#Inuit Elders

[kinfraught]

thinking that the kamei clan's innate technique probably manifests differently for each individual. like its the same power/ability but how they see / experience it differs.

for yasuko its a full sensory experience; but it is primarily expressed through intense colors, sounds, and tastes.

for yasuko's cousin shinsuke (whos an auxiliary manager; who i intend to write as an npc kind of deal!) it manifests more mathematically. in precise ratios and trajectories which assist him in his duties of mission planning and intelligence gathering.

this also kind of impacts how they interact with the world; whereas yasuko's technique views the world as a sort of a canvas with intense colors which serve as premonitions of death. shinsuke views the world as a sprawling grid, with triangulated points that represent pivotal moments in his life and others.

[ladyimaginarium]

this is me whining & bitching prolly lmao but tbh as a native witch i wish i had my own indigenous deities & spirits & types of magick to follow & research but there's like. almost no resources online & if it Is its mostly white & the occasional nonnative poc witches writing resources on the topic. send help lmao

[uwmspeccoll]

The author, Angela Hovak Johnston.

Johnston and Marjorie Tungwenuk Tahbone, traditional tattoo artist.

Catherine Niptanatiak: "I designed my own, something that represents me and who I am, something that I would be proud to wear and show off, and something that would make me feel confident and beautiful. . . . I have daughters and I would like to teach them what I know. I would like for them to want to practice our traditions and keep our culture alive."

Cecile Nelvana Lyall: "On my hand tattoos, from the top down, the triangles represent the mountains. . . . The Ys are the tools used in seal hunting. . . . The dots are my ancestors. . . . I am so excited to be able to truly call myself and Inuk woman."

Colleen Nivingalok: "The tattoos on my face represent my family and me. The lines on my chin are my four children -- my two older boys on the outside protecting my daughters. The lines on my cheeks represent the two boys and the two girls on either side. The one on my forehead represents their father and me. Together, we live for our children."

Doreen Ayalikyoak Evyagotailak: "I have thought about getting traditional tattoos since I was a teenager. . . . When I asked the elders if I could have my own meaning for my tattoos, they said it wouldn't matter. My tattoos symbolize my kids."

Mary Angele Takletok: "I always wanted traditional tattoos like the women in the old days. I wanted them on my wrists and my fingers so I could show I'm Inuk."

Melissa MacDonald Hinanik: "As a part of celebrating my heritage and revitalizing important traditional customs that form my identity, I believe I have earned my tattoos. I am a beautiful, strong young woman. I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend, and an active community member. I reclaim the traditional customs as mine, I re-own them as a part of who I am."

Star Westwood: "We still have some of our culture, but some things are slowly dying. Having tattoos helps us keep our culture alive. . . . . My tattoos represent my dad and my dad's dad. The ones closest to my wrists represent my sisters."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Tattoo Day

July 17 is National Tattoo Day. To celebrate, we present some images from Reawakening Our Ancestors' Lines: Revitalizing Inuit Traditional Tattooing, compiled by Angela Hovak Johnston, co-founder with Marjorie Tahbone of the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project, with photographs by Inuit photographer Cora DeVos, and published in Iqaluit, Nunavut by Inhabit Media Inc. in 2017.

For thousands of years, Inuit have practiced the traditional art of tattooing. Created the ancient way, with bone needles and caribou sinew soaked in seal oil, sod, or soot, these tattoos were an important tradition for many Inuit women, symbols etched on their skin that connected them to their families and communities. But with the rise of missionaries and residential schools in the North, the tradition of tattooing was almost lost. In 2005, when Angela Hovak Johnston heard that the last Inuk woman tattooed in the old way had died, she set out to tattoo herself in tribute to this ancient custom and learn how to tattoo others. What was at first a personal quest became a project to bring the art of traditional tattooing back to Inuit women across Nunavut.

Collected in this book are photos and stories from more than two dozen women who participated in Johnston's project. Together, these women have united to bring to life an ancient tradition, reawakening their ancestors' lines and sharing this knowledge with future generations. Hovak Johnston writes: "Never again will these Inuit traditions be close to extinction, or only a part of history you read about in books. This is my mission."

Reawakening Our Ancestors' Lines forms part of our Indigenous America Literature Collection.

Angela Hovak Johnston (right) with her cousin Janelle Angulalik and her aunt Millie Navalik Angulalik.

View other posts from our Indigenous America Literature Collection.

[icarusredwings]

Thinking about how in xmen animated series episode 6, season 1, Logan is rescued by an inuit tribe. They don't know who he is or rather what he is, and they still treat him with the same respect they would a tribe member. They cook for him and let him heal there, and the elder is surprised by logan's quick healing, and the guys are impressed with his net fishing skills while the girls giggle at his strengh.

While the inuit is celebrating he tells the cheif that he feels at peace here and he is glad that the tribe is so accepting of him. The cheif says a man who seeks peace in his heart is a man who has none. A girl runs up and tells him its his turn to celebrate. He declines and says he gets airsick but she pulls him there anyway. They cheer for him and throw him multiple times to the point Logan is smiling.

A man who was just left for dead by his own brother, taken in within an instant by people that call him a stranger yet treats him as family.

This. This right here proves that Logan needs his pack. A pack that doesn't question him but is grateful for his time with them none the less, a pack that is communital based. A pack where everyone does equal work to contribute and yet still is thanked and is heavily greatful/affectionate towards one another.

This pack is his daughters, an ugly dog, a cocaine addict grandma, and a chronically ill bald idiot.

[lilacargent]

How cold is too cold?

The Quelec had been left alone after their adamant refusal to join the Conclave. This draconian looking species viewed most other creatures as lesser, which made the conclave just as happy to ignore the Quelec and their nearly uninhabitable icy planet.

It didn’t take long before the Prideful creatures couldn’t stand being put to the side like they didn’t matter. Requesting a diplomatic convoy to reopen the conversation was only a ploy to take them hostage and issue ridiculous demands to capture the Conclaves attention.

It is now that a conclave mother ship is hanging just out of orbit to make a plan to get them back. Above a massive map of the icy landscape with one thin line of forest across its median, the three crews tasked with the retrieval are discussing loudly.

“No they can sense electrical currents, and any blast from their breath weapons will shut down our vehicles.” The tall bipedal alien that looks remarkably like a yeti yells at the other people around the table ‘going in with a full frontal attack is going to get everyone killed and if they don’t the cold will. The hostages are held at this planets south pole, which functions as a great prison because of its insane cold!’ The group of Lokachs (a more serpent like alien) hiss at the hostile tone ‘ssssoo far you have not gotten a better idea. Perhaps think for yourself Loquacious.’ When a fight is about to break out the human mediator steps forward. Followed by a tall bearded man and a woman dressed in remarkably non uniform clothes, with markings on her face. ‘No fighting here, they send all of us because we have different experiences with the cold. You, Loquacious of the Relokip, can keep your internal temperatures high like the Quelec can but you’re saying they can sense how you do that?’ the second in command responds ‘Captain Drissum, sir. We generate static electricity in our fur and change it through our nerve system into heat. But the energy will set off the sense of the Quelec.’ With a slow nod Marcus will gesture to the people with him ‘We specifically picked people from a cold climate with generations of experience for this mission: Katjuk from the united Inuit tribes, and Bjørn from the high north and re-established viking society. After many humans left the planet because space travel became widely available the sudden climate changes from the departure of all these people caused an ice age to some degree. All of a sudden skills their people had perfected over generations became increasingly valuable, now they come to share this with us.’

