Simon Tookoome (December 9, 1934,
Chantrey Inlet
Chantrey Inlet (''Tariunnuaq'') is a bay on the Arctic coast of Canada. It marks the southeast "corner" where the generally east–west coast turns sharply north. To the west is the Adelaide Peninsula and to the east is mainland. King William I ...
- November 7, 2010
Baker Lake) was an Utkusiksalingmiut
Inuk
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...
artist.
Life
In his youth, Tookoome and other Utkusiksalingmiut lived along the
Back River and in
Gjoa Haven
Gjoa Haven (; Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq, syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ , meaning "lots of fat", referring to the abundance of sea mammals in the nearby waters; or ʒɔa evən is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle, located in t ...
on
King William Island. Here he met and was influenced by the
Netsilik
The Netsilik (Netsilingmiut) are Inuit who live predominantly in Kugaaruk and Gjoa Haven of the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut and to a smaller extent in Taloyoak and the north Qikiqtaaluk Region, in Canada. They were, in the early 20th century, a ...
Inuit.
[
He moved to Baker Lake, Nunavut, ]Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in the 1960s when his Inuit band was threatened with starvation. After the arrival of arts advisors in 1969, Tookoome began to draw and carve stones. He was a founding member of the Sanavik Co-op.
Work
He was the author, with Sheldon Oberman, of the children's book ''Shaman's Nephew: A Life in the Far North'', which won the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian children's non-fiction in 2000. This autobiographical book deals with Tookoome's youthful experiences of the traditional Inuit way of life, including experiences with hunting and encountering non-Inuit culture for the first time. He was also included in '' Irene Avaalaaqiaq Myth and Reality'':
In addition to being an accomplished artist, Tookoome was renowned as a master whipper.Nathan VanderKlippe. "Celebrated Artist also a Crack Whipper."
References
* Nasby, Judith, and Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq.
Irene Avaalaaqiaq Myth and Reality'. Montreal:
MQUP, 2002.
External links
Tookoome's work at the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art
1934 births
2010 deaths
Inuit sculptors
People from Baker Lake
Artists from Nunavut
Inuit from the Northwest Territories
Inuit from Nunavut
People from Gjoa Haven
Canadian children's writers
Inuit writers
20th-century Canadian sculptors
{{Canada-artist-stub