Welcome to Boreal Books!

Our website is a catalogue of books, maps, northern art, music and native crafts that you will find in the store if you come to visit us. The art and crafts are bought directly from the people who make them here in the Western Arctic. If you won't be making the trip to the Arctic any time soon, please feel free to contact us either by email or phone and we will be happy to help you with making your purchase from a distance using PayPal and Canada Post.

Our store is located at 75 Mackenzie Road (Main Street) in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Inuvik is located just North of the Arctic Circle and just south of the Beaufort Sea in Canada's Western Arctic. We're at the end of the Dempster Highway and at the entrance to the now famous Mackenzie River Ice Road. You can visit Inuvik by road for about 10 months in the year or by air via Yellowknife or Whitehorse at any time.

 

Happy Centennial to Aklavik!

This year, the community of Aklavik is celebrating their Centennial. Celebrations during the Gwich'in Annual General Assembly included canoe racing, old time dancing and family games.

 

Updated on our website

We try to keep our website as up to date as possible - keep coming back to see new inventory and new events. Most recent update - August 15, 2010 - we added more photos to our photo pages and began updating the Arts & Gifts inventory. We still have a bunch of inventory photos to post, but if you would like to see a photo before we get it posted, just drop us a line and we will get a photo to you. We have also started pulling together artist bios - keep coming back as we make regular changes and updates to the website.

 

        

 

New in the store

Victor Whitewood has come through again with some beautiful new additions to our stock. His handmade chain maille jewelry is both beautiful and affordable, so try some out and you won't regret it.

We have many new books, carvings and jewellry so be sure to come by and check it all out. We have been updating the inventory list and will be doing all the new photos over the next week or two.

A Great New Cookbook

One word describes the newest addition to our Northern Cookbook section - WOW!!! This is much more than a simple set of recipes, it is a Northern experience.

New in our Music section

Stephen Kakfwi has just released two new CD's for his collection. Pick up one of the new CDs - New Strings on My Guitar and Spirit of Yamogha - Songs of the Dene.

or try one of the other CD's Last Chance Hotel or In the Walls of His Mind.

    

Dennis Allen was also in Inuvik recently - don't forget to check out his CD.

NEW RELEASE

Author Tommy Tee Thrasher is excited to have his new book Footprints to the Stars ready for you to purchase at our store.

!!! EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE AT BOREAL BOOKS!!!

This book was written by Tommy about his life here in the Western Arctic. Born near Paulatuk, Northwest Territories, in 1934, Tommy has led a fascinating life that combined the traditional life of this area with modern "town" life. The book includes a section of photographs from Tommy's family album.

Once you are done reading about Tommy's life, visit our Gifts and Souvenirs section to purchase traditional ulus, bone fish hooks and jiggling sticks made by the author.

 

FEATURED AUTHOR!!!

Keith Billington, author of Housecalls by Dogsled, visited Inuvik and Fort McPherson September 2009.

Keith and his wife, Muriel, lived in Fort McPherson in the 1960's as community nurses. He wrote about his experiences in his book and came to Inuvik to share stories and photos. Old friends and new came to listen to his talk at Cafe Gallery. This book is full of great stories about life in the North before the road system changed it completely.

Keith Billington speaks while his wife, Muriel, and author Robert Alexie look on from the audience. Cafe Gallery provided great snacks and beverages for everyone there.