Stepping into the middle of the group Katjuk is the first to speak, ‘we have means to travel the icy tundra without alerting the Quelec, and my friend and his crew have the skills and weapons to protect us during this track. The air is almost good for us the only dangerous aspect is the sulfur and a simple respirator will fix this without using electricity.’ Loquacious lets out a loud bellowing laugh ‘How in the eternal universe are you going to survive the cold without your electricity run suits then? And if you people are soooo cool why do you need us?!’ Marcus just facepalms and Bjørn shoulders past him towering above most people here, but only at eye hight with Loquacious ‘Unless you want us to drop you at the surface with us, you get to sit in your pretty ships and shoot up the other pole and if you are actually brave you can make a bigger splash by going into orbit and making sure they leave their hidey holes.’ kitjak pulls out several packages of fabric and shows one of them to the groups ‘these are a type of clothes our ancestors have used to keep warm in horrible cold, we are going to use them now to do the same. Now on how to get on the planet we are going to do a dead drop, with parachutes. No electricity involved.’ With a thoughtful expression the elder woman looks at the main Lokach, ‘we are going to need your biggest stealth ship, i have been told that it can start up with unheard of speeds almost straight up, is that correct? If so we would need it dropped with us, it is going to be our way out, hopefully it is too quick for the Quelec to respond and we can be picked ultimately outside of orbit.’ Taking a step forward the male bows his head ‘thisss iss the cassse indeed, how do you know it exists?’ Marcus laughs ‘we know most things, but that is not the point now.’ Seemingly having decided that the other groups knew all they needed the humans start speaking with eachother about how they are going to time all of it.

After the fact Loquacious recounts with stunned admiration to the Conclave ‘they dropped down from our highspeed ships with 30 creatures they call dogs, specifically trained to pull sleds and run in packs. The sleds flew over the icy landscape with no regard for the cold. Once they arrived at the strong hold Bjørns men put on spikes on their feet, ropes all around them and scaled the walls like it was nothing. Somehow it took no more than 30 minutes for them to return with the hostages, dropping them down with the ropes like they weighed nothing. Immediately being clothed by Kitjacks group put on the sleds, to return at breakneck speeds.’ Loquacious is silent for a bit when Ilsop (the head Lokach) speaks up ‘with no regard for their own safety they returned the people to the ship we had dropped in the forest line, the dogs are trained to not fear anything their people will tell them to do. There was no sign of exhaustion on these creatures, i believe they would have been able to walk so much further.’ Shocked faces all around look to the massive windows overlooking the internal park of this garden world where a dozen humans are playing with dangerous predators without a fear in the world.

The humans will always find a way.

Outside Bjørn is speaking with Kitjak ‘You know it wasnt even that cold, a Canadian would have worn shorts’ Laughing loudly the woman agrees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tadah

As this is not my culture i did a lot of research, if i have represented things wrong please tell me. Because of that i have remained vague on certain aspects i could not find clear info on.

This took a bit but in response to @caffineandsugar s request for nordic/inuit/ scandinavian focussed.

[its-ticsticstics]

As an First Nations Indigenous Person here in Turtle Island (Canada, Northern Ontario)

I want to remind people of the terminology largely used here, at least in my community;

First Nations and Indigenous are really the only academically accepted terms for referring to us. The term "Native American" is never used here, it usually refers to those in the USA, and even then, I doubt its a proper term for there. Aboriginal used to be used, but now its mainly recognized (again, here were I live) as a term for the first peoples of Australia and New Zealand.

A lot of elders in my communities and even a lot us younger generation still also call ourselves Indians. This is NOT for white people to call us. The use of this term is complicated and needs a whole different post.

Eskim* is a slur and in Canada the only accepted term is Inuit (or Inuk, for singular).

And as an aside to all of this;

All of our tribes/bands are UNIQUE and have their OWN NAMES.

When you say any of these terms, without identifying a particular tribe (and even then you may have to narrow it down to a specific region); YOU ARE SPEAKING GENERALLY. It will not apply to all of use and every individual culture within that group.

I'm Anishinaabe/Ojibwe and Alongquin; my partner is Mohawk. We're both First Nations, but our mother tongues and teachings are still different. And even then, its different from those who are from these same tribes but live in the USA, especially in language speaking.

There is so so SO much nuance to describing First Nations Peoples and it cannot be taken for granted.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Beloved Nunavut elder Qapik Attagutsiak died at the age of 103 last week. 

Born on June 11, 1920 in Nunavut's Kivalliq region, Attagutsiak was a traditional midwife who worked tirelessly for better healthcare for Inuit. She was also an expert seamstress and a decorated elder, awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Her family announced that she died peacefully and surrounded by family in Ottawa on Dec. 14. 

Clare Kines, who has lived in Arctic Bay for the last 24 years — where Attagutsiak spent her later years — remembered her as warm and loving. 

"She was that sort of person. She always struck me as being genuinely happy," Kines said. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[mostly-mundane-atla]

hello!! so sorry if you've answered questions like this before, haha :)

i'm an atla fanartist, and i've been looking for accurate resources on inuit or yu'pik clothing/hairstyles/accessories for a while with little to no luck.

so i guess my question is- most of the things i've found have had conflicting opinions, so i'm not sure if it'd be respectful for me as an outsider to draw water tribe characters in native clothing that they don't wear in canon? and if it would be acceptable, do you know of/how do i go about finding materials that would allow me to do so in the politest way that i can?

thank you for your time, and apologies if i misworded anything!

My best advice is just looking for old photos and a LOT of them, and keep in mind that the swath of peoples you're trying to research are geographically scattered (the phrase "Greenland to Siberia" is often used for a reason) and culturally diverse. The clothes and hairstyles typical of Baffin Bay Inuit are completely unrecognizable to what i grew up around in my King Island Inupiat family. It doesn't mean one is incorrect, it means we're different cultures, even if we're lumped under the same label by outsiders.

Some practical research advice for this specific topic:

Use specific terms. It may help to read into how the tribes and nations referred to themselves and using that

For strictly traditional things, try including "pre-assimilation" or look up when assimilating forces, such as missionaries and colonizer school requirements, showed up and narrow your searches to images or accounts from before that time

Try to find sources with input from elders. Do not underestimate the wealth of knowledge to be found in the oral tradition. Even school projects containing interviews with elders can provide some insight

I grew up in interior Alaska in the 2000s-10s with my cultural identity very important to me, but as such, my cultural knowledge is based on my culture and catologued through the lense of generations of assimilation and cultural exchange with more local peoples. My idea of irl culturally accurate Sokka and Katara and their family and compatriates is not the inherently correct one, despite my jokes and rants.

If any fellow Inupiaq, Yup'ik, or Inuk fans would like to contribute to this, please do

[piizunn]

september 30th, 2023

People who are not First Nations, Métis, or Inuit will never know the sickening feeling of finding out the playground you used to go to is the site of a former residential school, a school still in use by the town of Fort Smith, NWT.

fig. 1. Joseph Burr Tyrrell Elementary School in Fort Smith. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio.

