Remembering Inuvialuk artist Floyd Kuptana, whose dark vision brought important issues to light

Traditionally constructed by the Inuit, inukshuk figures are made of piled stones or boulders constructed to communicate with humans throughout the Arctic. The structures have a practical purpose acting as a helper to food cache, possible dangers, navigational aids and hunting grounds. While stone figures resembling human forms are often referred to as inuksuk, such figures are actually known as inunnguaq. This particular inunnguaq sculpture points to the hunting ground, where the Inuit would hunt.

Rabbits are used as clan animals in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Rabbit Clans include the Hopi (whose Rabbit Clan is named Tapngyam or Taf-wungwa) and the Shawnee. The Kiowa tribe also had a Rabbit Society (called Kasowe) as one of their four ceremonial societies, whose members were all children and young teens. And the Rabbit Dance is one of the important social dances for the Native American tribes of the Northeast Woodlands and Northern Plains, which can be seen at some intertribal powwows today.

As the name suggests, Northern Wild Carrots are one of the most cold tolerant varieties available, coping with winter weather down to -10C when grown on lighter soils. The rich orange, cylindrical roots can be lifted late in the season or even over wintered in free draining conditions.

Foods from the natural environment which became included into the cultural food use patterns of a group of Indigenous People are known as indigenous foods. There is a great diversity of cultural ecosystems that sustained Canada's Indigenous Peoples throughout history, and hence, there is a great variety of indigenous foods that are part of our collective human knowledge.

The documented medicinal use of wild carrot seeds can be traced back to classical times, where the Roman Encyclopaedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC – 50 AD), mentioned the use of wild carrot seeds in his work ‘De medicina’, written almost 2000 years ago.

Many of the medicinal claims for the wild carrot point to its use in supporting the elimination system, stimulating the flow of urine, and to the removal of waste products by the kidneys. The seeds are anti-lithic, helping to prevent or clear out sand and gravel from the kidneys, and so are also useful in cases of gout. Like other plants in the carrot family, the seeds are also carminative, helping calm and settle the stomach.

Floyd Kuptana occasionally believed he was possessd by spirits, supernatural beings. In particular the demon Mahaha. This extremely rare, one of a kind, self portrait reflects the image of the demon.....how the artist , at times, pictured himself.

Supernatural beings accompany many Inuit myths, including: Mahaha, a demon that terrorizes the Arctic and tickles its victims to death; Ijiraat, shapeshifters that may change into any arctic animal but may not disguise their red eyes; Taqriaqsuit, shadow people who are rarely seen but often heard; Qallupilluk (or Qalupalik, see below), scaly, human-like creatures that snatch children into the sea; Inupasugjuk, giants who capture humans; and Tuniit, who are seen as simple-minded but extremely strong ancestors of the Inuit.

The Inuit believed that all things have a form of spirit or soul (in Inuktitut: anirniq meaning "breath"; plural anirniit), just like humans. These spirits are held to persist after death—a common belief present in most human societies.

Quviasukvik is the first day of the year according to the Inuit. The festival of the New Year is celebrated by the Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, Chukchi and the Iñupiat.The feast originally derives from traditional Inuit religion but in modern times, it has Christian influences.

The Quviasukvik festival starts on Christmas Eve and ends on January 7. This festival celebrates the coming of the new year and the sea goddess, Sedna and the transferring of spirits for good luck in the new year. During these days, many traditional customs are displayed. Due to Christian influences, Christmas was considered a new year to the Inuit.

The Northern Inuit Dog, along with its offshoot breed lines the Tamaskan dog, the British Timber dog and the Utonagan, is a breed of dog developed from a 1980s breeding project in the United Kingdom with the objective of producing a dog breed that resembles wolves.

Northern Inuit Dogs descend from dogs of unknown breed ancestry imported from North America in the 1980s that were crossed with Alaskan Malamutes, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies and possibly Samoyeds; the intention of the breeding project was to create a dog of wolf-like appearance that could be kept as a companion dog and that could also be trained for other tasks.

An Amarok,  is a gigantic wolf in Inuit religion,

In one tale, a persecuted and physically stunted boy seeks to increase his strength. When he calls out to the lord of strength, an Amarok appears and wrestles him to the ground with its tail. This causes a number of small bones to fall from the boy's body. The Amarok tells the boy that the bones had prevented his growth; he instructs the boy to return daily in order to develop his strength. After several days of wrestling with the amarok, the boy is strong enough to overcome three large bears, thus gaining him the esteem of his village.

On Monday, May 24th, 2021, Floyd Kuptana completed this special painting. The Artist died the very next day, on May 25th from a Heart Attack. The artist had envisioned two headed wolves throughout his artistic career and it is only fitting that the subject matter in his last painting was that of the animal he frequently envisioned. A special person who passed away too soon!