Above & Beyond | Canada's Arctic Journal March/April 2012

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Canada’s Arctic Journal

MARCH/APRIL 2012 • $ 5.95

FORTY BELOW Memories of Our Past Canada’s Coast Guard PM40050872

Celebrates 50 Years

Featured on

www.arcticjournal.ca

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MONTRÉAL OTTAWA

ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕐᕕᖃᕐᓗᑎᑦ ᕖᕝᕗᐊᕆ ᐃᐳᕈᓪ 2 – 17, 2012. ᐃᓂᒃᓴᓕᐅᕆᑦ ᐃᐳᕈᓪ 17, 2012 * Taxes and fees are extra. Seats at these fares are limited. New bookings only. 100% non-refundable. Offer combinable with other fares. All fares shown are one way * ᑖᒃᓯᓄᑦ, ᐊᑭᓕᐅᑎᒃᑲᓐᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᑭᓕᕆᐊᓕᓐᓄᑦ ᖄᖓᒍᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅ ᐊᑭᓕᐅᑕᐅᔭᕆᐊᖃᕋᐃᑉᐸᑕ ᐊᑭᓕᐅᑕᐅᔭᕆᐊᖃᕋᔭᖅᑐᑦ. ᐃᓂᒃᓴᑦ ᐊᒥᓲᓂᖏᑦ ᑭᓪᓕᖃᕐᒪᑕ ᐊᑭᑭᓪᓕᒋᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᕐᕕᐅᕙᒃᑐᓂ ᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᐅᙱᑐᐃᓐᓇᕆᐊᓖᑦ. ᓄᑖᕐᒥᒃ ᐃᓂᒃᓴᓕᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᑭᓯᐊᓂ. ᓯᕗᓂᐊᒍᑦ ᐊᑭᓖᓯᒪᔭᕆᐊᕐᑲᖅᒋᑦᑐᖅ. ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓇ ᐊᑭᓕᐅᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᐅᑎᕐᕕᐅᒍᓐᓇᕋᔭᙱᑦᑐᑦ ᖁᔭᓈᖅᑐᖃᕐᓂᕈᓂ. ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᐊᑭᑭᓪᓕᒋᐊᖅᓯᒪᓂᖅ ᐊᓯᑎᒍᑦ ᐊᑭᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᒍᓐᓇᕐᒥᔪᑦ. ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓇ ᐊᑭᐅᔪᑦ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᑦ ᐅᑎᐅᑎᖃᙱᑦᑐᓅᖓᔪᑦ. ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᑕᖃᑐᐃᓐᓇᕆᐊᖃᑦᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᔪᓐᓇᕈᑎᐅᔪᓂᒃ

We know the North.

Book online at firstair.ca or call 1 800 267 1247

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Jobie Tukkiapik / ÔW g3exW4 President, Makivik Corporation & Chairman, First Air xzJ6√6, mrF4 fxS‰nzk5 x7m w4y?sb6, {5 wsf8k5 Président, Corporation Makivik et président du conseil, First Air

Kris Dolinki / fE{ go8r President & C.E.O., First Air xzJ6√6 x7m xsM5tp7mE, {5 wsf8k5 Le président et directeur général, First Air

A time of transition Representing the new leadership at First Air and our parent Makivik Corporation, we welcome you aboard. First Air has a long history of service to the North, and although occasionally faces change, our direction continues along a well established path. Together we bring a renewed energy to the strategic direction of the company, while remaining focused on the key initiatives that have always driven First Air. Our joint venture partnerships, Qikiqtani First Aviation and Sakku First Aviation, will continue to be a cornerstone of our operations in the Qikiqtani and Kivalliq regions. We look forward to building on the successes of the past year and pursuing further opportunities to provide increased value for the people in these regions and across our network.

We remain firmly committed and continue our efforts in developing training and employment opportunities through our Sivurariaqnik program. We will also continue to sponsor key sporting, cultural and community events in the North. Along these lines, we were proud to be front and centre as the key sponsor and preferred airline of the Northern Lights 2012 tradeshow at the Ottawa Convention Centre in February. This premier event provided a platform to strengthen partnerships between Canada’s northern and southern key business and government stakeholders, while celebrating everything that makes the Arctic special.

Looking forward, our support continues for the Arctic Winter Games from March 4-12 in Whitehorse; the Sakku First Aviation Avataq Cup hockey tournament from March 14-18 in Rankin Inlet; the Long John Jamboree winter festival in Yellowknife from March 23-25; the Ivakkak dog sled race that will cross the finish line in Puvirnituq in April, and many other community events in the coming weeks.

As we move further into 2012, operational efficiency and a strong focus on customer service will be at the forefront. It is our goal to serve you, our valued customers, better each and every time.

The future is bright and First Air remains The Airline of the North.

ᐊᓯᔾᔨᐸᓪᓕᐊᓂᐅᔪᖅ

Une période de transition

ᑭᒡᒐᖅᑐᐃᓪᓗᓂ ᓄᑖᓂᑦ ᓯᕗᓕᖅᑎᓂᑦ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐅᑯᓐᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑎᒥᖁᑎᓪᓚᕆᖓ ᒪᑭᕕᒃ ᑯᐊᐳᕇᓴᓐ,ᑐᓐᖓᓱᑦᑎᑦᑎᕗᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖃᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᕋᔅᓯ. ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐅᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᑯᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒧᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᑎᖅᓯᒪᓕᖅᑐᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᓛᓐᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᒃᓱᕈᑲᐃᓐᓇᐸᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᒻᑐᑎᑦ, ᑐᑭᒧᐊᖅᑕᕗᑦ ᑲᔪᓯᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᖅ ᐊᖅᑯᑎᒥᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᓱᑦᑎᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᒥᑦ. ᑲᑐᑎᓪᓗᑕ ᓄᑖᒥᑦ ᐸᕐᓇᓯᒪᔪᒥᑦ ᑐᑭᒧᐊᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᑎᒥᐅᔪᒥᑦ,ᐱᓕᕆᐊᕇᓐᓇᖅᑐᒋᑦ ᑐᕌᒐᓪᓗᐊᑕᕆᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᔭᖏᑦ ᐃᖏᕋᕝᔪᑎᖏᑦ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐅᒃᑯᑦ. ᑲᑐᑎᓪᓗᑕ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᕆᔭᕗᑦ, ᕿᑭᖅᑕᓂ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓴᒃᑯ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅ,ᐱᓪᓗᐊᑕᕇᓐᓇᓂᐊᖅᑕᕗᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓂᕆᔭᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᕿᑭᖅᑕᓂ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑭᕙᓪᓕᕐᒥᑦ ᐊᕕᑦᑐᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᑦ. ᕿᓚᓈᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᑲᔪᓯᑦᑎᐊᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓄᑦ ᐊᕐᕌᒎᓚᐅᖅᑐᒥᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐱᔭᔅᓴᓂ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᒃᑲᓂᕐᓗᑕ ᖁᕝᕙᕆᐊᕐᓗᑎᑦ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᓂᖏᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᓇᓂ ᐊᕕᑦᑐᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐱᓕᕆᕕᓕᒫᑦᑎᓐᓂ. ᑲᔪᖏᖅᓯᒪᐃᓐᓇᖅᑐᒍᑦ

ᐊᒻᒪ

ᑲᔪᓯᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ

ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕐᓂᕆᔭᕗᑦ

ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᔅᓴᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᓯᕗᕙᕆᐊᕐᓂᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᑦᑎᒍᑦ. ᐃᑲᔪᖅᓱᐃᓇᕐᓂᐊᕐᒥᔭᕗᑦ ᐱᓐᖑᐊᕐᓃᑦ, ᐱᖅᑯᓯᓅᖓᔪᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒥ ᖃᓄᐃᓘᖅᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᑦ. ᑖᒃᑯᓇᓂ, ᐅᐱᒍᓱᑦᑎᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᐸᐅᓪᓗᑕ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᔨᓪᓗᐊᑕᐅᓪᓗᑕ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᕆᔭᐅᖔᕈᒪᓪᓗᑕ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᑦ 2012 ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᓂᑦ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᐋᑐᕚ ᑲᑎᒪᕕᖓᓂ ᕕᕝᕗᐊᕆᒥ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᖃᓄᐃᓘᓪᓗᐊᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᑐᓐᖓᕕᓪᓗᐊᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᓴᓐᖓᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᑐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᑦᑐᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᓐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᕕᓐᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᒐᕙᒪᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᕙᑦᑐᑦ, ᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᖅᓯᓈᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᔾᔨᐅᖏᓐᓂᖓᓄᑦ. ᑕᑯᔪᒪᓂᐊᖅᑐᖓ, ᐃᑲᔪᖅᓱᐃᓂᕗᑦ ᑲᔪᓯᔪᖅ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᑦ ᐱᓐᖑᐊᕕᔾᔪᐊᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᒫᑦᓯ 4-12 ᕙᐃᑦᕼᐅᐊᔅᒥᑦ; ᓴᒃᑯ ᕗᔅᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᑦ ᐊᕙᑕᖅ ᕼᐊᑭᓐᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᐊᑭᑦᑐᕋᐅᑎᓂᖅ ᒫᑦᓯ 14-18 ᑲᖏᕐᖠᓂᕐᒥᑦ; ᓛᖕ ᔮᓐ ᔮᒻᐳᕇ ᐅᑭᐅᒃᑯᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᓲᑎᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᔨᐊᓗᓇᐃᕝᒥ ᒫᑦᓯ 23-25; ᐃᕙᒃᑲᖅ ᕿᒧᔾᔪᐊᕐᓂᖅ ᐱᔭᕇᕐᕕᔅᓴᖃᖅᑐᑦ ᐳᕕᓐᓂᖅᑐᒥᑦ ᐊᐃᐳᕈᒥ, ᐊᒻᒪ ᐊᒥᓱᑦ ᐊᓯᖏᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓂ ᖃᓄᐃᓘᖅᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕈᓯᕐᓂᑦ ᐊᒡᒋᖅᑐᓂᑦ.

2012-ᒨᐸᓪᓕᐊᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᑕ, ᐊᐅᓚᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᐅᔪᖅ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐱᔨᑦᑎᑦᑎᐊᕈᒪᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᑎᖃᑦᑕᑕᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐸᐅᖏᓐᓇᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ. ᑐᕌᒐᕆᒐᑦᑎᒍᑦ ᐃᓕᔅᓯᓐᓂ ᐱᔨᑦᑎᕐᓗᑕ, ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᑎᖃᑦᑕᖅᑕᕗᑦ, ᐊᑐᓂ

À titre de représentants des nouveaux dirigeants de First Air et de notre société mère Makivik, bienvenue à bord. First Air fournit des services dans le Nord depuis très longtemps; même si les visages changent à l’occasion, nous nous orientons toujours dans une voie bien établie. Ensemble, nous contribuons par une énergie renouvelée à l’orientation stratégique de l’entreprise, tout en restant axés sur les initiatives clés qui ont toujours motivé First Air. Nos partenariats en coentreprise, Qikiqtani First Aviation et Sakku First Aviation, continueront d’être la pierre angulaire de nos activités dans les régions de Qikiqtani et de Kivalliq. Nous anticipons de miser à nouveau sur nos réussites cette année et de rechercher des occasions de procurer des avantages aux personnes vivant dans ces régions et dans l’ensemble de notre réseau.

Nous demeurons fermement engagés et nous poursuivons nos efforts dans la recherche de possibilités de formation et d’emploi au moyen de notre programme Sivurariaqnik. Nous continuerons aussi de parrainer des événements sportifs, culturels et communautaires importants dans le Nord. Par exemple, nous sommes fiers d’avoir été le commanditaire principal et la ligne aérienne préférée du salon commercial Aurores boréales 2012 qui a eu lieu en février au Centre des congrès d’Ottawa. Cet événement important a servi de tribune pour renforcer les partenariats entre les principales entreprises du nord et du sud du Canada et les intervenants gouvernementaux, tout en célébrant tout ce qui distingue l’Arctique.

Pour ce qui est des activités à venir, nous continuons d’appuyer les Jeux d’hiver de l’Arctique du 4 au 12 mars à Whitehorse, le tournoi de hockey de la Coupe Avataq de Sakku First Aviation du 14 au 18 mars à Rankin Inlet, le festival d’hiver « Long John Jamboree » du 23 au 25 mars à Yellowknife, la course de traîneaux à chiens Ivakkak qui se terminera à Puvirnituq en avril, ainsi que plusieurs autres activités communautaires qui se dérouleront dans les prochaines semaines.

ᓯᕗᓂᔅᓴᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᕗᔅᑦ ᐃᐅ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲ-

L’efficacité opérationnelle et une orientation fortement axée sur le service à la clientèle seront au premier plan en 2012. Notre objectif est de continuer à servir notre clientèle de mieux en mieux, chaque fois.

ᕆᔭᐅᖏᓐᓇᖅᑐᖅ.

L’avenir est prometteur et First Air demeure la ligne aérienne du Nord.

ᐱᐅᓯᑎᒋᐊᕐᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᒃᑯᓕᒫᕐᓗ.

ᐱᒻᒪᕿᐅᑎᑦᑕᕗᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᓯ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐅᒃᑯᑦ, ᖃᖓᑕᔫᖁᑎᖓᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᑦ.

We value your support and thank you for making First Air, THE AIRLINE OF THE NORTH. Nous apprécions votre soutien et vous remercions de votre appui à First Air, LA LIGNE AÉRIENNE DU NORD.

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ᕗᔅ ᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓂ ᑕᑯᒋᐊᕐᓂᖅ

First Air Focus

ᑖᑦ ᕋᐃᔭᓐ

featuring Todd Ryan First Air’s commitment to training and development, through our Sivurariaqnik program, has resulted in several new members joining our team.

Todd Ryan, one of our most recent hires, was welcomed as a First Air Flight Attendant in early January. Todd was one of 14 graduates who successfully completed the Airline Foundations course that took place in Iqaluit in July 2011.

