Mary Arnaqaq of Pangnirtung made these seal skin boots decorated with ulus.
BSM P87.151

  • top frame 
  • Photograph of a woman using an ulu to trim a kamik boot sole.
  • Magnifying Glass

Ulayok Kaviok using an ulu to trim a kamik sole.
Arviat, June 1986
Photograph by Jill Oakes

Tools and Skin Preparation

Ulus

Every woman has her own tools made with her design. When an elder dies, her ulu is sometimes buried with her.
Ulayok Kaviok, 1986

An ulu is a crescent-shaped knife used by women across the Canadian Arctic, which often consists of three parts: a blade, stem and handle. Slate was the most common blade material, while stems and handles were made from wood, bone, antler and later metal. A woman would have many ulus that would each be used for specific tasks like skinning, butchering, eating and sewing. An ulu was often designed specifically for the hands of the user and men made ulus especially for their wives and female relatives. The ulu is the most recognizable Inuit tool, and its shape is often used as an icon or symbol for women and women's work.

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