The story is called Amaruruuqtuq (“the one who turned into a wolf”) and tells of an old woman, Qisaruatsiaq, who ate only fish. To satisfy her hunger, she would often steal fish from others. She became an outcast, and one day she disappeared completely. Her tracks were followed to her favourite fishing spot and they continued on for a long distance. The tracks became smaller and smaller and eventually it became clear that two of her feet had become those of a wolf. Seeing this, the person tracking her returned to camp. After that, when people went on hunting trips inland, they saw her tracks. She had taken off her other boot, and they could see that she had turned into a wolf. They knew that she was now hunting caribou.

In 2006, a major collection of 246 sculptures was donated to the Gallery by Vancouver collector Dr. Harry Winrob. Originally from Winnipeg, Winrob had made occasional purchases of Inuit carvings beginning in 1968. He became interested in seriously collecting Inuit sculpture in 1971, and soon focused on acquiring works made of organic materials from game animals (whalebone, walrus ivory, and caribou antler). Fifty-four sculptures in Winrob’s collection are created from organic materials, and thirty-six of these are of whale bone. Winrob once gave his background as a physician as the reason for his interest in these materials. However, much of his interest was also aesthetic. He was particularly interested in the flamboyant sculpture by Nattilingmiut (Netsilik) artists from Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven, and Kugaaruk. Sculpture with shamanic content fascinated him, particularly animal/human transformations. He explained that it was not the “classic” but the atypical, even the bizarre that held a strong attraction for him. In March 2008, Harry Winrob’s collection was the subject of a major WAG exhibition and catalogue.