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We had many ancestors who were whalers to whom we were related. I have relatives who were whalers from my father’s and mother’s side of the family. My father\'s relatives were picked up from Kimmirut and were brought to the Kivalliq area. No wonder that they helped the whalers and taught them how to hunt whales. The whalers had just arrived and did not know anything about the ocean. They were taught by our ancestors where the whales were and they would tell them, ‘The whales are over here and over there!’ Our ancestors knew where the whales were. My great grandmother Quvianaqtuq\'s sister Anirniq was born at that time and I knew her, she was a younger sister of my great grandmother. Anirniq was born in a whaling boat. Some people mention her at times when they are telling stories. I used to see Anirniq in Cape Dorset in the1970s and she mentioned my other relatives Annie Kimiluk and Johnnibo. Johnnibo was Annie\'s husband. He was an Inuk whaler and was helped by the Inuit outside of Pangnirtung. I think that he worked at Kekerten and around Cumberland Sound. Americans and Scottish whalers were also helping to find where the whales were and that sort of thing. People used to tell stories about Johnnibo.
Johnnibo had seen whalers stealing some whale meat and blubber from those he was working for. Johnny saw what happened; the guys who stole some whale meat went down South. That is what I heard; they went down South and were brought to court. I guess Johnnibo knew how to speak and understood English. He was probably taught by the whalers. He was brought South along with his wife Kimilu, but people called her Annie. Their daughter Kallaarjuk was one of my good friends. She died in 1953. As she was a child, they were brought to Boston by ship when those guys where to attend court. People used to tell stories about Kallaarjuk saying that it was her first time travelling to a white man’s country. When they were approaching Boston, they remembered that there were so many lights going so far away. This story was told when we were living in Cape Dorset.
On both sides of her family, Ann Meekitjuk Hanson has whalers in her family tree. She explains how Inuit were important for whalers to teach them about the arctic ocean and the whales. She also tells the story of Johnnibo and Kimilu who went down to Boston to testify in a court case over a stolen whale.
The whalers are also our ancestors
179 Ko
Eastern Arctic
We heard stories about whalers that were told by our elders, people who remembered these things. There were whalers all around Nunavut; they were in the Kivalliq area, around Kimmirut, Pangnirtung, and further north.
But it's not just through old stories that we know about the whalers; while we would be travelling by boat and camping in the summer time, we would see many old whale bones. That's how we know that we had ancestors who were whalers. Our ancestors were whalers, both Inuit and some white men. It didn't matter who they were; even if they were white they were still our ancestors. We need to respect who they are. I respect who they are, even the whalers.
Before there were white people in the North, our ancestors would pass on their knowledge of whale hunting to the younger generation. Inuit were whale hunters as well, and we know this because we can see all the whale bones that were used to build their houses that were left behind. We need to pass this along to our children and grandchildren because it is good for them to know about our ancestors.
We hear stories of how much the whalers wanted Inuit to help them. It's no wonder, because our ancestors knew how and where to hunt; they knew the land, rivers, lakes and everything else around them. They helped the whalers to stay alive. Whalers would have been lost or starving or freezing if Inuit hadn't helped them.
The men were not the only ones who helped; there were women who did all the work with the dogs. The women also sewed Kamiit and clothing. The women were brought along when the men were in the boats hunting.
The whalers would tell the people, "We'll be back next year at this time," which was probably in July or August when there would be no more ice. Inuit would gather in one area to wait for the whaling ships, with people taking turns standing on a hill to look for ships or smoke. If the wind was blowing in the right direction, they would be able to smell the ship's smoke a day or two before they could see the ship. Then they would take turns looking out for it. When it finally showed up, they would shout in glee, "Oh, umiarjuaq umiarjuaq umiarjuaq!" They would run down the hill to tell the good news to the people. Even when I was a little girl we would go to the top of the hills looking for a ship, and when we saw one we would run down the hill to tell the people that there was a ship in the bay.
There was a time when Inuit wanted to get things from the white people, things like cups, tea kettles, harpoons with steels, and blankets; anything that came from them. Inuit even traded their women to the captains or whoever owned a boat or even to a regular white person. When a white man wanted to have a woman in those times, he used to ask her husband. Timilaaq used to tell a story about that, about trading for tobacco, blankets and things that came from the white people, and when he told that story we thought it was funny.
There were new sicknesses that we began to understand were from the people down south. We knew about the tuberculosis, lung disease, and colds that were brought up North by those ships. When Inuit were living out on the land they never really had tuberculosis, lung disease or colds, but as the ships started arriving they realized that they were getting sick. That was the sad side of the stories they told about the first contact with white people.
I have heard stories of what the whalers did. I have relatives who used to be whalers. We need to respect our history; I respect our history. We are here because of our ancestors. This is very important to know about for all of the Inuit in our land; the whalers are also our ancestors. Let us respect this history and respect who we are today because of those whalers. Thank you.
From an interview with the Honourable Ann Meekitjuk Hanson
Commissioner of Nunavut