Todd’s keen interest in aviation and commitment to learning made him an ideal Flight Attendant candidate. Following the Airline Foundations course, Todd completed the Flight Attendant Prequalification on-line course, which is a First Air mandated self-study course developed by the Inflight Institute. Todd received support from First Air mentors, who encouraged him to pursue his career goal.

From January 9 to 27, Todd joined four other trainees at First Air’s Flight Attendant Initial Training Program in Ottawa. This Program is an intensive three week course where students learn: industry regulations, crew communications, security policies and procedures, standard safety procedures, evacuation procedures, emergency equipment onboard aircraft, live fire fighting, dangerous goods, special passenger briefings, customer service and aircraft specifics, and much more.

In addition to classroom study, students participate in practical drills and exercises, and complete six exams during the program followed by a final exam which requires a passing grade of 90%.

Following the Initial Training Program, Flight Attendant trainees must complete their Line Indoctrination as the final phase of training. Line Indoctrination is on the job testing by a qualified Flight Attendant to ensure the trainee is performing duties as required. Todd successfully completed the Initial Training Program and both ATR and B737 Line Indoctrinations, which prepared him for his first shift as a qualified Flight Attendant.

Today, Todd is working the ATR 42 and ATR 72 in the Baffin region and is enjoying his new career.

“One of the most interesting things so far is seeing all the different communities and different places we fly to,” said Todd. “I like being a flight attendant and seeing my passengers happy and smiling at the end of the flight – that makes me feel good. I also love flying and hope to become a Pilot some day.”

We value training, personal development and encourage career advancement within First Air. If you share our commitment to safety and service, we encourage you to join our team.

To learn more about employment opportunities within First Air visit firstair.ca/employment or sivurariaqnik.ca.

ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕐᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᐳᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᖏᑕ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓯᕗᕋᕆᐊᕐᓂᖅ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᒃᑯᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᓚᓯᓯᒪᓕᖅᐳᖅ ᓄᑖᓂᒃ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᑖᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ.

ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ,

ᑖᑦ ᕋᐃᔭᓐ, ᓄᑖᓄᓛᖑᖃᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ, ᑐᓐᖓᓱᒃᑎᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐱᒋᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᔮᓐᓄᐊᕆᐅᑉ ᐱᒋᐊᓂᕈᔪᐊᓂ. ᑖᑦ 14-ᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐱᔭᕇᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᐱᓚᐅᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐃᖃᓗᖕᓂ ᐱᒋᐊᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᔪᓚᐃ 2011-ᒥ.

ᑖᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᖓ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᒥᒃ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᑕᐅᔾᔪᑎᒋᓚᐅᖅᐹ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ. ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑕᐅᔪᓂᒃ,ᑖᑦ ᐱᔭᕇᖅᓯᓕᓚᐅᕆᕗᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᒥᒃ ᖃᕆᓴᐅᔭᒃᑯᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓗᓂ, ᑖᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᓴᖅᑭᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᓇᒻᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑐᑦ ᒪᓕᒡᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᓴᖅᑭᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ. ᑖᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑕᐅᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᓂᒃ, ᑖᒃᑯᓄᖓᓗ ᑎᓕᐅᕆᔭᐅᖏᓐᓇᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᒃᓴᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᔭᕇᖅᓯᖁᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ. ᔮᓐᓄᐊᕆ 9-ᒥᑦ 27-ᒧᑦ, ᑖᑦ ᐱᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ ᑎᓴᒪᓂᒃ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐋᑐᕚᒥ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᓲᖑᕗᖅ ᐱᖓᓱᓄᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕈᓯᕐᓄᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑏᑦ ᐅᑯᓂᖓ ᐱᓕᒻᒪᒃᓴᖅᑕᐅᓲᖑᓪᓗᑎᒃ: ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᑐᐊᒐᕐᓂᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᓄᑦ ᑐᓴᐅᒪᖃᑦᑕᐅᑎᔾᔪᑎᓂᒃ, ᐱᕋᔭᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᐃᓯᖅᑕᐅᑦᑕᐃᓕᒪᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᐊᑦᑕᕐᓇᖅᑕᐃᓕᒪᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥᑦ ᑐᐊᕕᕐᓇᖅᑐᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᓂᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᑉ ᑐᐊᕕᕐᓇᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᔾᔪᑎᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥᒃ ᖃᑦᑎᕆᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᐊᑦᑕᕐᓇᖅᑐᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐅᓯᑲᖅᑕᖅᑕᐅᔪᓂᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐃᑭᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᑐᓴᐅᒪᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᑉ ᖃᓄᐃᑦᑑᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓴᖅᓯᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᐊᒻᒪ ᐊᓯᒐᓚᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᓲᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᓄᑦ. ᐃᓚᒋᓚᐅᖅᐸᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑕᖏᓐᓂᒃ,ᐱᓕᒻᒪᒃᓴᕐᓂᖅ ᐆᒃᑑᑎᖃᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᒃᑯᑦ,ᐊᒻᒪ ᑎᑎᖅᑲᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕈᑎᓂᒃ 6-ᖑᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑭᖑᓪᓕᖅᐹᒥᒃ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑎᓄᑦ ᑎᑎᕐᓂᖃᕆᐊᖃᖅᑐᓂᒃ 90% ᐊᓂᒍᖕᓂᐊᕐᓗᒋᑦ. ᐱᔭᕇᓚᐅᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐱᓕᒻᒪᒃᓴᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᒃᓴᑦ ᐱᔭᕇᕆᐊᖃᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖏᑕ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᒐᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᑕ ᐱᔭᕇᕈᑎᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖏᑕ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᒐᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕈᑕᐅᓲᖑᕗᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖅᑖᕋᓱᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᕈᕐᓂᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔭᕆᐊᖃᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐱᔪᓐᓇᑦᑎᐊᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ. ᑖᑦ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᓂᖓ ᐱᔭᕇᑦᑎᐊᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᕐᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᒐᒃᓴᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ATR-ᒥ B737-ᒥᓪᓗ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᐱᔭᕇᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᓯᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ.

ᒫᓐᓇ, ᑖᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖃᑦᑕᓕᖅᐳᖅ ATR 42-ᒥ ᐊᒻᒪ ATR 72-ᒥ ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᖕᒥ ᖃᖓᑕᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᖕᓂᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᕆᓕᖅᑕᒥᓂᒃ. “ᖁᕕᐊᓇᓛᖑᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᖅ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖅᑖᕋᑖᓐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᖅ ᓄᓇᓕᖕᓂᒃ ᐅᐸᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᓐᖏᑕᓐᓂᒃ,” ᐅᖃᓚᐅᖅᐳᖅ ᑖᑦ. “ᖁᕕᐊᒋᔭᕋ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᔭᕆᐊᖓ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓇᑲᖅᓴᖃᑦᑕᖅᐳᖓ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐊᖓ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐃᑭᒪᔪᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖁᖓᑕᐅᔭᕌᖓᒪ ᒥᑦᑕᕌᖓᑦᑕ − ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᕙᕋ. ᐊᒻᒪᑦᑕᐅᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᔭᕆᐊᖓ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᒐᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥᒃ ᐊᖁᑎᕈᕈᒪᒐᒪ ᓯᕗᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂ.”

ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᒥᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᓇᒻᒥᓂᖅ ᓯᕗᒧᑉᐸᓪᓕᐊᓇᓱᖕᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᑦᑎᕗᒍᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ. ᐱᓇᓱᑦᑎᐊᕈᒪᒍᕕᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᑦᑕᕐᓇᓐᖏᑦᑎᑦᑎᓇᓱᖕᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᖅᑎᐅᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᑏ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖅᑖᕋᓱᒋᑦᓯ. ᑐᑭᓯᒋᐊᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᒪᒍᕕᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᒃᓴᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓂ ᐅᕗᖓ ᑕᑯᓂᐊᕈᓐᓇᖅᐳᓯ ᖃᕆᓴᐅᔭᒃᑯᑦ firstair.ca/employment ᐅᕝᕙᓗ sivurariaqnik.ca

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

above&beyond Publisher & Editor Tom Koelbel About The North Josh Pearlman Advertising Doris Ohlmann (Ottawa) 613-257-4999 Circulation Patt Hunter Design Robert Hoselton, Beat Studios email: editor@arcticjournal.ca Toll Free: 877-2ARCTIC (227-2842) PO Box 683, Mahone Bay, NS B0J 2E0 Volume 24, No. 2

March/April 2012

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Finding Hope and Healing in Memories of Our Past They came frightened. They came with broken hope. They came tired and dirty. They came not knowing if they were going back home or not. They came not knowing if they were in the right place. They came with wondrous curiosity. They came with great gratitude. In the 1950s and ’60s the C.D. Howe hospital ship made her rounds in every Arctic community along the coasts of the eastern Arctic each summer. Many Inuit were taken to southern hospitals to be treated for TB. — Ann Meekitjuk Hanson, C.M.

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Forty Below Traditional Life in the Arctic Cold is synonymous with the Arctic, particularly during the winter months. In some areas, temperatures can plummet to minus 60°C and winds roar across the ice and tundra at more than 300 kph. It’s almost unbelievable that people have adapted to these extreme conditions to call the Arctic home.

KIGUTIKAK DRINKS FROM A MELT POOL AT THE ICE EDGE. NORTHWEST GREENLAND, 1971.

FROM FORTY BELOW © BRYAN AND CHERRY ALEXANDER.

— Brian and Cherry Alexander

Cover Price $5.95 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Within Canada 6 issues $27.00 12 issues $52.00

US/Foreign 6 issues $40.00 12 issues $78.00

(Prices Include applicable taxes)

Read online:

arcticjournal.ca Celebrating 24 years as the popular in-flight magazine for First Air, The Airline of the North.

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Front-lines North Canada’s Coast Guard

by Kelly Bent

15 About the North

41 Arts, Culture & Education Nunavut Throat-singers 45 Order of Canada Recipients

by France Rivet 48 Northern Nutrition

by Tim Lougheed

51 Northern Bookshelf 53 Inuit Forum Getting Down to Business

by Mary Simon 54 Exotica Northern Lights Tradeshow

by Pierre Dunnigan

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050872 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: CIRCULATION/ABOVE&BEYOND P.O. BOX 683 MAHONE BAY, NS B0J 2E0 Email: info@arcticjournal.ca

March/April 2012

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Canada’s Coast Guard L O O K S T O T H E F U T U R E © above&beyond/PIERRE DUNNIGAN (2)

by Kelly Bent o longer a remote and uninhabited frontier, close to 120,000 people (est.) now live and work in Canada’s Arctic, It is no surprise therefore that the demand for national Coast Guard services has trended to increase exponentially trying keep pace with the rapid growth of communities and the ever-expanding scale of human and economic activity in the North. The reality is that most Arctic communities border on some sort of inland or coastal body of water. With the health and safety of northern residents so closely tied to these vital waterways and offshore seas, this just brings home the crucial role Canada’s Coast Guard plays in protecting Arctic residents and the country as a whole.

On January 26, 2012, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) marked a significant milestone — 50 years as a highly valued, marine operations agency within the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

The golden anniversary celebrations (commemorated nationwide) focused not only on the Coast Guard’s distinguished service history over five decades, but also shone an additional light upon the significant changes and shifting mission challenges the Coast Guard already deals with today and will most certainly be tasked with in the future.

These are not small tasks. The service is responsible for safe-guarding the longest coastline of any nation in the world — running in total, some 243,000 kilometres (km) in length to our east, west, along the breadth of our northern reaches and encompassing an intricate Arctic archipelago that includes the famed Northwest Passage plus the balance of all of Canada’s territorial and provincial coastal boundaries. Our Arctic coastlines alone, run more than 162,000 km in length in total, and include the world’s largest (and operationally complex) archipelagic region. Essentially that means that our Coast Guard is responsible for an estimated 25 per cent of the offshore seas that make up the globe’s polar waters in the northern hemisphere.

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March/April 2012

Search and rescue operations and ongoing eyes and ears vigilance are important missions in the North.

above & beyond

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© above&beyond/TOM KOELBEL

© above&beyond/PIERRE DUNNIGAN (5)

© COURTESY CANADIAN COAST GUARD/FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA

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Top left and above: Birds-eye view of the Northwest Passage from the Louis S. St- Laurent’s helicopter.

Top right: New Canada Post stamp issue for 2012, to honour the proud service history of the CCGS Louis S. St- Laurent.

Above right: The CCGS Terry Fox at Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, Nunavut, during Operation Lancaster (2006).

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arcticjournal.ca

From June to November each year the Canadian Coast Guard’s Arctic Fleet is deployed for service in the North. The ships embark on their route North from our east and west coasts and Quebec. In the main, the multi-faceted mission role of the fleet of seven icebreakers is to provide safe escort for commercial vessels, often through treacherous often uncharted waters and to deliver food, cargo and fuel to remote sites where commercial shipping services are not readily available.

The CCG also lends invaluable and essential support services in the North as a primary partner in maritime search and rescue operations and by maintaining necessary aids to navigation and safeguarding the sovereignty and safety of our waterways through regular patrols. Even ashore, our Coast Guard serves as the eyes and ears of the waterways, through its Marine Communications and Traffic Services program. The Coast Guard also has Environmental Response equipment always at the ready, in strategic locations.

Today’s Arctic Fleet includes seven helicopters, remotely operated underwater vehicles, and, most importantly, highly trained professional mariners working an Arctic coastline that is more than double the size of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts combined. This vast area encompasses unique ecosystems and wildlife as well as severe weather patterns and variant conditions along the same coastline and stretches of sea.

Coast Guard personnel work tirelessly to maintain the Arctic way of life while preserving and protecting our northern coasts by providing key support to other government agencies and organizations for important scientific research and hydrographic charting of Arctic waterways. The role of the CCG is evolving as northerners must adapt to environment and weather changes, so too does the Coast Guard.

