Jaypeetee Arnakak and Neil Christopher collaborated on the adaptation of the Inuit story Inukpasugjualuit Ukiuqtaqtumi, The Great Giants of the Arctic, a retelling of Traditional Inuit Stories about giants, known as Inukpasugjualuit, who are said to inhabit the Arctic. These giants are an important part of Inuit Story, embodying themes of strength, survival, and the supernatural. This adaptation allows young audiences, who are not Inuit, to experience this Story of the Inuit, providing them with a window into the rich cultural heritage and storytelling Traditions. Through this collaboration, Arnakak and Christopher not only preserve and honour these Traditional Stories but also make them accessible and engaging for a broader audience, fostering greater understanding and appreciation of Inuit culture.

Other End Matter: Inuktitut glossary
Images: Colour illustrations
Contributor Affiliation: Adapted by Jaypeetee Arnakak (Inuit) & Neil Christopher, Illustrator Kaja Kajfež
Bibliography: No
Index: No

Evaluator: Debra H., Elementary School Teacher, Indigenous Books for Schools

Jaypetee is an Inuit linguist (one of only two Inuit linguists in Canada), and Inuit educator. Most of Jaypetee's career has been about the Inuit language. At Nunavut Tunngavik and later at Qikiqtani Inuit Association, he served as an Inuit Language and Education policy analyst and engaged in Inuit language and education discourse at the regional, territorial, and national levels as an analyst, commentator and advocate for Inuit language and education rights. He has also worked for the Nunavut Arctic College as an Adult Basic Education instructor, an Inuit Language instructor, and as an instructor for the Interpreter/Translator Program. He currently works full-time for Inhabit Education, Toronto Office, as a Senior Inuit Language Advisor and is involved in Nunavut curriculum development and as a designer/deliverer of Inuit language courses. He was also recently appointed as an executive director for NBES.

Jaypeetee Arnakak's profile page

Neil Christopher is an educator, author, and filmmaker. He first moved to the North many years ago to help start a high school program in Resolute Bay, Nunavut. It was those students who first introduced Neil to the mythical inhabitants from Inuit traditional stories. The time spent in Resolute Bay changed the course of Neil’s life. Since that first experience in the Arctic, Nunavut has been the only place he has been able to call home. Neil has worked with many community members to record and preserve traditional Inuit stories. Together with his colleague, Louise Flaherty, and his brother, Danny Christopher, Neil started a small publishing company in Nunavut called Inhabit Media Inc., and has since been working to promote Northern stories and authors.

Neil Christopher's profile page

Kaja Kajfež was born in the small but charming city of Varaždin, Croatia in 1992. She developed a love of drawing as child and later invested in a graphics tablet that steered her work into the digital realm. Kaja's artistic passion together with her interest in computer technology led her to obtaining a degree in Multimedia, Design, and Application at the University North in Croatia. During her college years, she began freelance work and was eventually able to establish her own studio that specializes in illustration, lettering, and surface pattern design. Besides doing her dream job, she loves to take long walks in nature, explore different historical periods, flip through old picture books, listen to online concerts, and spend time with her dog,

Kaja Kajfež's profile page

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This adaptation allows young audiences, who are not Inuit, to experience this Story of the Inuit, providing them with a window into the rich cultural heritage and storytelling Traditions. Through this collaboration, Arnakak and Christopher not only preserve and honour these Traditional Stories but also make them accessible and engaging for a broader audience, fostering greater understanding and appreciation of Inuit culture.

Debra H., Elementary School Teacher, Indigenous Books for Schools