First, I’d like to make clear that to my knowledge none of my my immediate family members are residential school survivors, I share community and space with many people who are and I personally attended the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and I will only be speaking on my own experiences. I descend from 7 historic Métis Otipemisiwak families by the names of Berthelet, Caron, St. Germain, Larivière, Dazé, Dubois, and Boudreau, who come from the historic Red River Settlement and Batoche. I come from Amiskwaciywâskahikan, Treaty 6 and I now make my home in Mohkinstsis on Treaty 7 land. I introduce myself in this traditional way of the Métis Otipemisiwak to contextualize my knowledge and experiences, honour my family, and situate myself on this land and in this conversation.

Today is Orange Shirt Day, a day that honours Phyllis Webstad, member of Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band), and survivor of the Residential School system. Her story is what has inspired this national day of honour and action. Beyond wearing orange I would like non-Indigenous settlers to really consider the history around them and the experiences of survivors and those who lost their lives. I would like you to physically step up for us, be there for us when we are being beaten down, sit with Elders and listen to their stories, learn about their joy as well their pain.

I attended Grandin School, an elementary school in Amiskwaciywâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) before it was renamed to Holy Child. For anyone outside of the area I will describe it; the school is over one hundred years old in a historic neighbourhood. Near the school is an LRT station underground and on one side of the platform was a large mural depicting Bishop Grandin, a nun holding a native child, an Indigenous family at camp, and a residential school. Based on the fact that Bishop Grandin spent time working in Saint-Boniface of the Red River Settlement, Fort Chipewyan in what is now Alberta, and Île-à-la-Crosse in what is now Saskatchewan, it can be assumed that the family is either First Nations or Métis, however it must not be forgotten that the Inuit of the north also suffered these institutions.

A quote from Bishop Vital Grandin haunts me to this day, more now than ever.

“We instil in them a pronounced distaste for the native life so that they will be humiliated when reminded of their origin. When they graduate from our institutions, the children have lost everything Native except their blood.”

- Bishop Vital Grandin, 1875

Fig. 2. “A mural depicting Bishop Grandin at an Indian Residential School is located at the Grandin LRT Station in Edmonton.” Image courtesy of Jake Cardinal and Alberta Native News.

I remember teachers taking us to the Is platform to sse the murals but it was not a critical conversation they were very much pro church and viewed residential schools from a sinister paternalistic perspective.

The mural was eventually covered up but the narrative in grandin elementary was that they were "helping native families. I remember inside the school by the main stairwell there was a portrait of Old Grandin and it was literally so scary to me hated walking past it so much I would sprint up the stairs whenever I walked past him alone.

I attended the seventh and final Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s national event in March of 2014, at the end of one of the days I was there I took the train to see my old elementary school, to see the mural and to really consider what I had been taught in school versus what my community and family has taught me. Again, none of my direct family are residential school survivors but many Métis are and this history is often hidden. Prayers up and tobacco down for every single survivors, living and in spirit form.

Fig. 3. The mural depicting Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin at an Edmonton LRT Station was covered in orange Tuesday, June 8, 2021. Kirby Bourne, Global News

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit have been talking about their family members who did not come home and the abuse they experienced. This is not new information, and you have to sit and listen no matter how uncomfortable you are because nothing is more uncomfortable than colonial violence. When news came out about the children of Kamloops in 2021 it was devastating how many people I knew personally that were completely ignorant of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the history of residential schools. What happened in these institutions are absolute atrocities many people would rather not face even the knowledge of what happened to these children, both alive and passed on. Like the survivors, the perpetrators of these horrors live on and have never been held accountable.

Continue to honour your community, stand up and show up for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Learn about the history of settler-colonial occupation of this land and how you yourself are directly benefitting from this ongoing genocide. Residential school survivors and the children who never came home are in your community; they are the kind kokum down the hall as well as the middle aged man living on the street, their children young adults, teenagers, kids, babies, they still carry these experiences and memory down to the atoms that make up each of their cells.

works cited

Bourne, Kirby. ‘Mural at old Grandin LRT Station to be removed this fall,’ September 23rd, 2021, Global News.

Cardinal, Jake. ‘Edmonton Paints Over The Grandin Mural’, Alberta Native News, June 10th, 2021.

Grandin, Vital-Justin. On the goal of residential schools, 1875.

Pruys, Sarah. ‘MLA calls for new Fort Smith schools, citing residential school legacy’. Cabin Radio, March 5th, 2023.

Webstad, Phyllis Jack. Phyllis’ Story In Her Own Words, OrangeShirtDay.Org

[ash-and-starlight]

Books of 2023

the list nobody asked for <3

My reading habits had gone a bit stagnant in the past couple of years so this year i made the effort to engage in reading again and wow books really are good!! who would have thought! Sharing this year's book log with the small reviews i did while reading yeah i am That kind of list lover if u feel like being nosy, (and maybe even help mi crowdsource reading recs based on my likes 👀🤲?)

The left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula i Need to know your thoughts on omegaver- [gunshot] THAT ASIDE yeah. mrs Le Guin you've done it again. I can see why everyone got their brain chemistry altered by this book.

The Membranes - Chi Ta-Wei another brain chemistry altering book. would love to discuss it with a gender studies major lmao

Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie its a v atmospheric and poignant story, I know I would have loved it more if I was familiar with the rich religious/cultural background it draws from

The Masquerade Series - Seth Dickinson Crazy insane in the membrane about this series. one of the most compelling worldbuildings I've ever seen, and most importantly it features one of the most crazy wet pathetic scrunkly meow meow protagonists i've ever had the pleasure of reading about.

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides i liked the writing style of this book a lot! idk how well it holds up re: intersexuality topic, but its a very engaging read.

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power - Jude Ellison, Sady Doyle The title says it all honestly, its a beautiful, thought provoking and engaging essay, spanning eras, pop culture phenomenons, and real life events on the topic of women and horror.

The cat who saved books - Sōsuke Natsukawa this was so cute and heartfelt, it will really make you go Ah Yes, this is Why we Love Books <333

The Locked Tomb Series - Tamsyn Muir now when people say there is a girl who is the cursed sacrifice of 2000 infants who falls in love with the sleeping embodiment of the soul of the Earth (barbie) and also another girl who is the only survivor of the aforementioned sacrifice and is. a Jesus metaphor? and also the two girls become one at some point. and every book is a different genre. and god is bisexual. and memes survived the nuclear apocalypse. I can just nod and say so true.

The Area X Trilogy - Jeff VanderMeer Rotating this series in the microwave of my mind at the speed of light it's soSO GOOD!! the movie doesn't even come close honestly u NEED to read the books. and then go touch grass and be aware of every strand in a completely new way.

The Dawn of Yangchen - F. C. Yee nice read! I was more invested in the worldbuilding crumbs than in the actual story lmao, I will forever think about the HEATED airball rivalry between the air temples and about the swt greetings / bethrotal armbands.

Inuit Stories of Being and Rebirth: Gender, Shamanism, and the Third Sex - Bernard Saladin d'Anglure starting w a disclaimer bc I feel like the topic of native colonization was ignored when it should have been way more prominent when talking about the context of where and when these testimonies were collected?? That aside it was very interesting and well put together, with first account testimonies of Inuit elders about their myths, lifestyles and beliefs.

