Then the land is pulling back, it held an understanding just as a living being would comprehend with its mind. [Or: The land is moving away, for it has reason as a living being has reason.]

And it was shot by a rifle and quickly they arrived on land. [6]

I lived there for two years, and returned in the month of February to Kuujjuaraapik, we did not stop at my former homeland for my family had moved. The place is now called Kuujjuaraapik. Inuit only began to be baptised since 1914, and it was in 1950 that we began sculpting soapstone and up to today.

(Signed)

Joe Talirunnilik (aged 79 – this one)

JOE Talirunnilik

1. Kuugaaluk, “the river that flows much” is just south of Puvirnituq. Joe Talirunnilik and his family were the last to settle in Puvirnituq, having remained at Kuugaaluk until 1960.

2. Edmund James Peck (1850-1924), the Anglican missionary was known as Uqammaq by the Inuit, which meant “he who speaks much.”

3. Where the missionary was.

4. Qajait is the plural of qajaq, which is known as the kayak in English literature. The spelling in Inuktitut of qajaq and qajait follows the Inuktitut orthography.

5. These are a group of islands in Hudson Bay also known as the Ottawa Islands, southwest of Puvirnituq.

6. It was the belief that the land, the island, was preventing them from getting closer. As they paddled, it appeared that the island was pulling away and instead of getting closer to it, it was becoming more distant. To solve the situation, they had to shoot at it with the rifle, and this allowed them to finally arrive to the island after a very long struggle.

Translation and footnotes by Lisa Koperqualuk.

This fascinating account by the artist provides interesting background information about the transitional culture of Nunavik Inuit in the early 20th century, adds intriguing details of the adventure itself, and gives us insights into Talirunili’s beliefs and his understanding of the events.

It’s astonishing to read that Talirunili’s entire clan might undertake a three-month journey simply to hear the “word of God” from an Anglican missionary – although presumably trading would be carried out as well. And on its return journey, the group’s ultimate rescue in the form of a biblical miracle akin to the parting of the Red Sea is further evidence of the high degree of Christian faith and piety practised by the recently converted Inuit of the region, shaping its oral history and thus Talirunili’s own memory and artistic expressions of the event.

Joe’s text explains that the group’s return trip by sled was abruptly thwarted by dangerously thin ice, and that they worked for a month to build an umiaq [skin boat] to save themselves. But they were still surrounded by ice, until the leader (Joe’s grandmother Aullajuk) led them in prayer. Aullajuk is the woman standing in the boat, and the rifleman who shoots at the land to keep it from receding is Joe’s father’s brother Amitok.

This Migration Boat has several features worthy of mention. The work is one of Joe’s larger examples but contains relatively larger and fewer figures than most. The commanding figure of Aullajuk and also of Amitok the rifleman are carved separately and pegged into place. The artist’s famously energetic and rough-and-ready carving style is apparent not only in a few of the faces but also in several of Joe’s own repairs and the way in which some of the oars are lashed into place rather than fitted. The two photos give a wonderful sense of Talirunili’s home studio (his kitchen table!), his simple tools and the way he used them, and of course the flavour of the man himself. And the neatly written and well-organized text, supplemented with annotated illustration and cartography, offers further evidence of Joe’s artistic vision and mythologizing genius. Also noteworthy is the artist’s signature, which is inscribed on the bow rather than printed on a paper label.

References: Talirunili is one of Inuit art’s most celebrated sculptors; his Migration Boats, are widely illustrated. See similar examples by the artist in George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 359; Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970, (Hull, QC: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999), p. 91; Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998),fig. 63; Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 112; Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983), cat. 137; and several First Arts catalogues including: 28 May 2019, Lot 18; 1 Dec. 2020, Lot 32; and 4 Dec. 2023, Lot 37. Marybelle Myers’ wonderful Joe Talirunili: a grace beyond the reach of art, (Montreal: La Federation des cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec, 1977) remains the classic introduction to Joe’s work and life.