Labrador Institute publishes children’s book on dog safety

Ref. No.: 77

The Labrador Institute of Memorial University, and Mamu Tshishkutamashutau (Innu Education Inc.) are pleased to announce the publication of Uapikun kukuetshitshemu (Uapikun Has A Question), a children’s book about being safe around dogs.

The book is the sixth in the Ka papamishkat Uapikun (The Adventures of Uapikun) series, a series originally published by the provincial government, who kindly permitted the Labrador Institute to publish further stories.

Authors Hugh Whitney and Damien Benuen tell the story of Uapikun, an inquisitive young girl from Sheshatshiu, who takes the coastal boat to visit her father’s family in Natuashish and there learns the lessons of safety around dogs, as well as hearing a story of where the dog comes from. 

Beautifully illustrated by Vivid Communications, the book is produced in the two Innu-aimun dialects (Sheshatshiu and Mushuau), as well as English and French. A poster specifically on dog safety was also produced to accompany the book.

Funding was gratefully received from the Hibernia Management and Development Company, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada. In addition to distribution in the Innu schools of Labrador, the book will be distributed to 134 federal Aboriginal Head Start sites across Canada and adapted for use in other interested areas of Canada.

For high resolution images of the cover of Uapikun kukuetshitshemu (Uapikun Has A Question), please visit the Memorial University Flickr site.

For further information, please contact Dr. Martha MacDonald, Labrador Institute, at martha.macdonald@mun.ca; Dr. Hugh Whitney, co-author, at hughwhitneynl@gmail.com; or Elena Andrew, Mamu Tshishkutamashutau, at eandrew@innueducation.ca.