Olemaun Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Famous as the indomitable subject of 4 award-winning children’s books about her time at a residential school in the 1940s, she spent her early years on Banks Island in the high Arctic. Being Inuvialuk, her young childhood wasfilled with hunting trips by dogsled, and dangerous treks
across the Arctic Ocean. At the age of 8, she travelled to Aklavik to attend a Catholic residential school. Unlike most children, she begged to go to the residential school, despite the horrific reputation of such institutions. There was nothing she wanted more than to learn how to read. In her 20s, she met a cowboy and followed him south to Fort St John, BC, to become his wife. Together, they raised 8 children. Margaret was very
active, speaking across Canada, sharing stories of resilience, the path to reclaiming cultural identity after residential school, resilience, and traditional Inuvialuit culture. She passed away in 2021 at the age of 84.