OOKPIK

I learned something today. It is not new news, just new to me. While reviewing some pictures I had taken a few weeks ago to create a blog post for today, I noticed a little sign in the corner of one if the pictures. The sign was in French but the word that caught my attention was Ookpik and the fact that it is the word for Snowy Owl in the Inuktitut Language.

I am familiar with the word Ookpik from the time of the 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal, Quebec; better know as EXPO 67. To me, the Ookpik is a little stuffed iconic symbol of Canada. Today I learned that it has an interesting history as an Inuit toy made from otherwise unused scraps of seal skin.

In the early 1960s Canadians were having an identity crisis. They were struggling to define who they were and how they were different from other countries in the world. They were arguing over a new flag to show their independence. One party thought it would create dissent in the people while the opposition party proposed that it would create more unity. When the election changed the leadership, the new flag became a reality. After all, the country was about to celebrate its centennial birthday.

Around the same time, 1963, the Department of Trade was preparing for a trade show in Philadelphia. They were searching for something unique to represent Canada and the delegation of Canadian companies that year. They found an item in a catalogue of Inuit Art that was prepared by the Department of Northern Affairs. It was a hand crafted toy by Jeannie Snowball of Fort Chimo in Norther Quebec. This item quickly became a hit at the trade show and by 1967 it was known internationally. Curiously, The word “chimo” is another Inuktitut word meaning welcome or hello or goodbye or peace be with you. It was promoted at the time as a Canadian greeting or perhaps a drinking toast. Somehow, that did not catch on.

Meet the real inspiration for the Inuit Toy.

The link below will give you a video and more information of the discovery and selection of the Canadian iconic Ookpik. A google search will show you many images of the variety of actual toys produced and how it has spun off into other products lines.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ookpik

The reason I did not notice the little tag while roaming through the museum is that there were so many beautiful display cases and so many birds. Here are a few in a gallery of Arctic birds but I will show you more in a later post. (They can be viewed individually in full screen mode.)

Do you like birds? Did you know about the Ookpik before or did you maybe have one?

– Where do you want to go today? –