March/April 2012

© SOURCE: WWW.BANKOFCANADA.CA/BANKNOTES

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In honour of the Coast Guard’s 50th Anniversary, the Bank of Canada released a new $50 polymer banknote featuring Canada’s Research Icebreaker, the CCGS Amundsen.

CCG Radio Officer Cindy Loubert on duty at MCTS Iqaluit, Nunavut serving as the eyes and ears of northern waterways.

Built in 1979 and first commissioned as the CCGS Sir John Franklin, then renamed, the recently commemorated CCGS Amundsen for example represents a unique part of the Coast Guard’s Arctic fleet. In 2003, with the assistance of the International Joint Ventures Fund of Canada Foundation, the Amundsen was retrofitted to give it the capability to serve as a state of the art research icebreaker with new scientific equipment and technology.

Reflective of the research component of her duties, she is equipped with a moon pool, (an opening that gives access to water below) located on the hull of the ship, allowing researchers to lower tools and instruments well below the waterline when the seas are high or covered by ice. The moon pool gives divers much easier access in and out of the water and has proven itself to be an invaluable aid to the efficacy and overall success of the Amundsen’s research missions.

Between May to mid-October, her primary mandate in the North is to save life at sea. In 2010, when the Clipper Adventurer cruise ship ran aground off the Nunavut coast, the Amundsen was the nearest vessel at the time and immediately went to the aid of the ship and passengers. With the ever-changing conditions of Canada’s Arctic, she also plays a pivotal role in research and education and has given Canadians as well as international students and researchers unprecedented access to the many mysteries of the Arctic Ocean.

The Amundsen and her crew are dedicated to providing a highly functional platform to gaining better understanding of the ongoing transformations in Canada’s Arctic and how we as a country should be responding to the many key issues surrounding the impacts of climate change. With the important research done aboard her, our country’s governmental institutions, organizations, policy-makers, northern stakeholders, and our international partners are all much better positioned March/April 2012

© CAROL LAUNDERVILLE

The Louis S. St- Laurent is to be decommissioned in 2017.

Captain Michel Bourdeau with a Canadian Coast Guard Rescue Specialist aboard CCGS Pierre Radisson.

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© COURTESY CANADIAN COAST GUARD

© above&beyond/PIERRE DUNNIGAN (2)

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to strategize and formulate sound, reasoned solutions to social and economic development geared to our North.

Reflecting upon the Canadian Coast Guard’s 50 years of proud service to date, the man in charge of its northern contingent, Regional Director of Fleet for the Canadian Coast Guard's Central and Arctic Region, Brian LeBlanc, attributes a major part of the organization’s success to the crews of dedicated men and women who choose to serve on the team and the strategic partners equally eager to adapt to the changing operational environment.

“In an ever changing world we are constantly adapting the way we provide services. Our goal has always been to best suit the needs of our Arctic communities and coastline,” explains LeBlanc. “The federal government has just injected 1 billion into the CCG for the procurement of 15 large vessels. In late 2017, The John G. Diefenbaker will become our new flagship, replacing the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.

The Diefenbaker will have the capabilities to stay at sea for nine months.”

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and its Coast Guard division are today working on a more robust identification and tracking system, one that will better assist commercial shipping in those Arctic areas not currently covered by satellite. “This venture is very important in maintaining critical shipping routes that affect our global communities but with a focus on environmental awareness and national safety.”

Noteworthy here is that the Canadian Coast Guard also plays a significant sovereignty and national security role, one vital to the protection of northern communities, coastlines and, indeed, our entire country. Each year the Coast Guard contributes manpower, expertise and equipment to military sovereignty and security exercises conducted in the North in conjunction with the Royal Canadian Navy and other key strategic security partners and stakeholders, military and non.

LeBlanc speaks with genuine devotion, not only regarding his own 28 years of service in the Coast Guard, but also while looking back over the last five decades of CCG service to the country. “We’ve had an amazing and exciting 50 years,” he points out with obvious pride, “and I look forward to 50 more.”

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© COURTESY CANADIAN COAST GUARD

Line-art drawing of the CCGS John. G. Diefenbaker scheduled to join the fleet in 2017.

Regional Director of Fleet for the Canadian Coast Guard’s Central and Arctic Region, Brian LeBlanc.

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About the North

© P.F. FOGAL 2007

© PAUL LOEWEN, 2005

Is Eureka the Next Sky-Watchers Mecca?

From the Polar Environmental Atmospheric Research Lab outside Eureka, the view is all sky. Researchers are hopeful that the atmospheric conditions and the uninterrupted winter darkness make the site suitable for world-class astronomical observation.

The moon rises behind the Polar Environmental Atmospheric Research Lab near Eureka, Nunavut. The facility is hosting new astronomical observation equipment to take advantage of the stargazing potential of uninterrupted winter darkness.

Shockingly few places on earth possess the right combination of geographic and climatic conditions to accommodate a truly worldclass astronomical observation site. Clusters of research stations and telescopes have colonized coveted spots at Chile’s Atacama desert and Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano thanks to high elevations, clear skies and low pollution levels. Currently astronomers from the University of Toronto and the National Research Council of Canada are investigating

where Eureka, Nunavut, ranks by comparison.

This winter saw the installation of a high-powered digital camera atop the Polar Environmental Atmospheric Research Lab just a short distance from Eureka, the world’s second most Northern permanent research station. Located on a ridge that ascends beyond the visibilityhampering winter ice fog, the camera has been capturing two frames a minute to create timelapse imagery of the Arctic skies. Among other scientific goals, the images will aid astronomers in their needle-in-a-haystack search for habitable planets orbiting around distant stars. Dr. Eric Steinbring, a lead researcher on

the project notes this search is made easier when a camera can capture the repeated orbiting pattern of that planet through an uninterrupted series of images. The winter darkness that descends on Eureka from September to March offers just that opportunity, one that mid latitude observatories cannot.

Next winter a larger camera and the 0.5 m wide Dunlap Institute Arctic Telescope will join the sky-search. Steinbring and his colleagues are confident that celestial image quality captured from Eureka will propel the addition of more powerful astronomical telescopes in this remote stargazing oasis.

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Do you have a story about the North?

The 2012 Great Northern Canada Writing Contest Fiction or non-fiction prose up to 1,000 words about life in Canada’s North.

Entries should be typed and double-spaced with the title, but not your name, on each numbered page. Please submit a separate cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, email address, word count and whether your piece is fiction or non-fiction.

Mail entries to: Great Northern Canada Writing Contest, Box 1256, Yellowknife NT X1A 2N9 Deadline: Postmarked by April 30, 2012.

Sponsored by:

THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF THE NORTHWORDS WRITERS FESTIVAL

First Prize: $500 and publication in above&beyond, Canada’s Arctic Journal.

Emerging Writer Prize: $250 and publication in above&beyond, Canada’s Arctic Journal, for writers who have never been published for payment.

(Please indicate “emerging writer” on entry.)

Winners announced at the 7th Annual NorthWords Writers Festival in Yellowknife, NWT, May 31 - June 3, 2012

Full contest details at:

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About the North

© NWT JUDO ASSOCIATION / ASSOCIATION DE JUDO DES TN-O

NWT Judo Athlete Goes to Japan

Japan is a lot different from where she had ever been before, but even if she points out that cars are on the other side of the road and that you’re not supposed to eat in the street, Gabrielle Desforges says that she’s not

ed redit d c c a or rth n No utrition N o i t i r Nut redité N Acc

experiencing a cultural shock. She feels great in that country. “I grew up reading Mangas, watching Japanese cartoons and doing Judo.

Gabrielle Desforges could not wish for more as she was celebrating her 18th birthday last

December: the young athlete spent 11 days in Japan, the birthplace of Judo, enrolled in a training trip with nine other senior Canadian female judokas. She trained at the International Budo University in the fishing town of Katsuura, (2:30 hours west of Tokyo).

During her stay, she practiced three hours per day of intense Judo where she would fight with Japanese and Chinese partners.

Desforges thinks this experience is beneficial. “I’m more and more confident as I’m beating talented girls from elsewhere.

I’m training really hard and I can see the results. I’m feeling really well here. Japanese and Chinese train really seriously and they always fight at their best. Every fight is like a competition; it’s intense.”

Gabrielle Desforges is now training in Quebec, thanks to a grant from the Government of the Northwest Territories, as part of the High Performance Athletes Program. She competes nationally in the 57Kg category.

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Specialists in individual and group travel to the Arctic regions for over thirty years.

Predicting the Unpredictable?

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When the Northern Lights decide to make an appearance, their fickle temperament and unreliability becomes easy to forgive. The seductively hypnotic displays effortlessly displace the frustration of waiting through a cold winter night, fingers crossed and head tilted to the sky scanning for those first tantalizing whisps.

Although they are undeniably magical, Jason Raynor is disarming their unpredictable nature by employing the science behind the lights to forecast their appearances. In a nutshell, solar winds carry charged particles from the sun into earth’s upper atmosphere where they collide with gases, releasing their energy in an eruption of undulating light. By compiling solar wind and particle data from various sources, Raynor produces a three day aurora forecast that predicts when the Northern Lights will appear over Canada’s North and at what level of intensity. The development could be fortuitous for tour companies eager to deliver a spectacle to Northern Lights tour customers. The good fortune of aurora hunters may be compounded in the year to come as the sun reaches a high point in its 11 year weather cycle; with it a peak in the lights’ frequency and intensity is predicted. Raynor’s forecast is updated every 15 minutes and posted free of charge at www.auroraforecast.com.

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22nd Arctic Winter Games Keeping your right hand on the ground, hold your right foot with your left hand then use your left foot to kick a target suspended overhead. Be sure to land firmly on your kicking foot while exhibiting impeccable balance and body control and you’ll have executed an Alaskan high kick worthy of competition!

From March 4-10, masters of this and other athletic feats converge on Whitehorse as the city transforms into a hub of circumpolar sport, culture and friendship to host the 22nd Arctic Winter Games. The world’s largest showcase of its kind will welcome fierce competitors from all over Northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia and Scandinavia. The games

make ample room for conventional sports, but it’s Dene games and Arctic specialties like the sledge jump, knuckle hop and one hand reach that add to the truly one-of-a-kind nature of this competition. Enlisting hundreds of volunteers to pull off this spectacular biennial event, the program includes a youth focused opening ceremony, Northern music showcases, snow sculptures and a pan-Northern exhibit of traditional dolls. For tickets and a schedule of events visit www.awg2012.org.

The Race to Adapt We are finally at a point where few are arguing climate change will not have major consequences for Arctic wildlife. The unknown is how different species will negotiate the rapid changes. Some will find ways to adapt while others may be less fortunate. New information is giving us glimpses of what the future of our Arctic fauna might look like.

Polar bears reliant on sea ice to hunt seal are waiting longer to do so as the ice period becomes shorter and shorter. Evidence is mounting that bears are seeking other food sources to sustain themselves. A sharp increase in incidents of cannibalism is adding an additional threat to younger, smaller bears while increased egg scavenging is taking a toll on birds such as the Eider duck. Also

dependent on the ice, harp seals use it to birth and raise their young. New studies estimate that in recent poor ice years, seal pup mortality may have been as high as 80 per cent. The seals have been reported breeding further North than they have in the past, an adaptive behaviour that could prove helpful or futile depending on the extent to which the ice will degrade.

March/April 2012

Yukoners asked to Tweet up a Storm The overwhelming use of online social networking and micro-blogging has spread to even the most remote corners of Canada; indeed we can log on in places that you can’t even get a weather report. That’s precisely why Environment Canada’s Meteorological Service has embraced the public’s Twitter tendencies in a Yukon wide pilot trying to determine how the public can help them to track weather patterns in areas that lack a weather station. They are asking the public to Tweet the tag #ytstorm followed by the location and the current weather conditions.

Locations can be transmitted automatically by using the Tweet Location tool. They encourage any weather be reported but are particularly interested in unusual events like hail, flooding, and severe snowstorms. And it works both ways. Yukoners can use twitter to check storm reports posted by others. Details on how to get started can be found on the Environment Canada website. The pilot runs through the winter and spring before it is assessed for its value to meteorologists.

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About the North

HMS Terror Found

© CMC/MCC, PHOTO MARIE-LOUISE DERUAZ

Setting an innovative example

The 1836 depiction of HMS Terror alongside a towering iceberg was recently uncovered and purchased by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Perhaps the most iconic symbol of early Arctic exploration, HMS Terror, the doomed vessel of the Franklin expedition has remained undiscovered since disappearing over a century and a half ago. Recently a rare and previously unknown painting of the ship was found at an England estate and was purchased by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Painted in 1836 by Admiral Sir George Back, then commander of HMS Terror, the image depicts the vessel during its voyage to explore Hudson Bay, anchored

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beside a majestic, skyscraping iceberg.

Researchers suspect the image matches Back’s diary entry describing an ‘enormous berg, the perpendicular face of which was not less than 300 feet high.’ Before the advent of photography, such paintings and drawings were a crucial visual record of expeditions and their exhibition may have helped garner support for future voyages. The image is now on display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Special Exhibitions Corridor until April 2012.

March/April 2012

The Ilisaqsivik Family Resource Centre is working to create a happier, healthier Clyde River through programming built on the idea that ‘the people themselves know best’. The centre, whose name translates as ‘to recognize oneself’ offers over 30 innovative programs promoting Inuit health and wellness, including prenatal nutrition, youth hip-hop, and an Inuit Youth Summer Work Experience program. The Inuit run centres’ approach emphasizes recognizing choices as a means to empower and connect those in the community. Their initiative has drawn the attention of Tides Canada, the country’s largest foundation for environmental and social justice, which placed them on their list of Top Ten Recipients of 2011. The distinction honours forward thinking organizations having real world impact in their efforts to address current and pressing issues. The distinction is meant to peak the attention of potential donors who can further support the organizations efforts. To find out more about the Ilisaqsivik Family Resource Centre visit them online at www.ilisaqsivik.ca.

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Order of Nunavut Recipient Honoured In the Arviat community hall that bears his name, the family and community of the late Mark Kalluak gathered in celebration and remembrance as he was invested into the Order of Nunavut. The honour was presented to his family by the Commissioner of Nunavut, the Hon. Edna Elias, and was followed by a feast and dancing. The former educator, member of the Order of Canada and tireless proponent of Inuit language and cultural preservation, Kalluak is one of only three individuals to have received Nunavut’s highest honour.

