Kikkik
Encyclopedia
Kikkik was an Inuit
woman who, in 1958, was charged with but acquitted of murder, child neglect
and causing the death of one of her children. Her story was told by Farley Mowat
.
(Ahiarmiut), a Caribou Inuit
band who had originally lived in the Ennadai Lake
area. In 1949, the Ihalmiut were relocated by the Government of Canada
to Nueltin Lake
. However, hunting was poor at Nueltin and over time the people returned to Ennadai. In 1957, the Government again moved the Ihalmiut, now numbering 59 people, to the Henik Lake
area, 45 miles from Padlei
, the closest trading post. The Henik group split in two early on.
, the Ihalmiut's main source of food, did not appear. Consequently, the Henik group began to starve during the winter. Kikkik, her husband Hallow (Hallauk), and their children (son Karlak; daughters Ailoyoak, Annecatha, Nesha, and baby Nokahhak [Elisapee]) had their igloo
close to her half-brother Ootek (Ootuk) and his family. Ootek had not been able to provide for his family. Now Ootek told his wife that he was going to the trading post
at Padlei, but went and visited Hallow. Hallow left to go fishing and, after a short period, he was followed by Ootek, who had brought his rifle. Creeping up behind Hallow, who was fishing, Ootek shot him in the back of the head.
Ootek then returned to Kikkik's igloo, but she became suspicious and followed him as he left the igloo. He shot at her but she pushed the rifle aside. She fought with Ootek, who was weak from hunger, and forced him to the ground; he confessed to having murdered Hallow. Sitting on Ootek to hold him down, Kikkik got her son Karlak to give her a knife, but it wasn't sharp enough to kill Ootek. One of her other children then brought her another knife and Kikkik killed Ootek with it.
Kikkik found her dead husband and placed his rifle next to him, as is the Ihalmiut's custom. She loaded up a sled with the few supplies she had, bundled her infant onto her back, and began the 40 mile walk to Padlei with the children. After a few days she met Yahah, Hallow's brother, and she followed him to his camp. She waited there while her brother-in-law went to Padlei. After five days, without food, and no sign of Yahah, she and the children resumed the trek. After a few more days, she was unable to continue with all the children and left Annecatha and Nesha, both under age 10, wrapped in caribou skin, in an igloo she made with a frying pan.
aircraft that also was able to find the two stranded girls, one of whom had died. Kikkik was charged with the murder of Ootek, child neglect for abandoning Annecatha, and causing the death of Nesha.
At her trial, in Rankin Inlet, presided over by Judge John Sissons
, Kikkik was found not guilty of all charges. Sissons, in his remarks to the jury said the case "demands that we revert our thinking to an earlier age and try to understand Kikkik and her life and her land and her society" and that she should be judged by her culture.
. Kikkik never talked about this part of her life, nor did community elders. Her children did not learn of it until Annecatha read Mowat's book. Kikkik's story was also turned into two documentaries featuring daughter Elisapee (née Nurrahaq [Nokahhak]) Karetak in 2000 (English
) and 2002 (Inuktitut
).
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
woman who, in 1958, was charged with but acquitted of murder, child neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
and causing the death of one of her children. Her story was told by Farley Mowat
Farley Mowat
Farley McGill Mowat, , born May 12, 1921 is a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Canadian North, such as People of the...
.
Relocation
Kikkik was a member of the IhalmiutIhalmiut
The Ihalmiut or Ahiarmiut are a group of inland Inuit who lived along the banks of the Kazan River, Ennadai Lake Little Dubawnt Lake , and north of Thlewiaza in northern Canada's Keewatin Region of the Northwest Territories, now the Kivalliq Region of present-day Nunavut...
(Ahiarmiut), a Caribou Inuit
Caribou Inuit
Caribou Inuit, Barren-ground Caribou hunters, are bands of inland Inuit who lived west of Hudson Bay in northern Canada's Keewatin Region of the Northwest Territories, now the Kivalliq Region of present-day Nunavut between 61° and 65° N and 90° and 102° W...
band who had originally lived in the Ennadai Lake
Ennadai Lake
Ennadai Lake is a lake in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is long, and wide. It is drained to the north by the Kazan River.-Geography:The lake is within the Hearne Domain.-Flora:...
area. In 1949, the Ihalmiut were relocated by the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
to Nueltin Lake
Nueltin Lake
Nueltin Lake straddles the Manitoba-Nunavut border in Canada. The lake, which has an area of , is predominantly in Nunavut's Kivalliq Region, and on the Manitoba side there is the Nueltin Lake Airport which serves the fishing lodge...
