Jigging on Thin Ice
(2000)
Jigging is not something that is exclusive to women, but it is something that Inuit women particularly enjoy. As soon as winter solstice has passed, women across the North start calling for spring, with its long hours of sun and perfect ice conditions. At Easter, many communities hold ice-fishing competitions, with prizes for the largest fish, the smallest fish, the heaviest fish, the most fish and so on. Pitaloosie Saila, RCA’s Jigging on Thin Ice calls to mind the many women I have known who seem to somehow call the fish to the surface: their jig and lure just an extension of themselves, pulling up fish by the dozens. Pitaloosie’s woman, perhaps daringly on thin ice, seems to be one of them. Even the mountains in the background look like piles of fish, perhaps as testament to her ability.