In the early 1950s, 22-year-old Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk began compiling Inuktitut phrases as a language guide for missionaries. She then created fictional characters and began imagining their lives during a period of profound change. Those stories would eventually become Sanaaq, the first novel written in Inuktitut syllabics in Canada. This story is also available in French and Inuktitut.