Evie Mark

Travelling to work with Evie, she speaks about her own history of losing her language and the power that came from learning it again.

In her classroom Evie works with her students on a song they practice several times. We hear throat singing and history, stories of where the songs came from and how important they are now to sing with feeling and heart and how through that, these songs can be healing.

Jeannie and Evie get sewing supplies ready, organizing and sorting, gathering a colourful collection of bias tapes. Evie shares her bead collection with us and talks about her dreams of teaching her daughters to make outfits, maybe even an Amauti just as Evie’s grandmother would make.

Lydia Etok, Jessie Etok Stewart and Evie gather in Evie’s kitchen to sew and bead together. They keep good company, sharing stories and making art together.

We sit in on Evie’s Inuktitut class, learning syllables, traditional tattoos and what it means to be an Inuk.

At another of Evie’s Inuktitut classes her students learn how suffixes work and the history of Inuktitut words and how they have changed.

Evie is beginning to teach her daughter, Lisi and her niece Esther how to make Amauti from Evie’s grandmother’s patterns. They start by laying out the pieces they will trace to create their own patterns, cut from large bedsheets.

Evie teaches her daughter, Livi, and niece, Esther, how to cut the fabric for their Amautis from the patterns they have made. Esther picks out the colours for her trim with her Aunt Jeannie Papigatuk.

Evie Mark invites Jeannie May to the classroom to introduce her students to Transformative Life Skills (TLS). The students learn about belly breathing and other ways to improve focus and reduce anxiety. Jeannie and Evie show the students some TLS poses they can use every day.

While Evie Mark's daughter Anirni prepares dinner, Evie introduces her daughter Lisi and her niece Esther to her sewing machines. Lisi and Esther learn how to use the sewing machines and the importance of not getting angry or upset at your work.

At Nunavik Sivunitsavut, Evie teaches her students about throat singing with her throat singing partner Akinisie Sivuarapik. The students watch videos of Tuvan throat singers and get hands-on practice with Akinisie and Evie.

Evie and Esther make progress on Esther's great-grandmother's amauti. Evie teaches Esther how to make an anti-fraying hem and how to place a colorful trim. To lighten the mood, Evie tells the story of how she'll never forget the Inuktitut word for dishes.

Esther sews her anti-fraying hem and learns about the healing powers of sewing from Evie Mark. Esther starts placing her colorful trim.

Evie teaches her niece Esther how to align her trim and Esther sews it onto her amauti. Evie teaches Esther how the hood is pleated so that it's comfortable for the baby.

Evie’s niece, Esther, continues to sew and nearly finishes the shell for her Amauti. We see Esther transforming and gaining confidence throughout the process of creating an Amauti. Evie talks about receiving her Governor General’s award and her curriculum.