. However, hunting was poor at Nueltin and over time the people returned to Ennadai. In 1957, the Government again moved the Ihalmiut, now numbering 59 people, to the Henik Lake
Henik Lake
Henik Lake is located in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. The lake is made up of two lakes, North Henik and South Henik with a narrows separating them...
area, 45 miles from Padlei
Padlei, Nunavut
Padlei is a former community in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located on the mainland on the north shore of Kinga Lake at the juncture of the Maguse River. Whale Cove is to the east, while the Henik Lakes are to the southwest....
, the closest trading post. The Henik group split in two early on.
Desperate circumstances
During 1957 caribouReindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
, the Ihalmiut's main source of food, did not appear. Consequently, the Henik group began to starve during the winter. Kikkik, her husband Hallow (Hallauk), and their children (son Karlak; daughters Ailoyoak, Annecatha, Nesha, and baby Nokahhak [Elisapee]) had their igloo
Igloo
An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
close to her half-brother Ootek (Ootuk) and his family. Ootek had not been able to provide for his family. Now Ootek told his wife that he was going to the trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
at Padlei, but went and visited Hallow. Hallow left to go fishing and, after a short period, he was followed by Ootek, who had brought his rifle. Creeping up behind Hallow, who was fishing, Ootek shot him in the back of the head.
Ootek then returned to Kikkik's igloo, but she became suspicious and followed him as he left the igloo. He shot at her but she pushed the rifle aside. She fought with Ootek, who was weak from hunger, and forced him to the ground; he confessed to having murdered Hallow. Sitting on Ootek to hold him down, Kikkik got her son Karlak to give her a knife, but it wasn't sharp enough to kill Ootek. One of her other children then brought her another knife and Kikkik killed Ootek with it.
Kikkik found her dead husband and placed his rifle next to him, as is the Ihalmiut's custom. She loaded up a sled with the few supplies she had, bundled her infant onto her back, and began the 40 mile walk to Padlei with the children. After a few days she met Yahah, Hallow's brother, and she followed him to his camp. She waited there while her brother-in-law went to Padlei. After five days, without food, and no sign of Yahah, she and the children resumed the trek. After a few more days, she was unable to continue with all the children and left Annecatha and Nesha, both under age 10, wrapped in caribou skin, in an igloo she made with a frying pan.
Rescue and trial
Kikkik, Karlak, Ailoyoak, and baby Nokahhak were rescued by a Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
aircraft that also was able to find the two stranded girls, one of whom had died. Kikkik was charged with the murder of Ootek, child neglect for abandoning Annecatha, and causing the death of Nesha.
At her trial, in Rankin Inlet, presided over by Judge John Sissons
John Sissons
John Howard Sissons was a barrister, author, judge and a Canadian federal politician.-Early life:Sissons was born in Orillia, Ontario and, at the age of four, contracted polio, which injured his leg and he walked with a limp for the rest of his life...
, Kikkik was found not guilty of all charges. Sissons, in his remarks to the jury said the case "demands that we revert our thinking to an earlier age and try to understand Kikkik and her life and her land and her society" and that she should be judged by her culture.
Aftermath
Her story was featured in the 1959 book The Desperate People by Farley MowatFarley Mowat
Farley McGill Mowat, , born May 12, 1921 is a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Canadian North, such as People of the...
. Kikkik never talked about this part of her life, nor did community elders. Her children did not learn of it until Annecatha read Mowat's book. Kikkik's story was also turned into two documentaries featuring daughter Elisapee (née Nurrahaq [Nokahhak]) Karetak in 2000 (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) and 2002 (Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
).
Sources
- Damas, David. Arctic Migrants/Arctic Villagers The Transformation of Inuit Settlement in the Central Arctic. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-7735-2405-3
- Eber, Dorothy. Images of Justice A Legal History of the Northwest Territories As Traced Through the Yellowknife Courthouse Collection of Inuit Sculpture. McGill-Queen's native and northern series, 28. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7735-1675-1
- Tester, Frank J., and Peter Keith Kulchyski. Tammarniit (Mistakes) Inuit Relocation in the Eastern Arctic, 1939-63. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-7748-0452-3
- Remembering Kikkik
- Kikkik, When Justice Was Done