My name is Auuniq.  I am seven years old.  I live with my family in northernmost Canada, in Nunuvut.  I am Inuk; I am one of the "Beautiful People".  "Inuk" (one person) or "Inuit" (more than one) means "Beautiful People" in my language, which is Inutpiat.

I speak both English and Inutpiat.  I am a very smart boy.

I have a mom, a dad, and three older brothers.  Their names are Quallaaq, Peetoq, and Aqsamirq.  They are so old they are in high school; mom and dad call me "their little surprise" because they weren't expecting to have me.  You know how that goes.  LOL

I spend my days going to school on the weekdays, where I am in the second grade.  On the weekends, however, I help dad (I call him "Father") with the hunting, setting up traps (to catch our food that we eat; we eat seal mainly, also fish; sometimes we catch a whale, but not that often; it's too much work to hunt whale), and other things.  He also has me help with the dogs and sled, which is how we usually travel here.  (We do have a snowmobile, which is a lot faster, but we only use that when we go to town.)

I also help Mother with the sewing, but I don't like it; sewing is woman's work.  I'm a boy!!  I should be helping Father or my brothers, or at least playing with my friends!

I like school, but then again, I don't like it.  The non-Inuit kids (we call them "Dog Children" because they are so ugly with their pale, pale skin, different colored hair or odd-colored eyes) tease us Inuit or Native Canadian kids; they call us "Eskimo", which is one of the worst things a person can call us.  "Eskimo" in Inutpiat means "eaters of raw meat".  Maybe it used to be like that long ago, but we cook our meat; we have a stove and an oven; our meat is not raw!!  So DON'T call us that; it makes me angry!!!!

Sometimes I get so angry, I come home from school in tears.  I tell Mother and Father to teach me at home; they say they can't, as they are too busy with things.  So I have to go to school, like it or not.  Blast!!  :(

One of my favorite things to do is sit outside and watch the northern lights play in the sky in the wintertime.  The northern lights always make me happy because it's like our ancesters are visiting us.  We Inuit believe that when a person dies, they go into the sky and dance among the northern lights.  My grandfather, grandmother, and uncles, aunts, cousins are in the lights; when the lights come, I "see" my ancesters, and it makes my heart want to dance right along with them!

Sometimes I do dance as I watch the northern lights.  :)

The only bad thing about this, though, is sometimes nanuqs (polar bears) are about, hunting, and that can get dangerous.  You don't want to meet up with the white bear; they can eat you up in two gulps!  They can get over 9 feet tall and weigh over two hundred pounds easy!  So I am most careful when I do my northern light watching.

Well, I have to get ready for school.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is your Inuk friend, Auuniq, saying goodbye!  May the great spirit bless you in all that you do!

~Love, your new friend, Auuniq Titaquaalaq, aged seven.  :)

*to be continued.*