Nutaui's Cap
- Author Name: Bob Bartel
- Award Year: 2021
- Publisher: Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides
- Publication Date: 2019
- ISBN: 9781927917244
- Author Website: https://bobbartel.com/
About the Book
NUTAUI'S CAP tells of a young Innu girl, Nanass. The low-level flying of NATO supersonic jets disrupts her family’s traditional way of life, endangering them and the wildlife they depend upon, so Nanass’s father and other members of the Sheshatshiu community decide to occupy the military’s runways. Nanass eagerly joins in the social action, but then her father is arrested. Nanass has little to comfort her except his well-worn ball cap, and the promise of the land itself that the resilience, wisdom, and strength of the Innu people will one day triumph. Author Bob Bartel participated in the efforts to stop those NATO flights; he learned Nanass’s story from her aunt and has Nanass’s permission to tell it. Bartel portrays with power and subtlety the struggle as seen from a child’s perspective. Illustrations by acclaimed Innu artist Mary Ann Penashue capture the gentle relationship between Nanass and her father, and highlight the beauty and dignity of her people’s culture; they offer a visually rich and compelling accompaniment to Bartel’s text. NUTAUI'S CAP has been translated into two dialects of Innu-aimun, both of which appear alongside the English text. A map of locations, a historical afterword, and an extensive glossary of the Innu-aimun text are included as well. The book is being published in conjunction with UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages.
About the Author
Bob Bartel served as regional coordinator for the Mennonite Central Committee in Happy Valley, Labrador from 1986-89—a life-altering experience. During that time, he supported the Innu struggle against NATO supersonic flight training. NUTAUI'S CAP is his first book. Bob now lives, writes, and gardens in Saskatoon, SK.