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee i read the book after having seen the tv series (which i also rlly recommend). Very moving story about a family and its generations, from Korea under Japanese colonization to modern day America.

Her body and other parties - Carmen Maria Marchado sometimes I go about my day then I remember this book exists and stare at the wall for 30 minutes.

Dictionnaire de l'impossible - Didier Van Cauwelaert big miss. this collection of articles about "strange impossible phenomenons" sounded so quirky and interesting but i sure would have loved if the author hadnt so clearly picked a side. and also way too much church for my tastes.

He who Drowned the World - Shelley Parker Chan Im not even gonna speak about this one if you've followed me since july you know what pits of insanity and despair i'm in

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin Sometimes!! the book with pretty covers put in the "famous on socials" bookstore section!! are good!! It's about being othered it's about connection it's about diaspora it's about love and friendship and most of all it's about viddy games.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel reading this post-covid and learning it was written in 2017 was A TRIP. Psychic damage at every page. still feeling very normla.

The Mask of Apollo - Mary Renault Ugh i desperately wanted to like this book because the setup is so interesting and full of potential, but the end result was just. flat. flat story flat characters the plot focusing on the wrong things at the wrong times i was so DONE when i reached the end otz.

Babel - R. F. Kuang LOVED the worldbuilding in this, the "lost in translation" system of magic is one of the most interesting things ive ever read. I think theres something about the writing in general that didn't win me over completely?? but all in all a very good

Red Ocean - Han Song This sure is a Book. That i've Read. its so profundly strange and unlike anything ive come across that i dont even know what to feel about it. i think 90% of my confusion comes from Not Getting Cultural References so if someone has a "red ocean explained" essay plz send it my way bc i couldnt find one.

[shadezovgray]

tongues - tanya tagaq🪶helen tuqiiq

i've always been so fascinated with native american culture and history, and with the utmost respect, i wanted to create a native american sim.

helen is a member of the Yup'ik people in southwest Alaska. in her native tongue (Yup'ik), she is referred to as Tuqiiq, which was inherited from a village elder who had passed, and who was named helen, as well.

her face tattoos (tunniit in Yuktitut) are part of a 4,000 year long art form in which women of the Inuit people receive them to signify significant milestones reached or skills gained within their lives. in helen's case, for example, the v-shaped markings on her forehead are indicative of her entering womanhood, and the lines on her chin are representative of her having experienced her first period. her hand tattoos reflect the story of the sea goddess Sedna, who was brutalized and murdered by her father, who, in the process, had her fingers chopped off. the markings on the hands represent the locations of the cuts performed on Sedna, and having these tattoos traditionally meant that the women bearing them would be able to pass on to a place of happiness after death. during the early 20th century, the practice would be outlawed and persecuted by missionaries of the catholic church and was forced to be performed in secrecy, but would come to see a revitalization in recent years.

i tried to do generally extensive research on which i created her, and i tried to be accurate and gain a true understanding on the culture behind her, as a character. from what i understand, the term Inuit refers to all Inuit and Yup'ik people, but are also independent of one another to some extent. as you may have noticed, i've incorporated a number of hyperlinks to the sites and sources i used to research the culture and identity basis of helen. i felt it necessary to focus on the background of her, as i feel like native americans are often poorly portrayed and misrepresented, and i wanted to do justice by her and native americans, as a whole.

if anything is incorrect in any capacity, please do not hesitate to reach out! i am more than happy to correct any errors or indicators of ignorance!

much love!

[scotianostra]

On November 3rd 1819 the physician and naturalist Henry Duncan Spens Goodisr was born.

Henry was born in Anstruther, Fife, the son of a surgeon, his elder brother was Prof. John Goodsir, who became Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh. Harry as he became known, was trained in Edinburgh, where his lecturers included the infamous anatomist Robert Knox and was licensed by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1840.

Harry served as Conservator to the Museum of the Royal College from 1843 until 1845, when he was appointed assistant surgeon and naturalist to the Franklin Expedition. This sailed to the Arctic aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, under the command of Captain Sir John Franklin, in search of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

Last seen in July 1845, the expedition was the focus of numerous searches and much speculation. His brother Robert Anstruther Goodsir, sailed twice to the Arctic in an attempt to determine the fate of Franklin's Expedition. Through talking to the Inuit, Orcadian John Rae was finally able to solve the mystery in 1854. The ships had become ice-bound and eventually the entire crew of 129 had starved to death.

Goodsir's name was inscribed on the Franklin Memorial at the entrance to the Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Over the succeeding years, the remains of several individuals were discovered in the vicinity of King William Island in the Canadian Arctic. In 1869, the American explorer Charles Francis Hall was shown a grave by local Inuit on the island. Based largely on the clothing, the remains were identified as those of Lieutenant H. T. D. Le Vesconte and were returned to Britain to be interred beneath the Franklin Memorial at Greenwich.

Further investigation in 2009, which involved facial reconstruction and isotopic analysis of the teeth, led to the conclusion these were not the remains of Le Vesconte rather they were most-likely those of Goodsir. It was my friendr Leonard Low who questioned the identity of the bones...his full story and facial reconstruction is in his book Largos Untold Stories, Leonard opened up his own Witchcraft Museum in Leven earlier this year.

The Goodsir Papers, held by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, comprise letters sent by Harry to his family before his disappearance. In 2018, a plaque was laid by family members near the spot where Goodsir died on King William Island.

The second pic is a memorial is to commemorate the Goodsir family in Largo and Newburn Parish Church.

[livrere-green]

ATLA x Omegaverse AU

Part 1 | Part 2

This post is going to revolve mostly around cultural and social perception of alphas, betas and omegas in the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation.

Northern Water Tribe & Southern Water Tribe

First of all, the way gender (conventional) is managed in the SWT/NWT is evident from the begining. There's a certain order about what every person must or mustn't do, so I'm gonna talk about it, but establishing how these two communities beliefs and practices may differ.

Talking about omegaverse's gender divisions, I considered that doing an extrapolation of some of the beliefs from the Inuit culture (main inspiration of the SWT/NWT) is needed. This is, taking as axis that gender roles are demarcated, but there's no sense of inferiority regarding any gender, because the fulfilment of their roles is highly needed for the survival of the community.

Of course, here's where the difference resides. While the STW, as a whole, doesn't establish limitations or prohibitions about what an omega can or cannot do or learn, the NWT does, they also continue with the tradition of arranged marriages as a way to maintain the equilibrium of the community (after puberty, all omegas are considered in marriageable age).

Now, this is important, a young omega is eligible for marriage after their presentation, but an alpha or beta had to prove they are efficient enough to support a family before they could marry.

Why? Because roles are important, but an omega is appreciated only for the fact of being an omega and what that naturally implies. While an alpha or beta had to show that they can fulfill certain expectations (this usually happened through courtship when it came to alphas).

This is a complex issue, because it doesn't mean omegas are equally free, they are valuable because their worth is inherent to their nature (yes, as baby machines) and what that role demands of them (taking care of a household and taking care of children).

History fact here: the SWT separate from the NWT due to their different understandings and ways of living, the South grew detach of some expectations and practices regarding gender, such as prohibiting omegas from carrying out certain activities such as hunting, armed fighting and waterbending to combat. Most of these changes took decades in being completely embrace, but the war and the subsequently limitation of material and human resources forced the community to accept changes faster.