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Finding

Hope and Healing in Memories of Our Past iEs8ic8i6

mun3i3l w6vm/5t8i5

by Ann Meekitjuk Hanson, C.M.

hey came frightened. They came with broken hope. They came tired and dirty. They came not knowing if they were going back home or not. They came not knowing if they were in the right place. They came with wondrous curiosity. They came with great gratitude.

T

ᑎᑎᕋᖅᑐᖅ ᐋᓐ ᒥᑭᔾᔪᒃ ᕼᐋᓐᓴᓐ

ᑎ

ᑭᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᖁᔅᓴᓱᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᑲᑉᐱᐊᑐᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᓇᓗᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑕᖃᒪᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐃᐱᐅᓕᖅᑐᑎᒡᓗ. ᐊᒻᒪ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓇᑎᒃ ᐅᑎᓛᕋᓗᐊᕐᒪᖔᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒥᓄᑦ. ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓇᑎᒡᓗ ᓇᒦᒃᑲᓗᐊᕐᒪᖔᕐᒥᒃ. ᑕᐸᐃᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᑎᒡᓗ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᖅᑕᒥᓂᒃ ᖁᔭᓕᕕᒡᔪᐊᖅᑐᑎᒡᓗ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᓂᒃ.

March/April 2012

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Joe Teemotee ᔫ ᑎᒨᑎ One such young person was Joe Teemotee. Joe says he was about seven or eight years old when he arrived at Mountain Sanatorium in 1958. He had tuberculosis. He came with two other Inuit who were much older than him, Aulaqiaq and Akumalik. They were from the High Arctic and Joe came from Iqaluit, Frobisher Bay at the time.

In the 1950s and ’60s the C.D. Howe hospital ship made her rounds in every Arctic community along the coasts of the eastern Arctic each summer. We were still living on the land full-time. The only time we went to the settlements was at Christmas, ship time and to get staple supplies like tea, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, ammunition, tobacco and jam.

Inuit watching arrival of the Eastern Artic patrol vessel C.D. Howe.

Credit: W. Doucette/National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque/Library and Archives Canada/e010692606.

There is an island where people gathered to wait for the supply ships and the hospital ship outside of Kimmirut, Lake Harbour at the time. Supply ships are simply ships delivering goods for the year: building materials, food, mail, cloth materials, fuel and coal. When the C.D. Howe was spotted, we headed for Kimmirut. We were very obedient towards getting medical check-ups since the RCMP members told our people it was necessary for our health.

The adults feared the medical check-ups just in case they had sickness and would have to go somewhere south and not come back. To us kids the arrival of a ship of any kind was a time of great excitement and adventure.

It was a time to see so many other people all at once. The adults could hear news of their relatives who were living in different villages along the coast. We saw adults crying because their relatives or friends had died during the winter. They could hear who had babies or who got married. When we lived on the land our villages were small, usually three to five families.

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arcticjournal.ca

March/April 2012

ᔫ ᑎᒨᑎ ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ ᓱᕈᓯᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ. ᐳᕙᓪᓗᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᐅᒐᒥ 1958ᖑᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖃᑎᓕᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᓅᖕᓂᒃ ᒪᕐᕉᖕᓂᒃ:ᐊᐅᓚᕿᐊᖅ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐊᑯᒪᓕᒃ. ᑕᐃᒃᑯᐊᓕ ᖁᑦᓯᒃᑐᒥᐅᑕᒥᓃᒃ; ᑖᓐᓇ ᔫ ᐃᖃᓗᖕᒥᐅᖑᓪᓗᓂ. ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ ᒪᓐᓇᒫᕈᓗᒃ 1950 ᑕᒪᐅᖓ 1960-ᒧᑦ, ᐅᖓᑖᓄᓪᓗ, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᒪᑦᑖᖅᑎᑕᐅᕙᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᒥ ᓘᒃᑖᓄᑦ ᑎᒥᓕᒫᖏᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ, ᐊᓪᓛᑦ ᑭᒍᑎᖏᑦ, ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᕙᒃᑐᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᓐᖏᒃᑲᓗᐊᕐᒪᖔᑕ, ᐳᕙᓪᓗᓐᖏᒃᑲᓗᐊᕐᒪᖔᑕ. ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ ᓱᓕ ᓄᓇᒥᐅᑕᐅᑎᓪᓗᑕ ᐊᐅᔭᒃᑯᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᑯᓪᓗ ᑲᑎᕙᒃᑎᓪᓗᑕ − ᐃᓅᖃᑎᕗᑦ ᑲᑎᕙᒃᑕᕗᑦ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᐊᐅᔭᑦᑕᕋᐃᖕᒪᑦ ᒪᑦᑖᕆᐊᖅᑐᖅᑐᑕ. ᐊᒻᒪ ᑲᑎᕙᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒥᔪᒍᑦ ᖃᓪᓗᓂᐊᕋᐃᒐᑦᑕ. ᑭᒻᒥᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᓯᓚᑖᓂ ᕿᑭᖅᑕᑕᖃᕐᒪᑦ ᐅᑕᖅᑭᐅᕐᕕᐅᕙᒃᑐᒥᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᓂᒃ. ᐊᓱᐃᓪᓛᒃ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᔪᖃᑦᑕᕐᒪᑦ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᔾᔨᐊᓯᕙᒃᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ, ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᓂᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᑦᑐᑐᐃᓐᓇᕐᓂᒃ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᒃ ᑎᑭᑐᐊᕐᒪᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᕙᔪᔪᑦ ᓘᒃᑖᓄᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᑦ. ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᒃ ᐃᓐᓇᕐᓄᑦ ᐊᒃᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᓯᕘᕋᒋᔭᐅᕙᔪᔪᖅ, ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᑐᐊᕈᑎᒃ, ᐳᕙᓪᓗᑐᐊᕈᑎᒃ, ᑕᕝᕙᓐᖓᑦ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᒥᑦ ᓅᖁᔭᐅᒍᓐᓃᖅᐸᔪᔪᑦ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕆᐊᖃᕐᒪᑕ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᓐᓄᑦ, ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᖕᒧᑦ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒃᑐᒃᑯᕕᖕᒧᑦ. ᐅᕙᒍᓪᓕ ᓂᕕᐊᖅᓯᐊᖑᓪᓗᑕ, ᓱᕈᓯᐅᓪᓗᑕ, ᖁᕕᐊᓱᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅᐸᔪᔪᒍᑦ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᖅ ᑎᑭᑐᐊᕐᒪᑦ. ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᖅᑕᖃᓕᕋᐃᖕᒪᑦ ᐃᓄᒐᓴᐅᓪᓗᑕ ᑲᑎᑦᑕᖅᓯᓐᓇᓕᖅᐸᔪᒐᑦᑕ, ᑐᓴᓕᑕᐃᓐᓇᖅᑐᑕᓗ ᐃᓅᒍᓐᓃᖅᑐᒥᓂᕐᓂᒃ, ᐱᐊᕋᖅᑖᖅᑐᒥᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᐅᐃᑖᖅᑐᒥᓂᕐᓂᒃ. ᒪᑦᑖᖅᑎᑕᐅᓕᕋᐃᒐᑦᑕ ᑎᒥᓕᒫᕗᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ, ᐊᓪᓛᑦ ᑭᒍᑎᕗᑦ ᐊᓐᓄᕌᓕᒫᕗᑦ ᑎᒥᑦᑎᓐᓂᑦ ᐲᔭᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᒋᑦ ᐅᕕᓃᓐᓇᐅᓕᖅᑐᑕ. ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᖅ ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᖕᒥᒃ ᐊᑦᓯᖅᑕᐅᓂᑯ. ᖃᐅᔨᔭᐅᑐᐊᕈᕕᑦ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒋᐊᒃᓴᕕᑦ ᑕᐃᒪᓕ ᑕᕝᕙᓐᖓᑦ ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᖕᒥᑦ ᓂᐅᖁᔭᐅᒍᓐᓃᖅᐳᑎᑦ.ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᐃᓚᓕᒫᑎᑦ ᓂᐅᔪᑐᐊᑦ.ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔪᖓ ᐃᓛᓐᓂᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓯᕘᕋᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᓂᖃᑐᐊᓘᕙᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ ᐅᑕᖅᑭᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᔭᐅᓂᐊᕐᒪᖔᕐᒥᒃ ᓘᒃᑖᓄᑦ. ᔫ ᑎᒨᑎ ᓱᕈᓯᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ 1958-ᒥ ᐊᓈᓇᒃᑯᖏᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᔾᔭᐅᖕᒪᑕ ᐃᓛᒎᖅ ᑖᓐᓇᔪ ᐃᕐᓂᖓᑦ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᖕᒪᑦ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕆᐊᓕᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᔫᒃᑯᑦ. ᔫ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔪᖅ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᑐᐸᓘᓐᓂᕆᐊᖅ ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᓱᕈᓯᐅᒐᒥ. ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓱᖕᓂᓐᖏᑦᑐᕐᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᔫᕆᐅᕐᓂᐊᕋᒥ ᓱᒃᑲᓂᖅᓴᐸᓘᓪᓗᓂ − ᓱᒃᑲᓂᖅᓴᐸᓘᖕᒪᒡᒎᖅ ᐊᑖᑕᖓᑕ ᕿᒻᒥᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖃᑎᒥᓂᖏᑦ ᐊᑯᒪᓕᒃ ᒥᑦᑎᒪᑕᓂᖕᒥᐅᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐊᐅᓚᕿᐊᖅ ᕿᑭᖅᑕᕐᔪᐊᕐᒥᐅᑦ. ᖃᐅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᑎᑭᑦᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᑕᐃᑯᖓ ᒨᔅᐹᒃᑐᕆᒧᑦ. ᐊᔪᕆᑦᓱᐃᔨᒧᑦ ᐸᕐᕆᐊᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᒥᓃᑦ ᑐᓐᖓᓱᒃᑎᑕᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ. ᓱᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᐃᑦ ᐊᓪᓚᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ ᑖᒃᑯᓄᖓ ᐃᓄᖕᓄᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᖅᑕᐅᔪᑦ. ᓂᖀᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᒌᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᐊᓇᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ. ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑐᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓐᓂᓐᖏᒻᒪᑕ. ᔫ ᓇᓪᓕᒍᓱᒃᐸᒃᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᐊᐅᓚᕿᐊᒥᒃ ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕙᓗᒃᐸᓐᓂᕐᒪᑦ ᖁᐃᖅᓱᓐᐃᓇᖅᑐᓂᓗ. ᓱᓖᓛᒃ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᒃᑲᓐᓂᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᖅᐳᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐱᖓᓱᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᒃᑯᑦ, ᓱᓇᐅᕝᕙ ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᑯᑖᒃᑯᑦ. ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᖅᑐᒍᓗ ᐃᑭᕕᒋᓕᖅᑐᒍᓗ. ᔫ ᑕᐸᐃᖅᓯᒪᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᑖᒃᑯᐊᓕ ᐃᓅᖃᖏᑎᒃ ᓯᕘᕋᕙᓗᒃᑎᓪᓗᒋᒃ. ᔫ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔪᖅ ᑕᐃᓐᓇᒎᖅ ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᑯᑖᒧᑦ ᐃᑭᑎᑦᓯᔪᖅ ᖃᐃᒐᓪᓛᔪᒥᓂᐅᖕᒪᑦ ᑖᑉᓱᒧᖓ

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During the medical check-ups, our entire bodies were checked including our teeth. We had to strip all of our clothing, completely and utterly naked. The hospital ship was called ‘Matavik’ in Inuktitut, simply meaning ‘where you strip.’

Once you were diagnosed with TB or some other illness, you didn’t leave the ship, only your family. I remember anxious moments. We always looked for a nurse or a doctor telling us to stay on the ship. I remember there wasn’t much conversation or laughter while we waited for our turn to be stripped. Everything was hushed.

Joe Teemotee was a little boy in 1958 when he and his family heard the bad news. He was to leave right away by an airplane, a DC-3, otherwise if he left on the C.D. Howe, the trip would take over three months. The airplane ride took only days.

Joe remembers being very excited the whole time.

This was so different from the dog teams his father had.

Everything was so fast. Joe, Aulaqiaq and Akumalik travelled together, although they were all from different places: an elder Akumalik was from Pond Inlet, Aulaqiaq from Broughton Island and Joe from Iqaluit.

The plane landed the next day, Joe says: “I think we landed in Moose Factory, Ontario. An Anglican minister met them and it was very comforting because by that time we were overwhelmed by so many foreign things, like food, travel, scenery and the language. None of us spoke any English and we had no interpreter.” The young Teemotee felt sorry for the elder Aulaqiaq who was visibly very ill. He could not walk very fast and was coughing a lot.

Once again, the three Inuit were to experience another kind of travel, a train. None of them had ever seen a train, let alone ridden one. Joe was beyond disbelief while the two older companions looked frightened and anxious. Joe remembers the man who took them to the train yelling at Aulaqiaq for being so slow. He wanted to tell the man “Aulaqiaq is too sick,” but he could not speak the man’s language. Today Joe says: “I have since learned that trains run on schedule and he didn’t want us to miss the train.”

The train ride was even more exciting than the airplane.

Joe didn’t sleep at all because there was so much to see. The trees, houses, green fields, villages, animals, cars, people, and more trees passed by all too quickly for young Joe. He wanted to completely absorb everything because there was so much to tell his family and friends back home.

They finally arrived to their destination but they didn’t know it. They thought they were going to travel some more; instead they were quarantined in a room. They were all together, then separated many days later. Joe never saw Aulaqiaq and Akumalik again.

