Theatre company brings Nunavik origin story to life in Aukkauti

Hundreds of people showed up for the debut of Aukkauti, a play about the origin of Nunavik's communities, when it debuted at the Puvirnituq Snow Festival in northern Quebec last month. 

The production was written by Lisa Koperqualuk, Daniel Gadbois and Adamie Kalingo and was performed by the Aasiq Theatre Company entirely in Inuktitut. 

Aukkauti tells the story of a man named Aukkauti whose wife and children were murdered in 1899 on the coast of Hudson Bay after he accidentally killed a young boy on a hunting trip. Aukkauti then had a mental breakdown and carried out a series of murders across the Nunavik tundra, causing families to flee out of fear. 

It's based on a true story that has been passed down orally from generation to generation, and which is said to have contributed to the migration of many families throughout Nunavik.

Gadbois, who plays Aukkauti in the production, said that the writing process involved listening to elders tell the story, listening to audio recordings of it, and reading written versions too. He said they heard a lot of varying accounts of what happened. 

"There was certain families who ran away north and certain families ran away south, certain families heard of the story through a different way of how the guy died and whatnot." 

Gadbois said he and the other writers decided to use details that were agreed upon in the majority of versions of the story. After several years of research and staging work, he said he was proud of the end result and the broad range of support the company received along the way. 

"We did a tremendous job. It was so well made," he said.

The Aaqsiiq Theatre Company registered as a non-profit organization in 2019, and was born out of Avataq Cultural Institute's efforts to revitalize the Inuktitut language through theatre in Nunavik.

Kalingo, another of the play's writers and also the president of the theatre company, remembers a time in his childhood when students were punished for speaking in Inuktitut. He's proud, now, of what the company is doing to preserve it. 

"We did something good to have a tool whereby our legends, which are from hundreds and thousands of years old, passed on orally from mouth to mouth, and we're using them and turning them into theatre plays," he said. 

He said young people who are getting involved in acting with the company are "learning what it used to be like." 

"I can see that it can only get better for the young people." 

Kalingo said even though there's a lack of infrastructure, he hopes to bring the production to other communities in Nunavik. Gadbois is hoping for the same. 

"I personally want to see it go through all 14 communities [in Nunavik] – well, 13 left to go – and afterwards … anywhere where people want to see it, I guess. I wouldn't mind updating my passport, going to Greenland, going to Nunavut."