While in the South, being a chronically reduced and scattered population, there were no many options, they couldn't keep up with the demands that came along with gender/sex roles. If became a situation in which, if you can fight, you fight, contrasted with the teachings that the old sages shared with the young kids that were left behind during the war.

In consequence, there was a clear dichotomy between what those children were taught by the elders who refused to let go of the past and the reality they lived in, because there were omegas that left to fight, as much as old alphas and betas that had to stay behind because they couldn't fight anymore.

This difficult context had different effects in characters from the SWT, for example, Sokka and Katara.

While Katara recognized the value in who she was, and embraced the idea that she could do whatever she wanted because her status as an omega wasn't a limitation or a specially relevant factor to it; Sokka learned that there was an order that wasn't being follow, that things were out of place because of the war and maybe when it ended, everything would be normal again.

The reality is that after their journey started, Katara was faced with a harsh world, one in which all her value resided in her sex/gender, or worst, with a society that didn't even see her as a human worthy of respect, because her nature was a inherent sign of inferiorly.

In the other hand, Sokka found his beliefs refuted the hard way. He came to accept that there was not an ideal order, or a place in which an alpha, beta or omega is limited to be; he also outgrew past resentments and conflicts that he had been holding since Kya died and Hakoda left.

Fun Facts:

Avatars born in the SWT/NWT have commonly presented as alphas.

The practice of giving mating marks was discourage during the war to avoid the harming effects of broken bonds.

In both tribes, Alphas are neither obliged to take any kind of suppressants nor prohibited access to them.

In the South, the use of natural suppressants is common between omegas, stronger medications are not recommended if they can be avoided. While in the North, only recently presented omegas are allowed access to light suppressants.

Packs are uncommon in the South due to reduced population. In the North, there's requirements that should be fullfil in order for a pack to be formally recognized.

Fire Nation

The Fire Nation maintains an strict social order when it comes to the understanding of oneself, family and community (the prominent inspiration for this comes from Confucianism). Their values are widespread and forced in people through propaganda, just as part of nationalist beliefs.

They preach that maintaining the hierarchy between alphas, betas and omegas is needed to reach harmony within the Nation and encouraged the fulfilment of the duty of filial pleity. Is important to highlight that the alpha population is almost equally divided between male (+6%) and female alphas, while beta females (+15%) and omega females (+31%) are more common that their male counterparts.

Under this statement, male alphas and betas, as well as female alphas and betas are optimal for training and taking place in the army. Being alphas the ones that are regarded more respect from fellow officers, soldiers and other members from a crew. Usually, only alphas assume positions of power within the army, the only exception could be a beta who is also a powerful firebender.

On the other hand, omegas are not allowed to take part of any military training or operation. They are relegated to stay home, and are usually educated since their presentation in the different knowledge regarding their own nature, the care of a household and raising children. The government provides this type of education aimed at omegas in schools, but they can also be educated at home, in which case, omegas from wealthy families could access a more integral education.

Also, If they happen to be a bender, once presented, all omegas are only allowed to use their abilities for domestic activities and must be inmidiatly retired from any sort of training.

Omegas that had already underwent proper education are eligible for marriage, this is estimated around age 16 to 20, they are usually courted by alphas or betas. Although, it's always preferred to marry an alpha, as it it's believe they're better providers.

Courtship is a mere formality when it comes to arranged marriages, those are common within the upper class of the Fire Nation, and are set in order to reinforced the status and power of the families.

The Royal Family relies on arranged marriages too, being the members commonly alphas, the court assumes the task of finding a proper omega to take place as their partner, they execute an exhaustive evaluation process (it includes, but not limits to: physical condition for procreation, mental state, education and economical status). Most upper class families encourage their omega kids to participate in this selection, despite the humiliation and trauma it implies.

Due to the inequality in access to education, most of the people working as servants at the Royal Palace, are lower class omegas and betas. While trainers, instructors and governesses of the Royal Family children are alphas, betas or middle/upper class omegas, as long as they fulfil the requirements.

Now, talking about Zuko and Azula. It was expected for both of them to present as alphas, but only Azula did.

Ozai was informed that Zuko presented as a beta by Iroh, because during the standard years of presentation (13 to 14), he didn't show any major change. Clearly, this was another thing Ozai added to the list of reasons why his son was a disappointment, but Iroh was aware that he had blatantly lie, because Zuko never show any of the signs or even minor changes common in betas. He presented as an omega almost a year later, and Iroh agreed to help him hide it, because they both were aware of the vulnerable position that put him in, even when it came to his own crew, let aside his father.

Back in the Fire Nation, Azula presented early as an alpha, which was celebrated and granted her respect around the court and military officials. After her presentation, she was taught, mostly by Ozai, to employ her nature as a tool to control others, mostly through her alpha voice, which she started to use, mostly with servants and in occasions, with her friends.

Fun Facts:

Avatar Roku was an Alpha, Fire Lord Sozin was a Beta, but everyone within the Nation and its colonies is taught that both of them were alphas.

Unmated Omegas are allowed access only to light suppressants unless they're older than 50 or have a broken bond, in which cases they can access stronger medication. Mated Omegas can access any kind of suppressants as long as there's a justification for it (I.e. their alpha mate is abroad, serving in the military).

The Fire Nation has its own regulations regarding a packs legal recognition. Also, It's common to find pup packs that are formed for young presented people, but these are not formally recognised. That term is also used in a derogatory tone to refer to a pack that was formed impulsively.

High rank military officials are allowed to use their alpha voice and other actions, such as a throat grab against other alphas. But an alpha can be condemned for using their voice, independent of rank or position, if they end up harming/endangering children and pregnant omegas.

Alphas serving in the military must take suppressants and these are part of the supplies they receive, but it's a rule that's widely ignore by officials of all ranks. Most of them commonly abuse unmated omegas from any nation, this is also common in all prisons or detention centers.

That's all for now! I linked some stuff here for context, and I know some of these stuff is truly raw but I tried to be realistic.

Thank you for reading!

[willowbilly]

Your post on Silna’s ethnicity was very interesting! After the end of the show, could Silna have been able to join another group or find the Utkuhikšaliŋmiut? If she wasn’t in exile for the death of the Tuunbaq.

And some more questions (if you don’t mind!) - in a modern AU, what ethnicity do you think Silna would identify as? If she could speak an Inuit language/dialect, which one? Most of the people I know who live around Franklin Expedition related places speak Inuinnaqtun or Natsilingmiutut (which I believe is Utkuhikhalik, from Gjoa Haven) but I know next to nothing about linguistics.

Prefacing this with the caveat that these are all merely the opinions and cultural understandings of a white non-Native person from Alaska. Much of this more specific ethnographic and linguistic info is from Knud Rasmussen, Jean Briggs, Alana Johns, Joke Schuit, the Interviewing Inuit Elders series from Nunavut Arctic College, the Ikajuqtigiit Society's Natchilingmiut Uqauhingit, tusaalanga.ca, and the few years I've had of Iñupiatun lessons. I am by no means an expert! 

