Iowa Ivaluktaktok: A Video

by Jon Andelson

  • Video
  • Essay
decorative header image
Cropped from an original image by Jon Andelson
from Volume I Issue 1 · Spring 2015

“Ivaluktaktok” is an Inuit word meaning the sound that pieces of ice floating in water make when they knock into each other. I made this short video one day in March at Rock Creek Lake in Jasper County, Iowa, when conditions were just right: winter ice breaking up on the lake, a strong wind, and late afternoon sunshine. Click here or on the video window below to view “Iowa Ivaluktaktok”. Rootstalk leaf-bug icon marking the end of the article's text.

About Author Jon Andelson
Portrait image of author Jon Andelson.
Photo Courtesy of Jon Andelson
Jonathan Andelson teaches anthropology and directs the Center for Prairie Studies at Grinnell College.  His academic interests are in intentional communities, especially the Amana Colonies, religion, and the relationship of human communities to their natural environment.  In his spare time he enjoys prairie rambling, canoeing, and photography.