Harpoon of the Hunter is the widely acclaimed story of Kamik, a young hero who comes to manhood while on a treacherous hunt for a wounded polar bear. In this astonishing tale of a people struggling for survival in a brutal environment, Markoosie describes life in the Canadian Arctic before the arrival of the first White trappers or whalers.

Based on an Inuit legend, Harpoon of the Hunter is a story of life in the old days, not as it appeared to southerners, but as it has survived in the memory of the Inuit themselves. Emerging from a largely oral tradition, it is the first novel by an Inuit written in English. Markoosie has the rare ability to capture the richness and imagery of the Inuit language in English.