This book comprises 19 texts written in tribute to Leah Aksaajuq Umik Ivalu Otak (1950–2014), whose contribution to northern science is outstanding. The collective follows an In Memoriam published in Études Inuit Studies in 2014 (Vol. 38, pp. 297–300) by John Macdonald. The contributions are signed by northern specialists who knew and/or collaborated with historian and linguist Leah Otak, while she was working in Igloolik at the Nunavut Research Institute’s research centre. Along with other Inuit from this North Baffin community, Leah Otak played a key role in the Inuit Oral History Project launched in the 1980s. She not only interviewed but also translated and documented Inuit knowledge, working with researchers in North America and Europe. Finally, she is known as an expert in the field of sewing, its techniques, and knowledge of skins, hence the title given to the festschrift: The Hands’ Measure. The seventeen researchers who pay tribute to her deliver contributions of a very different nature and on multiple themes essential to the northern world, at a time when Inuit continue to promote Inuit qaujimajatuqangit, “the knowledge of the past that the Inuit still consider relevant.” This knowledge covers a multitude of fields, from techniques to thought, from linguistic categories to values, from hunting rules to the principles of living together, with a view to maintaining as far as possible harmonious relationships between all existing beings: humans, animals, non-humans, etc. The preface, a fine tribute to the Inuit qaujimajatuqangit, is authored by Eva Aariak, then President of the Inuit Heritage Trust and Nunavut’s first Languages Commissioner in 1999. The introduction is by Nancy Wachowich, professor at the University of Aberdeen and author of Saqiyuq, an autobiography of three Inuit women from northern Baffin Island spanning three generations. Chapter 1, written by George Quviq Qulaut, traces the genealogy, from an Inuit perspective, of the oral history work that has developed over the years in Igloolik, with Noah Piugaattuk (1900–1995) and others, such as Louis Tapardjuk, playing a major role. The project really took off with the arrival of Wim Rasing, a Dutch anthropologist, and John Macdonald, then head of the Igloolik Research Centre. Nearly 500 interviews were conducted, transcribed, and translated, creating a huge database: the Igloolik Oral History Project. Despite a slow start with some Anglican elders, more reserved, the project has now become a veritable oral and written library of exceptional wealth, used by researchers and Inuit alike. Indeed, the contributions of Piugaattuk, Rose Iqallijuq, George Agiaq Kappianaq, and many others have made it an unrivalled source of information. It was partly responsible for the later development of numerous films, including the famous Atanarjuat, by the Isuma company (www.isuma.tv). This aspect is curiously absent from the book, even though there are obvious links between the Igloolik Inuit Oral History Project and these new stories. All these achievements have made Igloolik a key site for the preservation of Inuit cultures, stories, and representations. This is the subject of Chapter 2, written by John Macdonald, who spent a good part of his life in Igloolik and published the magnificent Arctic Sky: Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore, and Legend, a book also born of these collaborative projects between elders and researchers. Macdonald, who worked extensively with Leah Otak and who met with researchers from everywhere in the world, synthesizes two centuries of Inuit tradition to show how images have evolved over time. Involving travelers and observers, missionaries, ethnologists, and Inuit, the analysis is remarkably thorough and provides a clearer understanding of Amitturmiut traditions. In Chapter 3, Smithsonian Institution researcher Bernadette Driscoll Engelstad …