ᐊᐅᓚᕿᐊᕐᒧᑦ ᓱᓇᐅ−ᕙ ᑐᐊᕕᖁᔨᓪᓗᓂ ᓱᐊᒐᓱᒋᔭᒥᓂᖓ. ᐅᖃᐅᑎᒍᒪᒐᓗᐊᖅᑐᒍ ᐃᒫᒃ: ᐅᓇᓕ ᐊᐅᓚᕿᐊᖅ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᖃᓪᓗᓇᐅᔭᕈᓐᓇᓐᖏᒧᑦ ᐅᖃᕈᓐᓇᕐᓂᓐᖏᓐᓇᒥ. ᐅᓪᓗᒥ ᔫ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓕᕐᒪᑦ ᑕᐃᒃᑯᐊ ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᑯᑖᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓱᑦ ᑭᖑᕙᖅᑕᐃᓪᓕᓪᓗᑎᒃ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᖃᐃᒐᓪᓛᔪᒥᓂᖅ ᕿᒪᒃᑕᐅᖁᔨᓐᖏᒧᑦ. ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᑯᑖᒃ ᐊᓪᓛᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᓇᕐᓂᖅᓴᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᑭᒪᕕᒋᒋᐊᖓ ᖃᖓᑕᔫᕐᒥᒃ. ᔫ ᐅᓐᓄᐊᓕᒫᖅ, ᐅᓪᓗᓕᒫᖅ, ᓯᓂᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᓐᓂᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᑕᑯᔭᒃᓴᖃᒧᑦ ᓱᓇᑐᐃᓐᓈᓗᖕᓂᒃ. ᒪᑯᐊᒎᖅ ᑕᐸᑐᕋᓵᓗᐃᑦ ᐃᓪᓗᒐᓵᓗᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᐊᓗᐃᑦ, ᖃᓪᓗᓈᒐᓵᓗᐃᑦ, ᐆᒪᔪᓪᓗ ᖃᓄᐃᑦᑐᑐᐃᓐᓇᐃᑦ ᕿᓚᒥᐊᓗᒃ ᖄᖏᖅᐸᒃᑐᑦ ᑖᓐᓇ ᐃᑭᒪᕕᖓ ᓱᒃᑲᒧᑦ. ᔫ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔪᖅ ᒪᑯᐊᒎᖅ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᒃᓴᖏᑦ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᕈᓂ ᐊᒥᓱᖅᐸᓗᓕᖅᑐᑦ. ᑎᑭᑦᑕᓯᓐᓇᓕᖅᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᐅᐸᒃᑕᒥᓄᑦ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᑕᕝᕙᓃᓐᓂᐊᕆᐊᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓐᓂᓐᖏᓚᑦ. ᐅᑕᖅᑭᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᒡᒎᖅ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᒃᑲᓐᓂᕐᓂᐊᕆᐊᖅ ᐅᑕᖅᑭᕕᖕᒦᓕᖅᑐᒥᓃᑦ. ᑲᑎᒪᐃᓐᓇᖅᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᐅᓪᓗᒐᓴᐃᑦ ᐊᓂᒍᕐᒪᑕ ᐊᕕᓕᖅᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᑕᐃᒃᑯᐊ ᐊᐅᓚᕿᐊᒃᑯᒃ ᐊᑯᒪᓕᒃᑯᒃ ᑕᑯᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᓐᓃᖅᑕᒥᓂᖏᑦ.

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Qalik went for the annual medical check-up and was told not to get off the ship because she had TB. The hospital ship sailed away before her husband returned, so her husband never knew where she went. He got home to an empty tent, no wife. ᖃᓕᒃ ᒪᑦᑖᕆᐊᕐᓂᕋᒥ ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᒃ ᑎᑭᒻᒪᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᔾᔭᐅᑦᑕᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒋᐊᖓ ᓂᐅᖁᔭᐅᒍᓐᓃᖅᑐᓂᓗ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕈᔾᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᐅᐃᖓ ᖃᐅᔨᓐᖏᑦᑐᕐᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᐊᓯᕙᖅᓯᒪᓐᓂᕋᒥ. ᐊᖏᕐᕋᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᓄᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᒧᑦ ᑐᐱᒥᓄᑦ − ᓄᓕᐊᖓ ᓇᐅᖏᓐᓇ?

Annie Kimalu Palluq is in her late 70s today. She was a young lady in 1958 when she was x-rayed for tuberculosis and was told she had to go to a hospital in the south.

According to Annie, there were many Inuit in the hospital ship. They stopped at every community. The last stop was Cape Dorset where a mother and daughter got on. They had TB. Annie says she remembers laying wide-awake at night listening to many coughs.

The hospital ship docked in the middle of the night in Montreal. The Inuit were gathered and put in the train.

Annie looked after two little girls, Sataa and Leevee. The little girls were frightened by the speed of the train and its loud horn. Annie did her best to comfort them, after all they had left their comfort and security behind — their mother and father.

Annie and her sister-in-law Oleepeeka were grateful to be reunited with their relatives and friends when they arrived at the Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium. Annie says: “It was so good to see Kakik and Joanasie Salomonie, my cousins. Kakik used to save me apples and oranges from his meals.”

Often there were no interpreters. Annie Kimalu is grateful to Mary Panigusiq who was one of the main translators/ interpreters for the many Inuit. She wasn’t available all the time; she was so much in demand, not only for the hospitals

ᐊᓂ ᑭᒪᓗ ᐹᓗᖅ 70 ᐅᖓᑖᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖃᓕᖅᑐᖅ, ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ ᒪᑦᑖᕆᐊᖅᑐᕋᒥ ᐅᕕᒃᑲᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ. ᐅᖃᐅᔾᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒋᐊᖓ. ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕈᔾᔭᐅᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ. ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂᒎᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᒥᓲᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐅᒥᐊᕐᔪᐊᒥ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒃᑐᑦ, ᓄᓇᓕᓕᒫᑦ ᐅᐸᒃᑐᒋᑦ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᑭᖑᓪᓕᖅᐹᒥᓂᖅ ᑭᓐᖓᐃᑦ ᐃᑭᔪᒥᓂᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᓈᓇᒌᒃ ᐸᓂᒌᒃ ᑕᒪᕐᒥᒃ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒃᑑᒃ. ᐊᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔪᖅ ᐅᓄᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᓯᓂᒃᐸᓐᓂᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᖁᐃᖅᓱᕐᕙᓗᖕᓄᑦ. ᐅᓐᓄᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᑎᑭᑦᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᒪᓐᑐᕆᐊᒧᑦ.ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓘᓐᓇᑎᒃ ᑲᑎᑎᑕᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᑭᑎᑕᐅᑦᑕᓕᖅᐳᑦ ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᑯᑖᖕᒧᑦ. ᐊᓂ ᐸᐃᕆᓯᔪᓂᒥ ᒪᕐᕉᖕᓂᒃ ᓂᕕᐊᖅᓯᑕᖕᓂᒃ: ᓵᓚ ᐊᒻᒪ ᒥᕕ. ᑖᒃᑯᐊᒎᖅ ᓂᕕᐊᖅᓯᐊᕉᐲᒃ ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓱᕝᕙᓗᒃᑐᒥᓃᒃ ᐊᓂᐅᑉ ᓵᖓᓂᒃ ᓄᑕᐃᓕᒪᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᐊᓈᓇᒃᑯᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᑖᑕᒃᑯᒥᓂᒃ ᐅᖓᔪᒃᓴᐅᓐᓂᕋᓗᐊᕋᒦᒃ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᓪᓗᑎᒡᓗ. ᐊᓂᐅᑉ ᐸᐃᕆᑦᓯᐊᕋᓱᐊᖅᑕᒥᓂᖏᒃ ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓱᖁᓐᖏᒧᑦ. ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᖕᒧᑦ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒃᑐᒃᑯᕕᖕᒧᑦ ᐊᓱᐃᓪᓛᒃ ᑎᑭᑦᑕᕋᒥᒃ ᐃᓅᖃᑎᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᒥᓱᓂᒃ ᑲᑎᓯᔪᒥᓂᐅᕗᑦ, ᐊᓪᓛᑦ ᓴᑭᖓ ᐅᓖᐱᑲ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ. ᑕᐃᒃᑯᐊᓗ ᐃᓚᓪᓚᕆᖏᒃ ᑲᒃᑭᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᔪᐊᓇᓯ ᓵᓚᒨᓂ. ᐃᓕᓴᕐᓇᖅᑐᒡᒎᖅ ᑕᑯᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᑦᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᖁᔭᓇᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ.

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Annie Kimalu Palluq ᐋᓂ ᑭᒪᓗ ᐸᓪᓗᖅ but for the Federal Government as well. When Mary was available, Annie says, “It was good to learn what was wrong and to know what the medicine was for.”

One of the happy memories Annie has is when she and other Inuit became friends, even though they were from different parts of the Arctic. One new friend she remembers the most is Qalik. Qalik had a very sad story to tell. Her husband was out on the land hunting for the family for several days. Qalik went for the annual medical check-up and was told not to get off the ship because she had TB. The hospital ship sailed away before her husband returned, so her husband never knew where she went. He got home to an empty tent, no wife. The husband wrote and the letter finally found Qalik a year later. When Qalik finally received the letter, she wept and wept until she was exhausted.

When Annie thinks back to her times in Hamilton, she wonders how she and the other Inuit, who didn’t speak a word of English never got lost on the way to the hospital or on the way back home. There were no interpreters or escorts.

The Canadian Government Ship C.D. Howe at Pangnirtung, July 1951.

Credit: W. Doucette/National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque/Library and Archives Canada/e010692606.

ᑐᓵᔨᑕᖃᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᓐᖏᒻᒪᑦ ᐊᑯᓂᐊᓗᒃ ᐊᓂ ᑭᒪᓗ ᖁᔭᒋᔭᖃᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᒥᐊᓕ ᐸᓂᒍᓯᕐᒥᒃ. ᒥᐊᓕ ᑐᓵᔨᐅᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᐸᒃᑐᓂ ᖃᐃᖁᔭᐅᓕᕋᐃᒐᒥ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒐᕙᒪᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ. ᐊᓂ ᑭᒪᓗ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔪᖅ ᑐᓵᔨᑕᖃᓕᕋᐃᖕᒪᒡᒎᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᑦᓯᐊᖅᐸᒃᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᓇᐅᒃᑯᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᕆᐊᖅ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐄᔭᒐᐃᑦ ᓱᓇᒧᑦ ᐊᑐᕐᒪᖔᑕ. ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᑦᓯᐊᓲᖅ ᐊᓂ ᐱᖃᑎᑖᖃᑦᑕᔪᒋᐊᖅ ᓄᓇᖅᑲᑎᒋᓐᖏᑕᒥᓂᒃ. ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇ ᑲᔭᕆᔭᖓ ᒫᓐᓇᒧᑦ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᓂᖅᐹᖓ ᖃᓕᒃ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇᒎᖅ ᖃᓕᒃ ᐅᓂᖓᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑦ ᓴᐃᒪᓇᓐᖏᑦᑐᒥᒃ. ᐅᐃᖓ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᓯᒪᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᒪᑦᑖᕐᕕᒃ ᑎᑭᓐᓂᕐᒪᑦ ᐊᓱᐃᓪᓛᓪᓕ ᒪᑦᑖᕆᐊᖅᑐᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᓄᑑᓪᓗᓂ. ᐅᖃᐅᔾᔭᐅᑦᑕᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅ ᓂᐅᖁᔭᐅᒐᓂ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᖕᒪᒡᒎᖅ. ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕈᔾᔭᐅᓕᖅᑐᓂ ᐅᐃᖓ ᓱᓕ ᑎᑭᓚᐅᖅᑎᓐᓇᒍ ᖃᐅᔨᓚᐅᖅᑎᓐᓇᒍ. ᑎᑭᒃᑲᒥ ᐃᓄᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᒧᑦ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᖅᑐᒥᓂᐅᕗᖅ. ᓄᓕᐊᖓ ᓇᐅᖏᓐᓇ? ᐅᑕᖅᑭᒐᓗᐊᕐᒪᐅᒃ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ. ᖃᐅᔨᑦᑕᖅᓯᓐᓇᓕᕋᒥᓕ ᑎᑎᕋᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᐅᖕᒪᑦ ᓄᓕᐊᒥᓄᑦ. ᑎᑭᑦᑕᖅᓯᓐᓇᓕᖕᒪᑕ ᑎᑎᖅᑲᖏᑦ ᓄᓕᐊᒥᓄᑦ ᐊᕐᕌᒍᑕᒫᖅ ᑭᓯᐊᓂ. ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᖃᓕᒃ ᓴᐃᒪᒍᓐᓇᐃᓪᓕᑲᐃᓐᓇᕐᓂᖅᐳᖅ. ᑕᖃᑦᑕᕋᒥ ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᓴᐃᒻᒪᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ. ᐊᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᓕᕋᐃᒐᒥ ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᓕᐊᖅᐸᑦᓱᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐅᑎᖅᐸᑦᓱᑎᒃ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒥᓄᑦ, ᖃᓪᓗᓇᐅᔭᕈᓐᓇᑦᑕᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑲᒪᔨᖏᑦ ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑑᕈᓐᓇᔾᔭᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᖃᓄᐊᓗᒡᓕ ᔭᒐᑉᐸᓐᓂᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᑐᓵᔨᖃᑦᑕᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᐊᐃᑉᐸᖃᑦᑕᓐᖏᑦᑐᑦ.

March/April 2012

above & beyond

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“If I weren’t taken to Hamilton hospital, I’d be dead,” Eemeelayo Annie Nataq declares with conviction, then explains, “when I was in the hospital in Hamilton I got another sickness other than the TB and had to be operated on.” She had appendicitis.

Eemeelayo went to the southern hospitals three different times. The first time was to Hamilton with her mother Akiruq when she was a teenager.

They both had tuberculosis. Her TB was so bad that she had to go by an airplane with her mother, Ullak and Evie. They were living outside of Kimmirut on the land. They were picked up by a military plane that had no seats. They landed in Goose Bay, Labrador. It was the very first time Eemeelayo and her companions had been away from their village; the new scenery diverted their thoughts from their illnesses. She remembers seeing trees only in magazines and now here they were in reality.

