Strength of sinew

Leetia Tikivik demonstrates her sewing skill and her love of the art

Leetia Tikivik pushes a needle threaded with caribou sinew through a piece of sealskin with a forefinger capped with a thimble. She sews a pair of sandals made of multi-coloured sealskin.

Seated behind a table at the Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre with her work in front of her, Tikivik demonstrates her art as part of the centre’s Inuit Art Experience program.

Speaking in Inuktitut, Tikivik says she doesn’t remember how old she was when she started sewing, but once she learned, she tried to make everything she could. She learned by watching her mother and then trying to do it herself.

Born outside of Pangnirtung, Tikivik moved to Iqaluit in the 1950s and sews for a private company.

“There’s nothing that complicated to make,” she says through an interpreter, “as long as you know what you’re doing.”

Tikivik makes everything from slippers to jackets, but she holds a special place in her heart for the first pair of kammiit she sewed.

“I was so happy,” she says, smiling. At that time, she says, there was no school and she just experimented with sewing. After years of experience she says she doesn’t think about much after she begins a piece. She usually works all day until she’s ready to go to bed.

Sizing isn’t a problem, she says. For example, if she were to make a pair of kammiit for someone, she would simply look at the person’s foot and be able to fashion the appropriate covering. She says her daughter knows how to sew, but instead will ask her to make items for her.

As a woman approaches, Tikivik puts down the sandal she has been sewing with tiny stitches.

“It’s extremely waterproof,” the translator says of the sealskin and the stitches. “Actually, it’s better than rubber boots.” It is important for the clothes to keep a hunter dry and warm, he says.

The observer, Rosalind Iles of New Zealand, asks if the sandals are for inside or outside wear.

“Both,” Tikivik says, “but they will wear out faster if worn outside.”

“We have similar ones in New Zealand,” Iles says, “but they are made from soft leather,” often lamb or cow skin. She asks about the sinew Tikivik is using as thread.

“It looks a lot like nylon,” Iles points out.

“It’s tough,” says Tikivik of the sinew taken from the caribou’s spinal cord. “It’s the best, better than what people use today.”

Iles holds the sinew between her fingers and pulls, testing the strength of the sinew.

“It is tough,” she says.

Tikivik smiles, picks up the sandal and begins to sew again.