1. Writing an introduction and using only the interviewee’s words to tell the story
    In this excerpt from an article in Inuktitut magazine, January 1983, the editor uses the words of the interviewee, Ekaksak Amagoalik, taken from an interview with Moses Nowkawalk, a reporter for the magazine. The editor chooses certain passages from the interview. He uses Ekaksak’s words directly in first person (I, we) without quotation marks. He writes an introduction which explains the story that follows.

    Journey to the North Pole

    On March 4th, 1982, three Norwegian adventurers, Ragner Thorseth, Trygve Berge and Eldar Fortun departed from Resolute Bay in a Twin Otter, for Eureka, on Ellesmere Island, bound for the North Pole. With them was the man they had chosen as their guide, Ekaksak Amagoalik of Resolute Bay, who, according to Thorseth, was the most qualified guide around, even though Ekaksak had frozen a thumb in the week previous to the trip. Ragner wrote in a recent article: “Since I had been with Ekaksak on sledge trips in the Northwest Territories in Canada, I knew he kept his promises, and even with a right hand out of commission, he was worth more to the expedition than any one hundred percent sound man I knew or could have enlisted in time.”

    Driving three Bombardier Nordic skidoos, pulling Norwegian sleds, the party, eager to be on its way, set out immediately from Ellesmere Island, bound for the North Pole and Spitzbergen. So began the arduous trip to the North Pole, a trip that had been attempted about one hundred times before, and had rarely been successfully completed.

    The following is Ekaksak Amagoalik’s own account of this historic adventure, taken from an interview with Moses Nowkawalk, an Inuktitut magazine staff reporter.

    Ekaksak presently works as a night watchman on the alert for polar bears that might roam into the mining settlement on Little Cornwallis Island.

    Starting Out

    When we left Ellesmere Island the ice was comparatively smooth - and no wonder, we were travelling along a bay where the ice is landfast. Further away from the land the shifting ice was somewhat rough and some parts were impassable. I was not apprehensive about the rough ice. I was more concerned about crossing over broken shifting ice, sometimes having to skim over open water where one would sink should he stop. This is what I was most afraid of.

    On our way to the pole, we passed not too far from Greenland. Unfortunately, as Robeson Channel has very strong currents, we could not travel very near Greenland. Instead we headed directly to the North Pole. It took us several weeks to reach our destination.