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What does "Qajaq USA" mean and how is Qajaq pronounced?

Qajaq is the Greenlander's word for their specific skin-on-frame kayak design. It is spoken like "kayak" but in the back of the throat. Hear qajaq spoken. (Visit the Qajaq USA audio glossary to hear additional Greenlandic kayaking terms). If you were to travel to Greenland with your commercial kayak, it would probably be called a "qajariaq" (meaning similar to a qajaq). This is not intended to be derogatory, it simply indicates that to the Greenlanders, a qajaq is a very specific type of craft.

Qaannat Kattuffiat (QK) is the Greenland Kayak Association (Qaannat means "kayaks" so this literally means the "kayaks' club"). (qaannat means "kayaks" so this literally the kayaks' club), the QK is a collection of approximately 25 different "qajaq" clubs, each representing the small towns and villages along the narrow, and often mountainous, southwest Greenland coast. There is one kayak club on the east coast of Greenland, but traveling expenses are so high between east and west Greenland that rarely does this club get the chance to participate in the annual competition.

In 2000, Kaleraq Bech and the Qaannat Kattuffiat approved the creation of an affiliated American chapter of the Greenland Kayak Association -- Qajaq USA. Qajaq USA and Qajaq Copenhagen are the only two Qaannat Kattuffiat endorsed Qajaq clubs outside of Greenland.

Qajaq USA is a nonprofit membership organization that is officially recognized by Qaannat Kattuffiat (The Greenland Kayaking Association). Qajaq USA is committed to supporting Qaannat Kattuffiat and their efforts to preserve, study and promote the traditions and techniques of Greenland kayaking while seeking to further the appreciation and development of Greenland-style kayaking in the United States

Who we are

Qajaq USA is the American Chapter of Qaannat Kattuffiat - the Greenland Kayak Association. We are a small, passionate group of volunteers. We average approximately two hundred and fifty paying members and have members world-wide. Qajaq USA is one of only two affiliated "qajaq" clubs outside of Greenland (the other is Qajaq Copenhagen). There are about twenty five qajaq clubs scattered among the small villages of Greenland . These clubs teach kayak building and pass along skills, and are a major impetus in keeping the local kayaking traditions alive.

We are proud to have had the late kayak historian John Heath as our first honorary member. John was a mentor and friend to many of us who founded Qajaq USA. Please read our tribute to John Heath in the Summer 2003 MASIK newsletter.

Join Qajaq USA

Qajaq USA is comprised of volunteers, so your contribution goes entirely to help fund our mission. This includes the publication of our high-quality printed Qajaq Journal, translation costs for historical documents (some of which have never been printed in English before), funding this website and the forums, costs of organizing and holding events, and purchasing gear to be used at events. We recently purchased eight tuiliks, four aquilisaq (short skirts), three avataqs, two harpoons, three SOF (skin-on-frame kayaks) and six paddles, for use at Qajaq USA events. Also, in striving to keep Greenland the center of Greenland kayaking and to promote "learning from the source", we have sponsored prominent Greenland kayakers and officials to visit the United States. This includes Kaleraq Bech, Maligiaq Padilla and Kamp Absalonsen (Kamp will visit the USA in October 2007).

If you have any questions about Qajaq USA membership, please contact our membership coordinator Jennifer Torres. As a paid member you will receive the latest printed copy of the Qajaq Journal. Members are also subscribed to the Qajaq USA News Mailing List . This e-mail list will keep you informed of new editions of our electronic Newsletter, the MASIK, and other interesting developments. You may change your mailing list options or unsubscribe at any time.

Our History

Qajaq USA would not exist but for a renaissance of native kayaking skills and techniques that occurred within West Greenland in the 1980s . Although many people were influential to these developments, space permits the mention of only a few and we apologize to those whose name goes unmentioned. Among the most influential was seal catcher and kayak demonstrator Manasse Mathaeussen, though well into his seventies at the time, he was instrumental in keeping many East and West Greenland techniques alive by passing his skills on to a new generation of Greenland kayakers. Without his energy and efforts, the knowledge of many kayaking skills might well have perished. Likewise, H.C. Petersen’s writings, scholarship and interviews with an aging generation of kayak hunters saved much that might otherwise have been lost. Kaleraq Bech, the president of Qaannat Kattuffiat for many years, was among the young Greenlanders who were greatly moved by an exhibit of three old Greenland kayaks on loan from the Netherlands to West Greenland in 1984. Acting upon their feelings they went on to create Qaannat Kattuffiat in order to preserve and promote Greenland’s kayak traditions and to make sure that this knowledge survived to be passed on to future generations of Greenlanders. Finally, John Heath, who by reporting on Qaannat Kattuffiat, as well as writing and lecturing about Greenland technique, proved instrumental in effecting the growth of Greenland style kayaking outside of Greenland. John’s videotapes of Greenlanders performing traditional maneuvers have inspired a great many kayakers.

