Julie of the Wolves Character Analysis

Miyax Kapugen/Julie Edwards

Miyax Kapugen is a 13-year-old Inuk girl who has run away from her abusive husband, Daniel, and is trying to survive in the Alaskan tundra. Having lost her mother and her father, Kapugen… read analysis of Miyax Kapugen/Julie Edwards

Kapugen/Charlie Edwards

Kapugen is Miyax’s father. His English name is Charlie Edwards. He is a legendary hunter known for his wisdom, bravery, and respect for traditional Inuit culture. After Miyax’s mother dies, Kapugen and Miyax move… read analysis of Kapugen/Charlie Edwards

Amaroq

Amaroq is the leader of the wolf pack Miyax joins when she is lost in the Arctic tundra. He is large, black, and regal. In Amaroq, Miyax sees the traits she most admires in her… read analysis of Amaroq

Kapu

Kapu is one of Amaroq and Silver’s wolf pups. In addition to being the first wolf to approach Miyax, Kapu is also the wolf with whom Miyax shares the closest bond. Kapu’s bravery… read analysis of Kapu

Jello

Jello is the lone wolf of Amaroq’s pack. Miyax describes him as “a lowly wolf—a poor spirit, with fears and without friends.” He is standoffish and antisocial, and Amaroq doesn’t respect him. Because of… read analysis of Jello

Amy Pollock

Amy is a 12-year-old girl who lives in San Francisco, California. Her father, Mr. Pollock, works for the Reindeer Corporation on Nunivak Island and invites Miyax to become Amy’s pen pal. The girls begin… read analysis of Amy Pollock

Pani NalaGan/Pearl Norton

Pani NalaGan is a girl Miyax meets after she moves to Barrow to marry Daniel. Pani NalaGan is Inuit, but she, like Miyax, goes by her English name (Pearl Norton) in town and… read analysis of Pani NalaGan/Pearl Norton

Tornait

Tornait is a golden plover (a species of bird that breeds in the Arctic tundra) that Miyax meets at her campsite. She names him Tornait after a song Kapugen used to sing at the Feast… read analysis of Tornait

Daniel

Daniel is Miyax’s husband. Like Miyax, he is just a child when they marry. Miyax’s father Kapugen and Daniel’s father Naka arranged the marriage when the children were very young, and Miyax eventually agrees… read analysis of Daniel

Martha

Martha is Kapugen’s aunt. Miyax goes to live with her in Mekoryuk when a law requires her to attend a Bureau of Indian Affairs school. Martha is strict and critical of Miyax, and the… read analysis of Martha

Mrs. Franklin

Mrs. Franklin is Miyax’s teacher. At the beginning of the book, Miyax recalls Mrs. Franklin’s explanation for the sudden absence of lemmings (a type of rodent) in Alaska. According to Mrs. Franklin, lemmings’ bloodstreams… read analysis of Mrs. Franklin

Nusan

Nusan is Naka’s wife, Daniel’s mother, and Miyax’s mother-in-law. She has a job sewing clothing for tourists who arrive unprepared for the Arctic’s harsh climate and enlists Miyax to help her, though… read analysis of Nusan

Naka

Naka is Nusan’s husband, Daniel’s father, and Miyax’s father-in-law. He’s also Kapugen’s “serious” partner, which in the Inuit tradition refers to a friend with whom a person can “work and think.”… read analysis of Naka

Judith

Judith is an Inuk girl who attends school with Miyax in Mekoryuk. According to Martha, Judith disrespects her parents. When Judith invites Miyax to come over after school one day, Miyax notices that Judith’s… read analysis of Judith

Mr. Pollock

Mr. Pollock is Amy Pollock’s father. He splits his time between his home in San Francisco and Nunivak Island, where he works for the Reindeer Corporation. Mr. Pollock puts Miyax in touch with Amy… read analysis of Mr. Pollock

Atik/Roland

Atik is a skillful Inuk hunter who lives in the village of Kangik. He and his family stumble upon Miyax’s remote campsite on their way to hunt caribou in the mountains. Through Atik’s wife… read analysis of Atik/Roland

Uma/Alice

Uma is an Inuk woman who lives in the village of Kangik. She and her husband, Atik, and their son, Sorqaq, stumble upon Miyax’s campground on their way to hunt caribou in… read analysis of Uma/Alice

Ellen

Ellen is Kapugen’s new wife. She is a white schoolteacher at the mission in Kangik, the village where Kapugen settles after becoming lost while seal-hunting. Kapugen’s marriage to a gussak (a white person) disappoints… read analysis of Ellen

Minor Characters

The bent woman

The bent woman is an old priestess Miyax encounters at the Bladder Feast at the Inuit seal camp. She gives Miyax her first i’noGo tied and explains to her that animals’ spirits are contained in the bladder.

Miyax’s Mother

Miyax’s mother died when Miyax was only four years old. She doesn’t appear in the novel, though Miyax briefly mentions that her mother called her Julie, which suggests that she was more inclined to assimilate to non-indigenous culture than Miyax’s father, Kapugen.

Rose

Rose is a girl who attends school with Miyax in Mekoryuk. She and Judith laugh at Miyax after she mistakenly refers to Judith’s charm bracelet as an i’noGo tied, a type of Inuit totem.

Nails

Nails is an adult male wolf in Amaroq’s pack. Miyax thinks of Nails as the pups’ “spiritual father.”

Silver

Silver is an adult female wolf. She’s Amaroq’s mate and mother to Sister, Kapu, Zing, Zat, and Zit.

Sister

Sister is the smallest of Amaroq and Silver’s wolf pups.

Zing, Zat, and Zit

Zing, Zat, and Zit are three of Amaroq and Silver’s wolf pups.

Sorqaq

Sorqaq is Uma and Atik’s infant son.