Lukta Qiatsuk

In Squaw Duck *, Lukta Qiatsuk depicts a long-tailed duck leaping into the air. His use of simple geometric line work vividly captures his beloved Cape Dorset (now known again by its traditional name, Kinngait), where he spent his entire life. Like many members of his artistic family, Qiatsuk developed printmaking skills at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, established in 1959 on Dorset Island. His choice of a textured gray plate tone conveys a chilly atmospheric effect, reflecting the long, dark days of this Arctic region.

• An Algonquian-derived word often used by White settlers as a slur for Native women, squaw was used by Qiatsuk in this title simply to describe the duck as female.