My last post was to set the situation for this post or was this story setting the last post? Well, I don't know but they are related.
My last post told about a very cruel story where Inuit were moved to a very inhospitable area against their will.
One of the children in that move in 1953 died a few weeks ago at age 78.
Markoosie Patsauq was 12 years old when his family was taken to Resolute Bay by the C.D. Howe icebreaker.
The next year when the icebreaker came back and did a health check they found that Markoosie had tuberculosis. Markoosie was taken to Manitoba Canada which was 2766 km from Resolute Bay. So a year after one drastic change Markoosie experienced another change. Markoosie went to school and learned English while being treated for TB.
Now they didn't send Markoosie back to Resolute but instead sent him to highschool in Yellowknife NWT which was 2794 km from Manitoba. After highschool Markoosie was the first Inuk to get a pilot's licence and did bush flying up and down the eastern coast of Hudson Bay.
What did Markoosie do after flying? He was the first Inuk to write novel! Harpoon of the Hunter was first written in syllabics . It was translated into English and several other languages. It's never been out of print.
That's a major accomplishment by someone who had many challenges to face in life.
I'm looking forward to finding Markoosie's story.
