The Scarf and the Butterfly

Written by Monica Ittusardjuat
Illustrated by Coco Apunnguaq Lynge and Scott Plumbe

“There’s an opening above me, but it’s far, and I have to stack up rocks to jump up, and it’s almost impossible to get out. That’s when I realized that I was stripped of my identity, and there was nothing of my culture left in me. It was like I wasn’t in my body anymore. It was bare and desolate and empty and cold, lifeless in my body. Where was I? Where had I gone?”

In this visceral graphic memoir, Monica Ittusardjuat brings readers with her from residential school classrooms to government apologies on her journey to rediscovering what it means to be Inuk. Born prematurely in an iglu on Baffin Island, Monica attended three residential schools over 11 years. She details her resulting struggles with addiction, mental health, and domestic violence, which haunted her into adulthood.

Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, Monica’s memoir is a testimony to the lasting impacts of residential schools and one woman’s fight to reclaim what she lost.

This title is part of our Qinuisaarniq program which was created to educate readers about the history and impacts of residential schools. Explore more titles in the program here.