A pivotal moment for the development of Greenland kayaking in America occurred in 1998 when Greenland champion Maligiaq Padilla, sponsored by John Heath, embarked on a tour of the United States and Canada. Maligiaq started his tour at the Delmarva Retreat in Lewes Delaware, bringing with him a sealskin kayak and a sealskin tuilik (full kayak jacket). The following year Kaleraq and his wife Lone, visited Delmarva. Kaleraq was deeply moved to see scores of Greenland paddles on the water so far from his homeland, and announced before returning to Greenland that foreigners would, for the first time, be permitted to compete in the annual Greenland kayak championship.

In August 2000, Cindy Cole, Harvey Golden and Greg Stamer were among the first Americans who traveled to compete in the first “open” Greenland National Championship. During the competition, Kaleraq invited Greg to speak at a Qaannat Kattuffiat board meeting, concerning the state of Greenland-style kayaking in the United States and the possibility of creating an American paddling organization affiliated with the Qaannat Kattuffiat. The board was encouraged to hear news of growing outside interest in Greenland kayaking and a long discussion ensued. Later that summer Qaannat Kattuffiat approved the creation of an American chapter, thus paving the way for the formation of Qajaq USA.

In 2001 the Greenland kayak forum was launched and in 2002 Qajaq USA was incorporated as a non-profit organization and began accepting its first members later that spring.

Our philosophy

We support Qaannat Kattuffiat while also promoting Greenland-style kayaking. We view Greenland as the center of Greenland kayaking, and acknowledge that there is still much to learn from the kayakers in Greenland and other areas of the arctic. We are under no pretense that we are the guardians of Greenlandic culture. That is something that only the Greenlanders can do. Out of respect to the Greenlanders we are careful not to instigate programs in Greenland without the consent of Qaannat Kattuffiat. The Greenlanders are a proud people and sometimes even well-meaning initiatives can be interpreted as charity, or otherwise misunderstood. Although Greenland-style kayaking is our emphasis, we don't limit our scope and are interested in all watercraft of the arctic.

In Greenland and elsewhere in the arctic, kayaking is learned by careful observation, by working with others, and by teaching others. Many Greenland kayak clubs hold organized "training camps". These training camps originally brought together aging yet skilled seal catchers such as Manasse Mathaeussen to act as mentors to pass along their skills. Mentoring is a powerful way to learn kayaking and forms the basis of how instruction is taught at Qajaq USA events.

You are responsible for your own safety and your own kayaking education. Skills trump gimmicks and to become a safe kayaker you must develop both kayaking skills and sound judgment. This is not something you can buy or obtain without paying your dues. We view self rescue without leaving the kayak (rolling, sculling, bracing) as a basic skill. We view all forms of instruction as potentially worthwhile. We are not anti-ACA or anti-BCU (although we certainly believe that you should be allowed to extend a Greenland paddle and use it in the manner for which it was designed in assessments in those organizations). We strive for the "cross-pollination" of ideas between Greenland-style and other kayaking disciplines. The sea does not care how many ribbons or certificates that you have earned. The sea will test you and either you will have the skills and judgment to "pass" or you fail.

Greenlanders of old, in their bitterly cold waters, largely practiced the " roll or die" philosophy. A kayak, combined with a tuilik (full kayak jacket) was considered a drysuit and PFD. That said, in our (usually) warmer waters we recommend that you do dress for immersion,and ensure that your kayak has adequate flotation backed-up with a seasock or bulkheads. Greenlanders developed scores of rolls in order to deal with the hazards of hunting in a narrow boat and using harpoon line. For example sculling rolls allow you to recover even if you are entangled in line and can't sweep your paddle. Many of the rolls are useful for specific forms of entanglement. Others allow you to recover if a hand or arm is injured or entangled, too numb to grip a paddle, or to enable you to hold onto a piece of valued gear. Learning these rolls will go far to help make you a safer kayaker (as will practicing in the surf, whitewater and other moving water). Of course, there is much more to safe kayaking than just rolling; having the skill, knowledge and judgement to prevent a roll (except in circumstances such as an "offensive" roll in surf), is much more important.

We use a Greenland paddle and Greenland gear, such as the tuilik, not because we are trying to romanticize the past, but because this gear works. And it works better than much so-called "modern" gear. Greenland gear and skills has always been evolving, always changing, and that trend continues today. Greenland equipment has been evolving for centuries. It is thoroughly "modern", and continues to be improved. Many Qajaq USA members make their own kayaks and gear. There is a power and joy to doing this, going much deeper than simple economics.

2007 Qajaq USA Staff, Board Members and Teams

Get to know the team behind Qajaq USA! Contact information, photos and biographies of the Qajaq USA staff and board members. Please contact us and let us know your ideas!

Qajaq USA Membership Announcement.

Our initial message (sent via the News & Announcement mailing list) announcing opening of membership, and a brief description of our mission, path and board members

Qajaq USA Friends Map -- Frappr!

Frappr -- "friends mapper" is a fun tool that lets Qajaq USA members and friends map where they live, keep in touch, share a photo and offer a short greeting. It's just another way to make this widely distributed kayaking traditional community feel a little closer. We hope you add your information to "the map".

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