“We had no escorts or interpreters, only the people who met us when we landed. We had to demonstrate by our hands to communicate. We were very brave and able,” states Eemeelayo. She remembers thinking how good the people were to meet them and make sure they got on the right plane or train. Her voice trails off with “we didn’t get lost. We were very obedient and trusting.”

Eemeelayo describes her bedridden days with pain and humour. She had to be completely in bed, no touching the floor even when her bed was being made or she had to eliminate bodily fluids. The only time she was allowed to sit up was during the meal times. During these long bedridden

“ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᖕᒨᕐᓂᓐᖏᒃᑯᒪᓕ ᑐᖁᖓᓕᕋᔭᖅᑐᖓ” ᐊᓂ ᐃᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᓇᑕᖅ ᐱᕕᒃᑐᓂ ᑕᐃᒫᒃ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᓕᒃ. ᐅᖃᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅᑐᓂᓗ “ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒋᐊᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᖓ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᒪ ᐊᓯᖓᓂᒃ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᓕᖅᑐᐊᓘᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᒐᒪ ᐱᓚᒃᑕᐅᔭᕆᐊᖃᓕᖅᑐᖓ.” ᓱᓇᐅᕝᕙᐃᓐᓇ ᕿᐱᖑᐃᖅᑕᒥᓂᖅ. ᐃᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᐱᖓᓱᐊᖅᑎᖅᑐᓂ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᖕᒦᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ. ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᒥ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖃᑎᖃᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐊᓈᓇᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᑭᕈᕐᒥᒃ, ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᓚᖃᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐅᓚᒃᒥᒃ ᐃᕕᒥᓪᓗ. ᓄᓇᒥᐅᖑᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂ. ᐃᓛᒎᖅ ᐊᐃᔭᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᔫᒧᑦ. ᐃᑭᒻᒪᑕᒎᖅ ᑖᓐᓇ ᖃᖓᑕᔫᖓᑦ ᑎᑭᑦᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᒎᓯᐸᐃᒧᑦ. ᐃᒥᓪᓚᔪᕉᖅ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᕆᐅᖅᑐᓂ ᓄᓇᒥᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᖅᑕᖏᑦ ᐅᓚᕕᓯᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖏᓐᓂᒃ.ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊᓗ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᖅᑕᖏᑦ ᓇᐹᖅᑐᐃᑦ ᐃᔨᒥᓄᑦ ᑕᑯᑕᐃᓐᓇᓕᖅᑐᒋᑦ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕᒎᖅ ᑕᑯᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᓐᓂᕐᒪᒋᑦ ᕿᒥᕐᕈᐊᒐᓂ. “ᐊᐃᑉᐸᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᒍᑦ, ᑐᓵᔨᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᒍᑦ, ᓱᓇᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᒍᑦ. ᑕᒪᔾᔭ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᐃᒃᓯᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᑎᑭᒐᐃᒐᑦᑕ ᑐᑭᓯᐅᑎᒍᓐᓇᓐᖏᒧᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᑦᑎᒍᑦ ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᐆᒃᑐᕋᖅᑐᑕ ᐊᒡᒐᑦᑎᒍᑦ ᐱᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᒍᑦ.ᐊᒃᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐱᓯᑎᐅᕙᒃᑐᒥᓂᐅᔪᒍᑦ.” ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᐊᓂ ᑕᐃᒃᑯᐊᒎᖅ ᐸᕐᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᕙᒃᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᐊᒃᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐱᑦᓯᐊᖅᐸᑐᒥᓃᑦ, ᑲᒪᑦᓯᐊᖅᐸᒃᑐᒥᓃᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᑭᑎᑉᐸᒃᑐᒋᑦ ᓄᓇᓯᐅᑎᑯᑖᖕᒧᑦ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᔫᒧᑦ. ᑕᒻᒪᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᓐᖏᑦᑐᐊᓘᔪᒍᑦ. ᐊᒃᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᑐᓵᑦᑎᐊᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᒥᓂᐅᔪᒍᑦ ᑕᑎᖃᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᑕᓗ.” ᐃᒥᓪᓚᔫᑉ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᔭᖏᑦ ᐊᓐᓂᕐᓇᖅᑐᑎᒡᓗ ᐃᔪᕐᓇᖅᐸᑐᑎᒡᓗ ᐱᔪᑦ. ᐃᓛᒎᖅ ᐊᑯᓂᐊᓗᒃ ᓇᑎᕐᒨᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᓐᖏᒻᒪᑦ ᐃᓪᓕᕐᒦᖏᓐᓇᕆᐊᓕᒥᓂᖅ. ᐊᓪᓛᑦ ᐃᓂᓪᓚᒃᑎᑕᐅᓕᕋᐃᖕᒪᑦ ᐃᓪᓕᖓ ᓇᑎᕐᒨᕆᐊᖃᖅᐸᖕᓂᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ. ᐊᕙᐃᕆᐊᑎᑕᐅᓗᓂ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐃᓪᓕᖓᓂ ᑕᐃᒪ ᐃᓂᓪᓚᒃᑎᑕᐅᕙᒃᑐᒥᓂᖅ. ᑭᓈᓗᒃᐸᒃᑐᓂᓗ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐃᓪᓕᕐᒥᓂ. ᓂᕆᓕᕋᐃᒐᒥᒃ ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᐃᒃᓯᕚᖅᐸᒃᑐᖅ, ᑮᑕᑲᐃᓐᓇᐅᖕᒥᔪᖅ. ᓇᓚᐃᓐᓇᖅᑐᕈᓘᓪᓗᓂᒎᖅ ᐃᖅᑲᐅᒪᓗᐊᖅᐸᑦᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᓚᒥᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒥᓂᒃ ᓂᕿᐊᐱᖕᒥᓂᒃ, ᐃᓛᒃ ᓱᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᕐᓂᒃ ᑲᔾᔮᕆᔭᒥᓂᒃ. ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊᓕᒫᖅ ᑲᔾᔮᕆᔭᖏᑦ ᐅᑎᖅᑕᖅᑎᖅᐸᒃᑐᒋᑦ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᓐᖑᐊᖅᐸᒃᑐᓂᒋᑦ ᐃᓱᒪᒥᓂ. ᐅᐸᒃᑕᐅᔾᔫᒥᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᒡᒎᖅ ᐊᕐᓇᒧᑦ ᓱᓕ ᐃᓪᓕᕐᒦᖏᓐᓇᒋᐊᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ. ᑖᓐᓇᒎᖅ ᐊᒃᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᑕᑯᒥᓇᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᓐᓄᕌᑦᓯᐊᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᑎᐱᑦᓯᐊᕆᒃᑐᓂ. ᑎᒍᒥᐊᕈᓗᑐᕈ. ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᕈᑎᒐᒥᒃ ᑕᑯᓇᐅᑎᑐᐃᓇᓕᑐᒥᓂᒃ ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓪᓗᑏᒃ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖃᑎᒌᓐᖏᑦᑑᒃ. ᑖᒃᑯᐊᒎᖅ ᑎᒍᒥᐊᖅᑕᓂ ᒪᑉᐱᖅᑐᒋᑦ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᓯᕗᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᐊᓐᖏᑕᖓ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᐊᕐᓇᖅ ᐆᒃᑐᕋᖅᑐᓂ ᐅᖃᖁᔨᓕᕐᒪᑦ ᐆᒥᖓ “ᓴᓕ” ᐊᓱᐃᓪᓛᒃ ᐃᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᐅᖃᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᓴᓕ. ᑖᓐᓇᒎᖅ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑐᑦ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᖑᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᓂ ᐅᖃᕆᐅᖅᑕᒥᓂᖓ. ᓵᓕᐅᑉ ᐊᓯᐊᓂᒃ ᐅᖃᕆᐅᖅᓴᖃᑦᑕᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑐᑦ ᑕᑯᓴᕐᔫᒥᓕᕐᓂᕐᒪᑦ ᐊᓂ ᓈᑕᖅ ᐃᓪᓗᕈᓯᕐᒥᓂ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇᓕᒎᖅ ᐃᓅᖃᑎᖓ ᑕᑯᓇᒃᑐᐊᓗᒃ. ᐊᓂᒎᖅ ᖁᐊᑐᔪᔭᒻᒪᕆᒃ ᐱᒍᓐᓇᐃᓪᓕᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᓅᒍᓐᓇᐃᓪᓕᔪᖅ ᐅᖃᕈᓐᓇᐃᓪᓕᔪᕐᓘᓐᓃᑦ. ᐃᓛᒎᖅ ᐃᓅᓯᓕᒫᖅ ᑲᓐᖑᑦᑕᐅᖏᓐᓇᕋᒥ. ᑲᓐᖑᓱᓗᐊᓕᕋᐃᒐᒥ ᓱᒍᓐᓇᐃᓪᓕᔪᖅ ᖁᐊᖅᑐᑎᑐᑦ. ᑕᐃᓐᓇᒎᖅ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑎᑦᓯᔪᖅ ᐅᖃᖁᔨᒐᓗᐊᕐᒪᑦ ᐊᓂ ᓱᒍᓐᓇᐃᓪᓕᖕᒪᑦ ᑕᐃᓐᓇ ᐊᓂᑐᐃᓐᓇᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ. ᑕᑯᒃᑲᓐᓂᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᒍᓐᓃᖅᑐᒍᓗ ᐅᑎᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ. ᑕᖅᑭᒐᓴᖕᒪᕆᓂᒃ ᓇᑎᕐᒨᖅᑕᐃᓕᔪᒥᓂᖅ ᐃᓅᓕᕐᓂᐅᑎᓂᒡᓗ ᐄᓯᑎᑕᐅᖏᓐᓇᖅᑐᓂ ᐊᓂ ᐃᒥᓚᔪᖅ. ᐅᐸᒃᑕᐅᓕᕐᒥᒐᒥᒎᖅ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᓯᐅᖅᑎᒧᑦ, ᑖᓐᓇ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᓯᐅᖅᑎ ᐆᑦᑐᕋᖅᑐᓂ ᓇᑎᕐᒨᖁᔨᕈᓗᓕᖅᐳᖅ. “ᓇᑎᕐᒨᕈᒪᓕᒧᑦ ᓂᑯᕕᒍᒪᓕᒧᑦ ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓗᓕᖅᐳᖓ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᐃᓯᒐᒃᑲ ᓇᑎᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᑦᑐᐃᒻᒪᑕ ᓂᑯᕕᒃᑲᓗᐊᕋᒪ ᐅᕐᕈᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅᐳᖓ,” ᑕᐃᒪᐃᓕᕗᖅ ᐊᓂ. ᐃᓛᒎᖅ ᓂᐅᖏᒃ ᓄᑭᖃᕈᓐᓃᖅᑑᒃ ᐅᕕᓂᖃᕋᑎᒡᓗ, ᐊᑐᓐᖏᑦᓯᐊᓕᖅᑑᒎᖅ ᐃᑉᐱᓐᓂᐊᒐᑎᒡᓗ. ᓂᑯᕕᒋᐅᖅᓴᖅᑐᓂᓗ ᐱᓱᒋᐅᖅᓴᑕᓂᓗ ᑭᓯᐊᓂᐅᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ. ᐋᓐᓂᕐᓇᖅᑐᐊᓘᒐᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ, ᓴᐱᕐᓇᖅᑐᐊᓘᒐᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐊᓂ ᐃᖃᐃᓕᓴᕐᓂᐊᕆᐊᖅ ᐊᑯᓂᒍᓱᒃᐸᒃᑐᒥᓂᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓕᕋᒥ ᐱᐅᓯᕙᓪᓕᐊᒋᐊᖅ, ᒪᒥᑉᐸᓪᓕᐊᒋᐊᖅ.

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months, she entertained herself with thoughts about her home, way up North. She played these thoughts over and over.

One day, a new person came to her bedside. There was a silent stare by both of them. The woman was very pretty, well dressed and she carried something in her hand. She opened the item and began to say words, words that were foreign to Eemeelayo. The woman motioned for Eemeelayo to repeat after her. The first word to repeat was “Saa-lee.” When Eemeelayo finally said the word, the woman smiled and nodded her head, so the very first English word coming out of her mouth was “Sally.”

The teacher and student were doing well until Eemeelayo looked around the room. “There was one person looking at me. I froze,” Eemeelayo exclaims. She went on to explain that she has always been very shy. The woman continued to say more words but Eemeelayo would not say anymore; she was too frozen and embarrassed. The woman began to look angry and walked out. She never came back.

The bedridden and medication regiments went on for several months, until one day she was motioned to get off the bed. “I was so eager to get off the bed, to touch the cool floor, to stand up. When my feet touched the floor, I stood up. Then I collapsed! There were no more muscles or fat in my legs,” Eemeelayo remembers. She says she had to learn to stand up and walk all over again. Despite all the pain and despair this brought, Eemeelayo looked forward to the exercise each day because she knew she was on the way to recovery.

Eemeelayo did recover and was sent home, but not for very long. While at home, on the land, she recognized the symptoms of TB. She knew she would have to leave home once again, back to Hamilton. The treatments were gentler and the hospital stay was much shorter. She was once again sent home. The third time the TB came back, she was sent to a different hospital outside of Toronto. The stay was even shorter than the last one.

Eemeelayo knows the medication and treatments for TB and other illnesses have greatly improved over the years.

“I became active in health and social services in my community because I wanted to make sure health services were adequate and relevant to our people,” declared Eemeelayo. She served on the Baffin Health Board for several years and indeed helped to improve the health services by instituting proper interpreter/translators, escorts for the elders and proper communications. Years ago, letters took over a year to reach loved ones and today we are just a phone call away.

Sadly, many Inuit didn’t come back home; they are buried at Woodland Cemetery, my mother Josie included. There are Inuit buried across Canada. Their loved ones are still looking for them.

Some Inuit died en route to the hospitals. Fortunately, so many more Inuit were cured and came back home and are able to tell their stories, such as the three recounts here.