If Silna were to reconcile with Tuunbaq's spirit after its death, then her exile might be lifted because her shamanism would no longer be an uncontrolled threat to those around her. But that's just me desperately postulating; perhaps Tuunbaq's death itself imposes a lifelong spiritual quarantine upon any person in its proximity. I don't know the precise taboos at work, but the application of traditional taboos was most strict around occasions of birth and death. Adhering to spiritual prohibitions, such as observing a set period of isolation, was believed to help avert misfortune and illness. 

But were she not a danger to people, Silna absolutely could join the Utkuhikšaliŋmiut! Though hostilities with Natchiliŋmiut and Iluilirmiut are said to have contributed to movement of Ugřuliŋmiut southward, and while kin endogamy was preferred, intermarriage between neighboring Inuit groups was relatively commonplace, and migration already obligatory. Inuit in the region were mostly patrilocal nomads: women were more likely to marry out due to typically not needing as intimate a familiarity with their family's hunting grounds as men. Warfare also sometimes involved the abduction of wives; the custom of female infanticide especially during times of extreme hardship resulted in an unequal ratio of men to women. Which is to say that Silna, as a probable Ugřuliŋmiutaq, might join or be joined with any Inuit group in reach. 

Ugřuliŋmiut emigrants are known to have become Utkuhikšaliŋmiut, Hanniŋajurmiut, and Ualiakliit, all of whose subdialects are labeled Utkuhikhalik. The Ualiakliit might speak what is a variety of Hanniŋajurmiut subdialect. Speakers were later resettled largely in Uqšuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven), Talurřuaq (Taloyoak), and Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), influencing the Natchilik, Arviligřuaq, and other dialects likewise pushed into the same settlements. Out of the Natsilingmiutut varieties, Utkuhikšalik language is most distinct from Natchilik and Arviligřuaq, with some lexical and phonological differences. Inuinnaqtun is very closely related, and is also now spoken in Uqhuqtuuq! 

Either Utkuhikšaliŋmiutut, Natchiliŋmiutut proper, or Arviligjuarmiutut would make obvious sense for a modern Silna to speak, and if her family now or then is made of speakers from multiple dialects she'd quite likely be able to codeswitch between those dialects. And nearby or coexisting dialects such as Inuinnaqtun make sense too! The more recent the AU, the more one can probably cast other, farther-away Inuit as Silna's family, given a believable enough backstory (though I do suggest that one keep some direct connection between her and the Qitirmiut region, as for instance still having her father or a direct ancestor be an Inuk from Uqšuqtuuq). 

The +miut postbase is also used in more than ethnonyms, because it is tied to dwellership! One may see it lexicalized in other terms as well, such as in aŋutikšat imarmiutat: “sea mammals,” with aŋutikšat “mammals, beasts, wildlife” in apposition with imarmiutat “inhabitants of the water.” The postbase naturally may be attached to the names of modern settlements and other placenames, so nowadays a resident of Gjoa Haven is an Uqšuqtuurmiutaq, a resident of Kugaaruk is a Kuugaarřuŋmiutaq, and so forth. 

Were Silna to join the Utkuhikšaliŋmiut, she would both become and would not really be an Utkuhikšaliŋmiutaq; she'd retain her ethnic identity as an Ugřuliŋmiu even while identified with the local community and its country. The context and situation would inform whether she is defined as an Utkuhikšaliŋmiu or not.

Silna would probably identify as Inuk in a modern AU! Although one could very easily conceive of a modern AU wherein she has heritage from any Inuit-Yuit-Unangan language-speaking people (especially what with the book applying the meaning of Iñupiat, Inuinnait, et cetera: “Real People” to the word Inuit: “People;” the show taking inspiration from Yup’ik mask traditions for Aja's mask; Nive Nielsen being Kalaaleq; etc.). In which case, she'd use the most common ethnonym (Kalaaleq, Iñupiaq, Yupiaq, Yup’ik, Cup’ig, Sugpiaq, Unangax̂, etc.), and if she has inherited multiple tribal affiliations she would formally introduce herself with all of them. These are related but very distinct languages and cultures! 

“Eskimo-Aleut” is the older academic name for the Inuit-Yuit-Unangan language family, with “Eskimo” encompassing the languages of Inuit and Yuit including Sugpiat, and “Aleut” being the language of Unangan, but “Aleut” is the exonym first applied to Native peoples during Russian colonization and is still preferred by both Unangan and Sugpiat/“Alutiit” over the other later exonym “Eskimo.” Some organizations and people, particularly elders in rural Alaska, might still identify themselves in English as “Iñupiaq Eskimo” or “Yupiaq Eskimo,” with acceptance of the exonym in its function as an umbrella ethnonym, but it is more often a slur in Canada and Greenland, and more neutral, precise endonyms are generally preferred, especially by younger or urban people. “Esquimaux” is the older French spelling that may carry slightly less stigma in English. While “Inuit” is sometimes applied to Inuit, Yuit, and Unangan collectively as a replacement umbrella term, it is not totally interchangeable, for it remains an exonym to Yuit and Unangan etc.; though the words Inuk, Iñuk, Yuk, Cuk, and Suk are all clear cognates. “Kalaallit” is the ethnonym for Inuit of Greenland/Kalaallit Nunaat, probably borrowed from a Norse exonym. 

Lowercase “inuit” in Inuit language is the generic noun for all humans (lowercase in Latin orthography, whereas syllabics have no upper/lowercase distinction). An “inuk” is also the yolk of an egg, or the resident spirit of something such as a natural feature, e.g. of siḷa, sila, hila: the air, weather, atmosphere. Iñupiatun for “the resident spirit of the air” is siḷam iñua; the Terror novel appropriates this phrase with unconventional orthography for Silna's group name: “sixam ieua,” but the “spirit-governor-of-the-sky” is literally of the air, its resident spirit. Siḷam is in the singular relative noun case: “of the air” or “the air's.” Iñua is the absolutive noun iñuk with the singular-to-singular possessive noun ending: “its resident spirit.” Hilap inua is the same spirit as the one whose Inuktut proper name is Naarjuk or Naarřuk, who may also be referred to by residence alone: Sila or Hila. These three concepts refer in fact to the same spiritual figure, whereas they are misrepresented in the book as being separate from each other. None are to my knowledge an actual ethnonym, though Naarřuk, Hila, etc. are indeed anthroponyms. Do not listen to Dan Simmons. 

“Indian” historically was and is not an English ethnonym usually applied to Inuit, Yupiit, Sugpiat, or Unangan peoples, but is an official legal term that is identified with other Native nations of Alaska. It may also be used as a slur, but many people still self-identify with this word, particularly as its own umbrella. “First Nations” is the main Canadian term, with “Native American” being more U.S. American. The modern ethnonym “Tinaaq” was borrowed into the Iñuit language from the Dené language endonym “Dena,” as the old Iñuit language term means “one that has or has the quality of or association with louse eggs” and is therefore considered offensive. 

For those in Alaska the preferred English umbrella ethnonym is “Alaska Native” (applied to all Native peoples of Alaska, listed alongside “American Indian” on the census) as well as simply “Native.” I don't know enough about Russia, Canada, and Greenland to speak on preferred terminology there, other than that “Indigenous” is broadly accepted as a general term. Should Silna in one's modern AU have friends or family who are of another, non-Inuit-Yuit-Unangan Indigenous nation, be sure to do one's research on/take into account the relevant histories, intercultural relationships, attitudes, and experiences of whom one is representing, as one ought to best do anyway. Of course, multiethnic/multiracial people will face specific sets of circumstances. 

