Scribbled Lives Week 42—Indigenous Peoples

Inuktitut is the language of the Inuit peoples of Nunavut in northern Canada. O Siem is the greeting they exchange with loved ones. ‘O Siem’ is also the anthem of a song by Susan Aglukark on her album ‘This Child’. The lyrics are translated to Inuktitut with the help of a syllabics transliteration system.

O Siem
Chorus:
O Siem, we are all family
O Siem, we’re all the same
O Siem, the fires of freedom
Dance in the burning flame
Bridge:
Fires burn in silence
Hearts in anger bleed
Wheel of change is turning
For the ones who truly need
To see the walls come tumbling down

Blue, white, yellow, and gold are traditional Inuit colours that represent the Nunavut land, sea and sky.

Gouache and coloured pencil on pasted Saunders Waterford. Pulp paper handmade by Cave Papers.

I struggled to translate this concept to paper and am not the least bit happy with the result. The lesson learned is that at some point, one needs to come to terms with a design that just doesn’t work … and move on!