“Our ability to wait and be patient pays off ” is echoed by many Inuit who had to go far away for medical treatment. Many of us believe that if we weren’t treated for TB in southern hospitals there would be a lot fewer Inuit. TB was so rampant, contagious and we had no way to treat it up North, so our gratitude is huge.

ᐃᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᕈᓐᓃᕐᒪᑦ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᖅᑎᑕᐅᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᐊᑯᓂᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᒥᒃ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᓕᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅᑐᓂ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᓂᐅᑉ ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᖏᑦ ᐃᓕᓴᕆᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᑦᓴᐅᑎᒋᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᓕᐊᕆᐊᓕᒃ ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂᓕ ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᖕᓂᖓ ᐋᓐᓂᕐᓇᓐᖏᓐᓂᖅᓴᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᑮᑕᑲᐃᓐᓇᐅᓂᖅᓴᒥᓪᓗ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᖕᒦᑦᑐᓂ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᖅᑎᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂᓗ ᐱᖓᔪᐊᓐᓂ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᑦᑕᓕᕆᕗᖅ. ᓱᓖᓛᒃ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᓕᒃᑲᓐᓂᕐᓂᖅᐳᖅ. ᑐᕌᓐᑐᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᑎᑕᒥᓂᖅ. ᑮᑕᑲᐃᓐᓇᐸᓗᒎᖅ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖅᓯᒪᔪᒥᓂᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᓪᓗᓂ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊᒎᖅ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒡᓗᓂ ᐃᓅᓕᓐᓂᐅᑏᑦ ᐊᒃᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᓄᑖᖑᓂᖅᓴᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐱᐅᓯᓴᕋᐃᓐᓇᖅᑐᑎᒡᓗ ᑕᐃᒪᐃᓕᖅᑐᒥᓂᖅ.

Eemeelayo Annie Nataq ᐃᒻᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᐊᓂ ᓇᑖᖅ “ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑦᑕᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖓ ᐊᑲᐅᓯᒋᐊᖁᒧᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᓂᖓᑦ,” ᐅᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐊᓂ ᐃᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᓈᑖᖅ. ᖃᐅᔨᒪᑦᓯᐊᖅᐳᖓ ᐊᓂ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᐅᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐃᒃᓯᕙᐅᑕᐅᑎᓪᓗᖓ ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᖕᒥ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᕐᔪᐊᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ. ᐅᑭᐅᒐᓴᓂᒃ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᐅᓪᓗ ᒪᑯᓂᖓ ᐋᖅᑭᑦᓯᖃᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᓕᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᑦᓯᐊᖃᑦᑕᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᑐᓵᔨᖃᖃᑦᑕᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐃᓄᑑᖃᑦᑕᓐᖏᓪᓗᑎᒃ. ᑕᐃᑉᓱᒪᓂᓕ ᑐᓴᕐᓇᓵᖅᐸᔪᒐᑦᑕ ᐃᓚᕗᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᒻᒪᖔᑕ ᐅᓪᓗᒥᓕ ᑕᕝᕙᑦᓴᐃᓐᓇᖅ ᐅᖄᓚᒍᓐᓇᖅᓯᒐᑦᑕ. ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑦᑕᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖓ ᐊᑲᐅᓯᒋᐊᖁᒧᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᓂᖓᑦ, ᐅᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐊᓂ ᐃᒻᒥᓚᔪᖅ ᓇᑖᖅ.

“I was so eager to get off the bed, to touch the cool floor, to stand up. When my feet touched the floor, I stood up. Then I collapsed! There were no more muscles or fat in my legs.” “ᓇᑎᕐᒨᕈᒪᓕᒧᑦ ᓂᑯᕕᒍᒪᓕᒧᑦ ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓗᓕᖅᐳᖓ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᐃᓯᒐᒃᑲ ᓇᑎᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᑦᑐᐃᖕᒪᑕ ᓂᑯᕕᒋᐊᕋᓗᐊᕋᒪ ᐅᕐᖁᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅᐳᖓ. ᓂᐅᒃᑲᒃ ᓄᑮᒍᑦᑐᒥᓃᒃ ᓂᕿᖃᕈᓐᓃᖅᑐᑎᒡᓗ ᐅᕕᓂᖃᕈᓐᓃᖅᑐᑎᒡᓗ.”

ᓇᓗᒥ, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᑦ ᐅᑎᖅᓯᒪᓐᖏᒻᒪᑕ, ᑕᐅᓇᓂ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᓄᓇᖓᓐᓂ ᐃᓗᕕᒃᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐊᓈᓇᒐ ᔫᓯ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ. ᓱᓖᓛᒃ ᑕᐃᒪ ᐊᒥᓲᕗᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓚᒥᓂᒃ ᕿᓂᖅᑐᑦ ᓇᒥ ᐃᓗᕕᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᖔᑕ. ᖁᔭᓇᖅᐳᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᒥᓲᓂᖅᓴᑦ ᐅᑎᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᖕᒪᑕ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᕈᓐᓇᖅᓯᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑖᒃᑯᑐᑎᓇᖅ ᐅᑯᐊ ᐱᖓᓱᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᕋᖅᑖᖅᑐᑦ. “ᐅᑕᖅᑭᒍᓐᓇᕈᓘᔭᕋᑦᑕ ᑐᓵᑦᓯᐊᕈᓐᓇᖅᑐᑕᓗ” ᑖᓐᓇ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᐅᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᐅᓐᖏᒻᒪᕆᒃᑐᒧᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕕᓕᐊᕐᓂᑯᓄᑦ. ᐊᒥᓲᓪᓗᑕ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᕗᒍᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒃᑐᑦ ᐊᐅᓪᓚᖃᑦᑕᕐᓂᓐᖏᑉᐸᑕ ᓘᒃᑖᖅᑕᐅᓐᓂᓐᖏᑉᐸ ᐅᓪᓗᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᑦᓰᓐᓇᐅᓂᖅᓴᐅᒐᔭᖅᑐᑦ. ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᖕᓂᖅ ᓯᐊᕐᒪᒃᓴᕋᐃᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐅᕙᒍᑦ ᐃᓅᓕᓐᓂᐅᑎᖃᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᓐᖏᑦᑐᒍᑦ ᐳᕙᓪᓗᒃᑐᖅᓯᐅᑎᓂᒃ,ᐅᐱᓐᓇᕋᓂ ᐊᖏᔪᐊᓗᖕᒥᒃ ᖁᔭᓕᓂᖃᖅᐳᒍᑦ.

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FORTY BELOW Traditional Life in the Arctic Text and photos by Bryan and Cherry Alexander

C

old is synonymous with the Arctic, particularly during the winter months. In some areas, temperatures can plummet to minus 60°C and winds roar across the ice and tundra at more than 300 kph. It’s almost unbelievable that people have adapted to these extreme conditions to call the Arctic home. This only became possible with a simple invention some 100,000 years ago — the needle. After that, instead of throwing animal skins over their body to keep warm, people could make fitted, wind-proof, and well-insulated clothing. Arctic animals like seals, polar bear, caribou and fox are perfectly equipped to withstand intense cold, so hunters used their fur to make the garments they needed to survive.

From the 16th century when European explorers began venturing into the Arctic, the expeditions that fared best, like those of Knud Rasmussen and Robert Peary, often relied on local Inuit guides, and adopted their fur clothing and means of transport. One explorer, the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, famously commented: “The English have loudly and openly told the world that skis and dogs are unusable in these regions and that fur clothes are rubbish. We will see — we will see.”

For the people who live there, cold and wind may be the most severe features of an Arctic winter but, particularly at higher latitudes, darkness is also significant. In the Thule district of northwest Greenland, the most northerly native community, the Sun sets in late October and doesn’t appear again until the following February. Once, visiting an Inuit friend called Ituko, I asked how he felt during the darkness; I wanted to know if he got depressed, or had difficulty sleeping — the kind of symptoms Europeans experience in winter. Ituko laughed and told me he was much too busy hunting in the winter to feel depressed.

Qingaq paddles his floe-edge boat through frost smoke. Nunavut, Canada, 1990.

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Fortunately, famine is no longer a problem for Arctic peoples. In most native communities there are shops, and some larger places have supermarkets. But the cost of shipping into the Arctic makes imported foods extremely expensive, so while many young people prefer fried chicken and pizza, a lot of the older generation still eat traditional food such as caribou, seal, and whale – not only because it’s cheaper, but also because they enjoy it. Among the Inuit, a strong tradition of food sharing has endured to this day; when a hunter returns to Igloolik with game, he’ll often go on local radio and invite people to come and take some of it home. Similarly, in Ituko’s village of Moriussaq, he and another hunter together tended to provide most of the meat for its 60 inhabitants. He told me this with a little pride, since good hunters are always respected in Inuit society.

At dusk, Tatigat pulls aside the snow brick at the entrance to his igloo. Nunavut, Canada, 1993.

Between mid January and mid February, the Sun returns to most Arctic communities — an occasion long celebrated by the Inuit.

In the Igloolik area, there was an ancient belief that, on the first day the Sun reappears, the whole community must start a new life, so children were sent from house to house to blow out the flames of every qulliq (sealoil lamp). After the old wick had been extinguished, it was removed and a new one put in place, then the lamp was relit. In the late 1980s, this tradition was reintroduced to the hamlet, and Inuit communities across the Arctic hold similar festivities. Every February 17th in Qaanaaq, north Greenland, for example, villagers climb the mountain behind the village to catch their first glimpse of the Sun for four months. As its first rays appear, they sing a traditional song, and later they organize celebrations and traditional games in the community hall. It’s ironic that the Sun makes its dramatic reappearance in the Arctic at the very coldest time of the year.

Every Inuit community has its yearly cycle, in which hunters go to specific areas at particular times for different types of game. During the winter months, they normally fish until the ice gets too thick. With the return of the Sun and the longer days, hunting activities increase, and hunters often go further afield. Some will travel to the floe edge 32

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and hunt seal, while others head inland in search of caribou. During February and March, some hunters in northwest Greenland prepare to travel long distances to hunt polar bear — the ultimate quarry, particularly in the Thule district, where trousers are still made of polar-bear skin for its durability and warmth. Generally, hunters from the north of the district head to Smith Sound to hunt bears along the floe edge, while those from the south usually hunt them on the moving ice sheets of Melville Bay. Polar-bear hunts can last for a month or more, and if the hunters are unlucky and the wind blows from the wrong direction, they can get stuck out on moving ice sheets for weeks. Hunts involve travelling long distances across the frozen sea in a continual search for bears or fresh tracks, and hunters often climb icebergs to scan the surrounding ice for signs. Once a bear is sighted, the hunters give chase — they cut some of the huskies’ traces so the dogs can race ahead to the prey. Polar bears seem to have an instinctive fear of dogs, so they’ll sometimes respond by standing at bay, giving the hunters time to catch up and shoot. Today, the number of

Left: Qaavigannguaqq takes a breather while skinning a seal.

Northwest Greenland, 1980.

Above: Snowmobile crossing Pangnirtung Fiord, Nunavut, Canada 2008.

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Aipilik jigs for polar cod near Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada, 1990.

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polar bears that can be killed is strictly regulated — the annual quota for the whole Thule district is just 24.

The skin of an adult bear will usually provide three pairs of trousers, as well a great deal of meat, for a hunter and his family. The only part of the animal that isn’t used is the liver, which contains a very high concentration of vitamin A, making it poisonous to both men and dogs. This is something the early polar explorers discovered the hard way — many of them died after consuming it.

Throughout the winter, hunters continue to search for seals at breathing holes and also at the floe edge. In the northern part of the Thule district, they also hunt walrus; in winter, this is fraught with danger, and normally two or more men will hunt together. As well as requiring a plentiful supply of clams and other molluscs, walruses tend to stay where strong currents keep the sea ice thin so they can break through to breathe. As a result, hunters often have to walk for hours on newly formed ice, so thin that it bends under their weight. When a walrus surfaces, the hunter will get as close as possible to the hole before throwing his harpoon. If it finds its mark he quickly loops the harpoon line around an ice-pick, which he holds against his foot until the walrus is

Above: Qingaq, seal hunting at the floe edge near Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada, 1990.

Right: Thomasi rests inside an igloo. Nunavut, Canada, 1990.

Inuit hunters work as a team to drag a dead walrus up onto the sea ice. Pitoraavik, northwest Greenland, 1977.

forced to surface for breath.

At that moment, he kills it by shooting it in the head with a rifle. Standing on thin ice, holding a harpoon line with a wounded walrus on the end, is a heartstopping exercise, but hunters are prepared to risk it for the chance of a catch that can provide a ton of meat or more.

Once the walrus is dead, its carcass is hauled up onto the ice by either a team of dogs or a group of hunters. It’s then dragged to safer, thicker ice where it can be butchered — one particular Inuit favourite is clams fresh from the stomach of a newly killed walrus.

The flesh is also used for a popular Inuit delicacy called igunaq — to make it, meat is cut into pieces and placed in large bags sewn from the skin. These bags are sealed and buried under stones for a few months until their contents has fermented, and become tasty and tangy — it’s eaten raw. The Chukchi, Siberian hunters on the Bering Strait, ferment walrus meat in much the same way and call it kapalkhen. It’s not just the quantity of meat a walrus provides that makes it so desirable — the flesh and fat is also extraordinarily sustaining for both humans and their dogs. At the end of a cold day on the frozen sea, a meal of freshly boiled walrus will keep you warmer for much longer than seal.

Although in most coastal Inuit communities, hunters prey mainly on marine mammals, in some areas they also travel inland during the winter to hunt caribou or fish such as Arctic char and lake trout, using nets set under the ice. At this time of year, they also trap Arctic foxes — although markets for this fur have declined, Arctic peoples still use it to make clothing.

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Inuit Hunter Ituko catches little auks with a long-handled net, or ipu. Northwest Greenland, 1980

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The Arctic winter is long — in some areas, the sea is frozen for nine months, and there is snow on the land from September to June. The summer, when it eventually arrives, is short, but very welcome.

Inuit hunter Avataq tows a seal back to the floe edge.

Northwest Greenland, 1980.

