Characters with a capital "C": Tumasi Kudluk

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NASIVVIK

In the course of life, we often have the good fortune to intersect with people of character, with a capital "C". People with Character seem to have a high "magnetic field" of human qualities, which inspire and touch others. Such people are blessed with the gift of being able to uplift other human beings by what they say, or what they do. They make life very interesting. Everybody knows Characters who are worth talking about, in the context of enriching any setting they happen to be in.

People with capital "C" character seemed somehow more plentiful in the old days. Our folklore and legends are chock full of them. I suppose the theory can be that the constant struggle for food, clothing, and shelter forged character more readily hand-in-hand with the adventure and adversity life was then. Our population in Nunavik has more than doubled in the past 40 years. But the relative ease of modern life seems to have actually reduced the prevalence of Character among our people.

Nevertheless, I've been privileged to encounter my share of such folks, and they are as diverse as humanity itself. There is no standard definition that identifies people with these qualities. Some are short, and very talkative. Some are tall, and don't talk much at all. Some are old, and some, very young. Some definitely inherit their character from forbears. Others seem to have acquired it out of who knows where, and wear their Character without having to show it off.

People of Character are often irrepressible, and their attitudes toward life provide a much-appreciated boost to those around them. They tend not to take themselves, or others, too seriously. They'll see something in a situation that nobody else sees, and give expression to it in a way that makes it fun, or funny. Most of them have an abundant sense of humor, which they readily utilize to make life's diverse grief bearable.

Such individuals are to be found in every society. I once encountered a cabbie in London, England whose stand-up comic's repertoire of continuous good humor made an hour-and-a-half ride at the height of rush hour to downtown seem like a 10-minute hop. Here is another Character:

Tumasi Kudluk of Kangirsuk, who died in October 1989, was one of the last true Nunamiut, People of the Interior among the Inuit. He had a deep, intimate knowledge of Inuit life prior to contact with "civilization". What made him special was his ability to communicate and share his knowledge with new generations of Inuit. He had the gift of making those who heard him appreciate, and take pride in, their unique identity as Inuit.

Tumasi had known severe hardship and hunger early in his life. He would recount being part of the group that accompanied part-way the migration led by the great Inukpuk from Ungava to the Hudson coast in 1912. On the return, food was so scarce that they had resorted to eating entrails of lemmings regurgitated by snowy owls.

Hunger inland was most severe, Tumasi said. At least in coastal areas there was kelp and seaweed to feed on.

Tumasi was an expert on caribou; his knowledge of the subject was unparalleled among Inuit in the region. Once in December, our hunting party killed a caribou, which was still in its summer fur. This, to us, was very unusual. Naturally, I went to see Tumasi about this to find out what explanation there might be for this seeming oddity.

He questioned me like a police investigator: Was the animal male or female? Was it with a herd, or was it walking alone? Was its meat lean or fat? After I answered all his questions, he announced with authority that the animal was an aged female, past calf-bearing age, fending for itself, moving alone, separate from the security of a herd. Tumasi had a way of explaining such things in a very unassuming way, but one never forgot the lesson within his explanation.

Tumasi always had an opinion to express about any issue at hand. At a one-man show of his artwork in Toronto, he was confronted y an animal rights activist, who told him "You Inuit are cruel to animals for killing all sorts of them, and claiming to use them as food!" Tumasi's reply was: "Well, you Qallunaat aren't so blameless in the business of killing! I'm told many of you kill each other, but you certainly don't eat any of what you kill!"

In my mind's eye, I can still see Tumasi, choreographing Christmas dances in Kangirsuk. In his eighties, and getting around only by crawling on all fours, he displayed more stamina than the youngsters, and stayed up till five in the morning, making everything absolutely joyful!