Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Margaret Pokiak was born June 7, 1936 on Baillie Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Her family was travelling to Banks Island, where they would hunt during the winter, and remained there until she was eight years old. Pokiak-Fenton is Inuvialuit, which is the aboriginal community of the Inuvialuit settlement region. As a child, she learned how to drive a dog-sled and how to hunt, and would travel on a schooner on a regular basis to gather supplies.[1]

Margaret's Aboriginal community of the Inuvialuit settlement region.

When she was eight years old, she moved to join the other kids at the Catholic residential school in Aklavik, a residence of the fur trade, which her great-grandfather established.[2] In her book Fatty Legs, Pokiak-Fenton describes this experience and reveals her eagerness to learn how to read and her desire to join school, in spite of the oppressive atmosphere present in these schools.[3]

After her schooling, Pokiak-Fenton moved back to her family, which was in Tuktoyaktuk at the time. There, she began her work for the Hudson's Bay Company. In Tuktoyaktuk, she also met Lyle Fenton, her future husband. Lyle was working on the DEW Line Project. They moved together to Fort St. John, British Columbia, where they raised a family of eight children.[2]

Fatty Legs, 2010 published by: Annick Press

A Stranger at Home, 2011 published by: Annick Press

When I Was Eight, 2013 published by: Annick Press

Not My Girl, January 9, 2014 published by: Annick Press