The Orphan and the Polar Bear
© Inhabit Media, Inc.
© Inhabit Media, Inc.
One of the common themes in Inuit stories is that of the orphan child alone on the land. In this version, told by Arctic Bay elder Sakiasi Qalinaq, who learned his stories from his grandmother, the orphan is abandoned by hunters from his village and adopted by a village of polar bears. The bears teach him to hunt and survive on the land and, when he is grown, return him to his people.