“Ookpik Waltz” was composed in 1965 by the British Columbia fiddler Frankie Rodgers. The name “ookpik” is an Inuktitut word for the snowy owl, also given to a handcrafted toy owl popular in Canada at the time.
A graceful waltz, the tune spread widely after it began turning up as a contest piece in the early 1970s. Despite its name, it is a modern composition rather than a tune of Native or ancient origin.
The waltz became a favorite across North American fiddling.
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