‘We’re educating the world about who we are’: Inhabit opens Toronto bookstore
Torontonians gathered Nov. 25 to celebrate new storefront and office promoting authors, stories from the North
Arsaniq Deer checks out “The Birthday Scavenger Hunt” on Nov. 25, which was also her birthday, in Inhabit Media’s new Toronto bookstore. (Photo by David Venn, special to Nunatsiaq News)
The mood at Inhabit Media’s new Toronto storefront Nov. 25 was light and hopeful, as Inuit and non-Inuit alike celebrated a milestone in Indigenous storytelling.

Monica Ittusardjuat speaks to the audience during the qulliq lighting ceremony at the official opening of Inhabit Media’s bookstore in Toronto on Nov. 25. (Photo by David Venn, special to Nunatsiaq News)
More than 80 people gathered at 614 Mount Pleasant Rd., a few blocks from the Eglinton subway station, to meet authors, eat narwhal-shaped cookies and, of course, purchase books.
Arsaniq Deer and her boyfriend drove from Montreal to join the festivities as part of a surprise for her 24th birthday.
“I feel really emotional and really proud to be Inuk, because never in my life would I have thought this would have happened for our people,” she said.
“I missed [Inuit literature] in my childhood because I never had books made by Inuit and for Inuit. So, I think it’ll be very special for any child to learn about our culture.”
It’s a sentiment shared with the company’s co-founder, Louise Flaherty.
“I grew up without seeing myself in books,” Flaherty said. “I’ve always wanted to have a place where educators like me or teachers can just grab a book from the shelf, purchase it and use it in their classroom.”
Flaherty travelled from Iqaluit on Nov. 24 for the event. Not only is Inhabit getting new office space, she said, but Inuit authors, stories and ideas are available to a whole new audience.
“Toronto is a gateway to the world,” Flaherty said. “We’re educating the world about who we are.”
On its website, Inhabit Media describes itself as the first Inuit-owned, independent publishing company in the Canadian Arctic that aims to preserve and promote the stories and knowledge of the North.
Inhabit’s old Toronto office was on Eglinton Avenue, a few blocks north of the new storefront office. The company bought the three-storey building prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but faced delays in completing renovations.
As Flaherty and her co-workers finalized the interior designs — which would include the office for their educational staff and Taqqut Productions — they realized they could fit in a shop as well.
It made sense: the company distributes its books out of Toronto, and copies are kept in the Inhabit office anyway.
“When you have other people distribute your books, you can’t showcase all your books,” Flaherty said.

Around 80 people packed into — and outside of — Inhabit Media’s new Midtown bookstore in Toronto at 3 p.m. Nov. 25 to peruse the selection of books. (Photo by David Venn, special to Nunatsiaq News)
“Now we can do that. We have the potential to do that because of the space that we are opening today.”
Gwen Fiset, a retired Toronto public school teacher, said she has never stood in a bookstore that dedicated itself to northern Indigenous stories.
“There’s enough artists and enough interests for this to be here in the middle of a city that’s very far away from the North. I think that’s pretty amazing,” she said.
Fiset returned to her old school as a volunteer last week to teach students about the work of Germaine Arnattaujuq, one of Inhabit’s authors, who received a Governor General’s award for visual arts in 2021.
She said that learning opportunity for the students made her more interested in the work being done in Nunavut.
“I wish I had more kids that I could buy for because I’ve seen some amazing kids’ books,” she said.
Congratulations on this wonderful initiative. I hope (and expect) it will be a huge success.
Wonðer Achievement and wonderful books!
This is great news! Congrats to all! Louise, Monica and Neil amazing! Each one teach one! (an African centered mantra)