If one's modern AU does expand or change Silna's ethnicity so that she grows up, say, Yup’ik in Alaska, remember that the language landscape will be different depending on the area and its history, e.g. with Moravian missionaries in much of that area having learned and translated into Yugtun as opposed to having suppressed it, there was a somewhat higher level of postcolonial Native language preservation than elsewhere in the state. The impacts of cultural assimilation and boarding/residential schools were widespread and considerable, vary a bit in different places, and if Silna or her parents were fostered or adopted by non-Native people it is very unlikely she would be a first-language speaker/signer of her heritage language(s). English also now dominates as the lingua franca even when it is not already instilled as a first language for many. Other major colonial languages across the larger region include Russian, French, Danish, and ASL. 

I operate on the basis of my headcanon that Silna's father, Aja, and therefore Silna, must have known a local variety of Inuit Sign Language, since it would be indispensable for a person whose tongue is removed, presuming a sign language is still permitted to them. The novel has Silna and her family using a sign language of string figures. This is inconvenient and unrealistic in that using string figures as morphemes ideally requires a string and is more tedious; the spirit of the string games, Tuutaŋŋuarřuk (who makes string figures with his own intestines), is said to attack those who want to play too much; and there is already a preexisting normal sign language. While the language's history is not well-known, it is thought to have developed among Deaf Inuit, from and with the signs that hunters used to coordinate and that facilitated the communication between speakers of different Inuktut dialects as for instance during trade relations; it is signed by both Deaf and hearing Inuit. The absolute certainty of this headcanon of mine decreases for a modern AU, since modern schooling has so stifled Native languages and ensured that most Deaf/HoH Inuit learn American Sign Language (ASL) and Manually Coded English (MCE); ISL or Inuit Uukturausingit (IUR) is thus very endangered today (estimated <40 monolingual signers). IUR is, however, currently attested to be signed in Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet, and Taloyoak, and so Silna's family being signers who are from one of these places is more than plausible! 

It is valuable that one decide Silna's specific heritage and community for one's AU, because this will inform what she speaks and/or signs. In introducing herself to someone nowadays she may say who her parents are and where she's from, or this would simply be integral to the grounded establishment of her character. I don't know if she would use the “Natsilik Inuk” umbrella term for herself in a modern AU; please defer to the opinions that Inuit from the region have about its usage for themselves! But if in use as an umbrella term, it would be in addition to the particular ethnonym(s) inherited from her family. 

Silna in a modern AU being among the many who are struggling against Indigenous language loss would make for one of several meaningful, tragic, yet more prosaic analogs to her canonical speechlessness. She could have Inuktut, IUR, and English as her first languages, and, frustrated to see the loss underway, partakes in revitalization work, or perhaps she is monolingual in a colonial language and is only just beginning to learn her heritage Native language(s) after a difficult, discouraging history. Either way, it depends on how she was raised, on what her community, family, and father passed on to her, and that depends on communal and personal reactions to the traumatic impact of forced cultural assimilation.

[redbayly]

Kya Headcanons

So, I've been thinking a lot about Kya (Katara and Sokka's mother), lately, and started brainstorming a ton of headcanons for her that I want to share because she does not get nearly enough love. Some of them I've had floating around in my head for a while, but others I came up with only recently or just today. Also, I included some of my Southern Water Tribe headcanons. So, take a gander and tell me what you think of my ideas for Kya's story.

Personal Info:

She was a member of the Polar Leopard Clan, one of seven sacred clans that are believed to be directly descended from the Southern Water Tribe’s founder.

Kya was always an adventurous soul. From a young age, she was interested in exploring and even traveled to parts of the South Pole that were considered especially dangerous. She always hoped to one day travel the world.

She wanted to be a waterbender more than anything. Since she was little, she would try to waterbend and practiced the moves for it that the elders remembered. Even when everyone told her she wasn’t a waterbender, she kept trying. And even after she came to terms with the fact that she wasn’t one, she still practiced the few moves she knew in case any waterbenders were born and because she found she just enjoyed it.

Her favorite food was seal-jerky. She would always eat it aggressively and people who saw her eat it would say she looked like a ravenous wolf as she tore into the salty meat strips.

She had a beautiful singing voice and taught Katara and Sokka traditional Water Tribe songs.

Despite her vast knowledge of Water Tribe songs and stories, she was terrible at poetry. When she and Hakoda were courting each other, he would come up with beautiful poems and truly creative ways of flirting while Kya fumbled with her words and got all tongue-tied and awkward.

Kya was the worst at hunting in her family because she always had trouble keeping quiet and sitting still for long periods of time. She was easily bored and would start talking or fidgeting and would alert prey from all the noise she made.

Kya loved doing creative projects like carving, weaving, beadwork, basket-making, etc. She was especially skilled and could spend hours focusing only on whatever thing she was working on and would forget to eat or do her chores because she was so into it. It’s from Kya that Sokka inherited his love for art and handicrafts.

Early Life & Family:

Kya’s mother was in her forties when she had her, leading many people to speculate that Kya was actually the child of her older sister and that her parents were trying to cover up an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. The rumors weren’t true, but her mother was embarrassed about having a child later in life and claimed her pregnancy was actually a tumor right up until Kya was born.

Her relationship with her mother was very strained and cold. Kya sometimes wondered if her mother even loved her at all. She was never physically abusive, but she was also never kind or nurturing and seemed indifferent to her children and often gave the impression that she regretted having them. Her mother was a capable hunter and the main provider of food for the family. Her mother died on a hunting trip while fighting single-handedly against an arctic wolf-bear; she managed to take the creature down and, with her dying breath, asked the warriors to serve the animal’s meat at her funeral dinner and give the pelt to her family. Kya’s mother had a brother and a sister who were both waterbenders that were taken by the Fire Nation.

Kya’s father was an angakkuq (something like a shaman or medicine man in real-world Inuit culture) who was the main spiritual leader for their clan. He was kind to his children, but was often distracted by his vocation and wasn’t really in the right headspace to properly raise them. It’s not entirely certain that he’s dead. When Sokka and Katara were still very young, he wandered out onto the tundra one night, claiming to hear the spirits calling to him, and never came back. There were tales from the hunters, though, that they’d seen him walking the tundra when the winds picked up, chanting prayers to the tribe’s guardian spirits to watch over them.

Kya was the youngest of six children. She had four older sisters and a brother.

Iara (eldest sister) – She basically raised her younger siblings and became a mother figure to them. She sacrificed much of her own happiness to look after her family, even turning down a marriage proposal from the man she loved because she felt responsible for looking after everyone and wasn't sure she could manage raising her siblings and starting her own family. Kya adored Iara and later felt guilty for how much her sister had given up for her sake. Iara ended up dying from heart failure shortly before Kya gave birth to Katara.

Nuvua (second sister) – A sociable people-pleaser. Nuvua always tried to make friends with everyone and soothe ruffled feathers within her clan and with other members of the Water Tribe. She did try to help Iara with their siblings, but ultimately left her behind when she married young and had a family of her own. She ended up becoming elected the clan mother (a type of matriarchal figure in charge of managing the village) of the Polar Leopard Clan over the wife of the clan chief. She and Kya were never especially close, but she was still devastated when Kya was murdered.

