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I had an uncle, Philip Haakuluk, who used to visit my wife Nellie and me before we woke up early each morning. Haakuluk was a man of few words, but the few words he used to give instructions or to tell stories, which he mixed with gestures and sound effects, made him one of the best communicators I have ever known.
"Get water!" Bring barrel! Give me sugar!" all sounded like impolite orders if you didn't know him. But if you grew up under him, you recognized his soft side, demonstrated by grunts and the occasional sharp "uakallangaa (Oh my goodness!)!"
I learned to pay attention, to listen and to also watch his gestures, as they were as important as the vocal part of his stories, once one learned this you would soon be able to feel and smell the element of the world he spoke of, so powerful was his ability to communicate.
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During one of these mornings I took over his clumsy efforts of perking coffee, and when I poured him a hot one, he wrapped his hands around the...