The Ancestors Are Happy is a masterfully-woven tapestry portraying a landscape of stories. It also offers a compilation of personal tales from Inuit informants whose lives collectively span the twentieth century, a period of remarkable transition for the North.
This compelling book draws on the author’s experiences and encounters over forty years of living, travelling, an learning in Nunavut.
David Pelly’s lucid text is rooted in oral-history collected from Inuit elders, for which work he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and in his meticulous historic research.
The reader will be carried on a journey across Canada’s Arctic, into the land itself and into the lives of a memorable array of northern characters. At the core is an exploration of Inuit cultural tradition, the hallmark of David Pelly’s celebrated writing career, which includes nine previous books and countless magazine articles. The ancestors are happy, say Inuit elders, when stories form the land are told, and retold, and preserved.
| Publisher | Dundurn Press |
| Author | David F. Pelly |
| Country | Canada |
| Publication Date | 24/03/2026 |
| Pages | 256 |
| Edition | first |
| Size | 5.5x8.5 in |
| About the Author | David F. Pelly is a modern-day explorer of the North's cultural landscape, who has lived in and travelled to the Arctic since the late 1970s. He is the author of several books and articles on the land and its people, including The Old Way North, Sacred Hunt, and Uvajuq: The Origin of Death. Much of his writing is based on oral history shared with him by Inuit elders. He lives in Ottawa. |
| Publisher Address | info@dundurn.com |
| ISBN | 9781459758124 |