Asiri (third sister) – A wild troublemaker. She was always pulling pranks and laughing at other people. She could be a bit of a bully, at times, and often picked on Kya, leading to a difficult relationship between them as they grew up. Asiri later ran off with a young man from a clan that was enemies with theirs, claiming it was true love and that they were defying a stupid feud. It turned out the guy was just using her to humiliate her clan; after he got her pregnant, he abandoned her and started mocking her publicly, claiming that all women in her clan had no sense of decency. Asiri returned home in shame and was nearly thrown out by the clan chief, but Kya spoke up for her and convinced the clan to stand by her. Asiri ended up struggling with depression for a number of years afterwards and developed serious trust issues. She ended up spending most of her time as part of her clan’s hunting party, as she was the best hunter of all her siblings. After Kya’s death, Asiri cut off contact even more and rarely spoke. When the men left to fight in the war, Asiri became the primary hunter for the Polar Leopard Clan and has had to also train the kids in her village to hunt.

Atka (fourth sister) – A quiet, spiritually-minded woman. She followed in her father’s footsteps and became an angakkuq. She fell in love with a young woman and had a “half-moon marriage” (a euphemism for same-sex couples). She and her wife adopted Asiri’s child, a boy, because Asiri had no interest in keeping him after what his father put her through.

Nuka (brother) – A wide-eyed dreamer. He was always goofing off as a kid and never took anything too seriously. Despite being older than Kya, he followed her around a lot and joined in her hijinks and adventures. He was still a very casual guy when he grew up and got a reputation for being a shameless flirt. He became more serious and responsible, though, after Iara died and later when Kya was killed. He didn’t smile or laugh much after that and began to really train as a warrior. He became a trusted member of Hakoda’s war council when Hakoda was elected chief for the whole tribe; a lot of other warriors dismissively refer to him as “Chief Hakoda’s idiot brother-in-law,” but he is a very capable guy when push comes to shove. He’s one of the men who greet Sokka when he shows up at Chameleon Bay in “The Guru.”

Kya carved a set of rings from whale ivory, one for herself and each of her siblings. Despite whatever ups and downs they faced as a family, none of them have ever taken those rings off.

In addition to her actual brother, Kya had “clan-brothers” (male friends close to her age from her clan who were not necessarily related to her but who were considered family). Her clan-brothers really did not like Hakoda and sabotaged many of his efforts to court Kya. In one incident, they grabbed Hakoda and Bato (who was only involved because of his friendship with Hakoda), tied them in a fishing net, and tossed them onto a ship headed for a month-long fishing trip. Kya later chewed her clan-brothers out for their stupid, overprotective bullshit.

Despite how distracted Kya’s father could be, he was attentive enough to take her ice-dodging when she was fourteen. She earned the mark of the brave.

She always took her father’s lessons about spirits and religious traditions seriously. Even little things like always facing northward while eating blubber, never lingering in doorways, never whistling at night, always thanking the souls of the animals when she ate meat, never wasting any part of an animal, etc.

She nearly drowned once while saving another kid who had fallen out of a canoe while fishing. Then she nearly died of hypothermia from the freezing water.

Adult Life, Marriage, & Children

She had several romantic relationships before she married Hakoda:

She had a childhood sweetheart who became her best friend/honorary brother when they were older.

She was courted by a very handsome older boy when she was a teenager, but she caught him cheating on her and dumped him. She and the other girl also beat the living hell out of him.

She had a long-term relationship that led to an engagement. However, a couple months before the wedding, she and her fiancé both realized they really weren’t right for each other and broke up amicably.

There was a guy who was interested in her romantically whom she turned down because he gave her red flag vibes and he refused to accept ‘no’ for an answer. He kept following her around and trying to pressure her into a relationship, but she always rejected him When she and Hakoda announced their marriage, the guy tried to challenge Hakoda to a fight for Kya’s hand. Hakoda bluntly told him that Kya’s not a trophy and that, if he had a problem with the marriage, he would just have to deal with it. Hakoda then told Kya what had happened and watched in satisfaction as she stormed over to the creep and verbally eviscerated him.

Kya proposed to Hakoda. She gave him a hunting knife she hand-carved herself as a betrothal gift. Her clan wasn’t happy about the marriage because Kya chose to marry into Hakoda’s clan (the Wolf Clan) instead of him marrying into hers.

Kanna gave Kya her necklace as a legacy gift. In the Southern Water Tribe, when you marry into another clan, your in-laws have to give you a “legacy” gift to pass on to one of your children that is not strictly a practical item (no combs, knives, needles, etc.). Legacy gifts are usually things like jewelry, decorations, or ceremonial attire of some sort. When a woman marries into a clan, her legacy would pass to her daughter or her daughter-in-law; when a man marries in, then his legacy goes to his son or son-in-law.

While Kya was delighted to pass Kanna’s necklace to Katara, she did miss the familiarity of wearing it. So, Hakoda put his carving skills to the test and made a new one just for her; it wasn’t particularly good and his hand slipped a lot while making it, but Kya still loved it and wore it proudly.

Kya addressed Kanna as ‘Mom’ after getting married to Hakoda. She’d never felt comfortable using that term for her own mother or for her older sister. People who didn’t know the family would sometimes assume that Kanna was Kya’s mother rather than Hakoda’s.

Kya thought she wouldn’t be able to have children. She had several miscarriages and then no indication of pregnancy for a number of years before she had Sokka. In memory of her unborn children, she carved small figures of bone to commemorate them and pray for their safe return to the cycle of death and rebirth. When she was killed, Hakoda buried those little carvings with her.

She referred to Sokka as her ‘miracle’ when she delivered him safely and latercalled Katara her ‘blessing.’

When both Sokka and Katara were young they came down with terrible fevers from a sickness that was tearing through the South Pole. Kya stayed awake for days tending to them and praying to the spirits to save them.

When Katara was discovered to be a waterbender, Kya was overjoyed and convinced Hakoda to launch a search for a waterbending master. When no one could be found in the South Pole, she tried to talk her husband into them all going on a family adventure to the Northern Water Tribe to find Katara a teacher.

She was deeply compassionate towards people who were treated unjustly. During a gathering of the clans, the Whale-walrus Clan chief was brought before the council of elders for trying to beat his daughter, Tuktu, to death for “profaning herself with another girl.” Despite the man being publicly censured for his inexcusable actions, he threw his daughter out of the clan. Kya was the first to step up and offer Tuktu a place in their home. After this, little Katara, who had witnessed everything, asked her family if they would hate her if she grew up to like girls instead of boys, to which her mother responded that it didn’t matter if she like girls or boys or both or neither, her family would always love her. Tuktu later moved in with a girl in another clan, with whom she is still happily living by the time the show’s events roll around.

Kya was going to be named the clan mother for the Wolf Clan once Kanna stepped down, but she was killed before the official installation took place.

[davidstanleytravel]

An Inuit elder lights a qulliq (oil lamp) aboard a cruise ship off Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut, Canada. A demonstration of traditional throat singing (katajjaq) followed the lighting.