Hunters in summer It’s a happy thing To feel warmth, Come to the great World And see the Sun Follow its old footsteps In the summer night.

Tatilgak, Inuit elder, early 20th century With the approach of Arctic summer, the thaw sets in. Snow gradually disappears from the land, and pools of melt-water form on the sea ice. The Sun remains above the horizon for 24 hours each day, compensating for the long months of winter darkness, yet summer temperatures in the high Arctic seldom rise much above 14°C. Despite the sunlight and warmer temperatures in mid-June, there are patches of snow on north facing-slopes. The sea and many of the lakes will still be covered in ice — in the past, I have travelled by snowmobile on sea ice as late as mid-July.

The Arctic’s short summer is a frenetic time for nature, with more than 200 species of migratory bird arriving to make the most of the 24-hour daylight and abundant food the Arctic has to offer. Of these, the Arctic tern is perhaps the most remarkable — it flies between Antarctica and the Arctic, experiencing two summers and completing an annual journey of about 70,900 km.

Despite the long winter and extreme sub-zero temperatures, about 760 floweringplant species manage to survive in the Arctic, though they become progressively more scarce north of the Arctic Circle. A wide variety of grasses, tubers, roots, stems, fireweed and edible seaweed were traditionally gathered and eaten by native peoples, providing a valuable source of vitamin C. Mountain cranberry, bilberry and cloudberry are both eaten fresh and stored for winter, and many native people still collect these, but they’re no longer so vital to their diet. Today, a year-round selection of fresh, canned, and frozen fruit is available in many shops.

In the same way as the midnight Sun makes up for months of winter darkness, the silence of Arctic winter is compensated for in summer by the clamour of bird song and the sound of running water.

Although nowadays most Inuit live in permanent villages rather than small, scattered camps, many families choose to leave their villages and head off to summer hunting places. For the children, it’s a time to have fun — with school holidays and 24-hour sunlight, they can play and explore the tundra all night and sleep all day if they choose.

For the men, summer is a busy time for hunting seals, walrus and whales, as well as for collecting birds’ eggs and fishing for migratory species like Arctic char and salmon.

On the Chukotka side of the Bering Strait, the Chukchi hunt walruses near their haul-outs, and also grey whales that arrive each summer to feed in the Arctic’s rich waters.

Traditionally, Inuit families used umiaks (open skin boats) and sealskin kayaks to travel to their summer camps, and in some Alaskan coastal communities, umiaks are still used to hunt bowhead whales, but these elegant craft have largely had their day, and most Inuit travel in glass-fibre boats with powerful outboard engines. In one area, however — the Thule district of northwest Greenland — the kayak is still used for summer hunting. Here, local regulations state that Inuit who hunt narwhal in Inglefield Bay must use traditional kayaks and hand-held harpoons.

This and a whole range of other longstanding local hunting regulations are designed to conserve game as well as Inuit culture. In addition, there’s an annual districthunting quota of 64 narwhal.

Traditional narwhal hunting requires a combination of patience, stealth, skill — and luck. Once the ice has gone and narwhal enter the bay to feed, hunters move to campsites along the shoreline that have a high vantage point and a good view of the water. This type of hunting is largely a waiting game during which hunters scan the surface of the bay through binoculars — they may have days, or even weeks, to wait. When they spot narwhal, that they think will pass close to their camp, the hunters take to their kayaks and paddle out into the bay. There, they wait silently — often positioning themselves close to drifting ice floes or pieces of glacial ice in an attempt at concealment. Stealth is paramount, since narwhal are easily alarmed by sudden movement, and even sunlight glinting off a wet paddle can cause them to dive.

Generally, these hunts are most successful on dull, overcast days. When a narwhal surfaces to breathe in front of a hunter, he paddles as fast as he can until he’s within range, then he hurls his harpoon — its toggle head is attached by a long line to an inflated sealskin float on the kayak deck. If the harpoon finds its mark, the hunter quickly throws the float into the water so it gets dragged down by the narwhal. Then, he waits for its reappearance to indicate where the creature will resurface; when this happens, another hunter will try to secure it with a second harpoon and maybe a third, before the narwhal is finally killed with a rifle or a lance. Then, it’s towed to shore for butchering.

The muktuk (skin) of the narwhal is very high in vitamin C, with the same content per 100 g as citrus fruit. Among Inuit right across the Arctic, muktuk is considered a delicacy. A bonus for the hunter is the spiral ivory tusk (sometimes two metres long or more) that protrudes from the head of the

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Above: Qingaq, seal hunting at the floe edge near Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada, 1990.

Below: Hunting seals in spring, Jeremias uses a white linen screen mounted on skis as camouflage. Northwest Greenland, 1997.

male narwhal — because of these, narwhal are sometimes referred to as ‘sea unicorns’. Although international trade in narwhal tusks is now illegal, they were much in demand in Victorian times, and the smaller ones were often made into walking sticks.

Narwhal is usually eaten fresh, but it’s also cut into strips and wind-dried for the winter. In other parts of the Arctic like the Bering Strait, Inuit and coastal Chukchi peoples hunt larger baleen whales like the bowhead and the grey. An adult bowhead can weigh over 60 tons and provide very large quantities of both muktuk and meat. (Also considered a delicacy in Chukotka, the tongue of a grey whale can weigh up to one ton). Meat and muktuk are shared among a community, with much of it being stored for winter.

With Arctic temperatures below freezing for much of the year, preserving food is no problem. In areas where they use sled dogs, it’s often stored on high meat racks outside, out of the reach of hungry huskies. Elsewhere, it’s buried under rocks or in pits dug in the permafrost, which acts as a freezer. During the summer, fish, whale and caribou can also be wind-dried.

Late summer is also a popular time for hunting caribou, since the animals are normally at their fattest after spending the summer grazing, and their fur is usually in good condition for making clothes. In many areas, the best time is just as autumn approaches, when the caribou gather in large herds before they migrate south to their winterfeeding areas.

In north Greenland, by the end of August, the days of the midnight Sun are over. It sinks lower in the sky, and once again dips below the horizon at night. Each day becomes shorter by 20 minutes. At night, the temperature dips below 0°C, the first dusting of snow falls on the hilltops, and ice begins to form again on lakes and in sheltered bays along the coast. Once the sea starts to freeze, it becomes difficult for the

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Inuit to hunt, as there is a period that can last several weeks when there is too much ice for boating, but the ice is not thick enough to support dog sleds or snowmobiles. Once there has been a long-enough period of cold to thicken the sea ice, vast winter-hunting grounds open up.

Until the 1980s, local people expected the sea in Inglefield Bay to freeze during the second week of October.

Now, the Arctic’s changing climate has made the timing of freeze-up impossible to predict. In recent years, it has been happening anything from one to two months later than normal, and the sea ice has been breaking up about a month early in the summer – it seems to be a similar story all over the Arctic. What’s more, the winter ice tends to be thinner and more hazardous, and many glaciers in north Greenland have become increasingly dangerous, and in some cases impassable. For hunters who depend on the sea ice as a highway to both their hunting grounds and neighbouring communities, the changing ice conditions have brought many problems, but climate change is not all bad news. In Chukotka, a hunter from Uelen told me that, because the sea was freezing later, grey whales were staying later in the autumn, giving hunters more opportunity. The Arctic’s indigenous peoples have experienced climate change in the past — the key to their survival is adaptation. Providing they keep their traditional culture, hunting peoples like the Inuit and Chukchi are in a far better position to survive climate change than those who live in the world’s great cities.

Editor’s Note: All photos and text published here represent unaltered excerpts from Bryan and Cherry Alexander’s fascinating hard-bound book titled, Forty Below, Traditional Life in the Arctic. The book, first released November 2011, is available for purchase online by visiting: www.arcticapublishing.com

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A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N

Nunavut throat-singers Cynthia Pitsiulak and Annie Aningmiuq from Pangnirtung on stage in Hamburg, Germany. © ELKE EMSHOFF

Nunavut Throat-singers Enthral Audiences in Germany and Austria

nternationally acclaimed harpist Rüdiger Oppermann’s Klangwelten 2011 (Festival of World Music), billed as a musical exploration “between the Archaic and Utopia” is a captivating three-hour world music journey that travels across the strikingly unique musical sights and sounds of six different cultures.

This year, the 25th Klangwelten 2011 was performed in 40 different cities and towns: in concert halls, theatres, churches, arts and culture centres, school halls, and in folklore clubs throughout Germany and in Austria. The tour’s demanding schedule required the ensemble to travel from one locale to the next on a near-daily basis for evening performances before packed halls, most of which were sold out.

The Hamburg concert, December 6, given before an audience of about 500 in the large Johannis Church, began with an introduction by Rüdiger Oppermann about the group’s members, their instruments and singing techniques.

Once the actual performances began, the audience warmed immediately to the talented artists, prompting exuberant whistles and impromptu rounds of applause that only served to elevate their individual and collective performances to even higher levels of musicianship and artistry. © HENDRIK JOHN

I

March/April 2012

Cynthia and Annie performing.

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A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N

The joint performance of harpists Rüdiger Oppermann and Park Stickney, who played contemporary and jazz music on their two harps, was truly remarkable. They synchro-

Klangwelten 2011 performers were: • Rüdiger Oppermann, Germany, harp • Katajaq Duo, Nunavut, magical throat singing and sounds of nature • Enkh Jargal, Mongolia, shamanistic throat singing and horse violin (ikili) • Tata Dindin, Gambia/Africa, kora (double bridge harp lute) and singing • Park Stickney, New York, jazz harp • Terrence Ngassa, Cameroon, Africa’s best jazz trumpeter and sounds of nature • Agus/Wahyu Rhythm Explosion, Java, gendang drums, gamelan instruments, chanting • Jatinder Thakur, India, tabla (combined two hand drums) and chanting

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nized perfectly, building their throat-song to a full throttle crescendo of symphonic sound tempered throughout by softer, gentler undulations.

But it was one of the most highly anticipated featured acts of the evening, Nunavut’s Katajaq Duo, Cynthia Pitsiulak from Kimmirut and Annie Aningmiuq who hails from Pangnirtung, that may have stolen the show. They were first to appear dressed in traditional Inuit attire standing very closely facing each other with barely enough space for a microphone between them. Their performance introduced not only Inuit culture to a curious audience, but also demonstrated what Arctic throat singing was all about.

Once Cynthia and Annie slowly began to inhale and exhale their breaths, picking up speed and building crescendo and suspense in doing so, the audience listened in rapt attention as they began to sway to the rhythm of their songs, adding gasps to their quick and heavy breathing, creating highly unique visuals and sounds that European eyes and ears were seldom attuned to.

The rising tones of their throat-singing seemed to intertwine, becoming transforma-

March/April 2012

© ELKE EMSHOFF

© HENDRIK JOHN

tive, taking both singers and the audience into the animal realm and spiritual world to hear caribou calls, wolf howls, polar bear hisses, bird songs and spirit voices.

Once Cynthia’s and Annie’s performance ended, a moment of awed silence filled the church… then the applause came… and came, as if not wanting to end, and in fact not ending until the evening’s moderator intervened to introduce the next scheduled musicians.

At the end of Part I of the concert, all of the evening performers came together on stage.

Central Asia throat-singer, Enkh Jargal joined Cynthia and Annie. The addition of his deepvoiced and overtone-swinging throat-singing to that of the two Nunavut women created a very unusual, melodic and thrilling sound and song experience that had never before been created or heard beyond this concert, leaving the audience agog in wonderment and appreciation.

After a break of about 30 minutes, Part II of the concert again featured the various artists, this time wearing traditional garb, playing and singing in groups of two. The ensemble performance of the Indonesian drummers from Java, Agus and Wahyu, plus the tabla drummer from India, proved highly exciting and engaging — building a tremulous wave of sound throughout the venue that sent the church windows, figurettes, statues, paintings and audience a-tremble.

When the concert came to an end, close to 11:30 p.m., all the musicians again mounted

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A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N

© HENDRIK JOHN

the stage together, drumming, singing, trumpeting, harp playing, and fiddling. Again, Cynthia and Annie were a great attraction; their throat singing along with the other voices and instruments created an exciting, colourful background of sight and sound. So far from home, yet they had once more given Europe an exclusive glimpse into their culture and their souls with their Inuit song.

Inuqaatigisiaqta — let us be good people for each other!

The Origin of Throat-singing

Jürgen Boden Story contributor, Jürgen Boden, is the co-owner and publisher of Alouette Verlag, Germany. He is also the editor of the book Canada North of Sixty featuring essays by northern writers and personalities such as Ann Meekitjuk Hanson and pictures by northern photographers.

Author’s Note: Gifted documentary filmmaker Hendrik John filmed the Hamburg concert, as he had the other concert locations. He accompanied Rüdiger Oppermann on various trips to many countries where Oppermann sought out new talent and musical styles unknown to Europeans.

Immediately following the Hamburg concert, Hendrik rushed to edit his documentary about Klangwelten so that at the last concert in Karlsruhe on December 20 the preview version of the film could be publicly shown to mark the 25th anniversary of the concert series. It is hoped that his final version of the film will air on German TV in 2012.

Though my wife Elke and I had visited Baffin Island, the Kivalliq and High Arctic several times in the past and heard throat-singing on TV at that time, we wanted to know more.

Asking our Nunavummiut friend, Ann Meekitjuk Hanson, about the history and background of this special type of throat singing, she answered with the following: “Throat-singing was a girl’s game; now it has become an entertainment. We used to throat-sing imitating the sounds we knew: birds, wind, animals or anything new. The touching is just to be near each other or for support. The movements are there to create or to follow the rhythm of one’s song.

We sing to last longer than our partner. We laugh at the end because we are secretly trying to get her to stop first so we can be the winner! It is a game to see who lasts longer.

When I was broadcasting for CBC in the 1960s and 1970s, I interviewed two women

Canada’s Leading Retailer of Inuit Arts & Crafts

and asked them to throat-sing. They were shy at first. Then I told them that we were losing our game, the little girls throatsinging songs which we don’t hear anymore — then they finally agreed. We had so much fun remembering the times when we were living on the land and creating the sounds with our throats and breath.

Then I aired the songs. There were mixed reactions in the beginning, but then people were so pleased to hear the old songs again, the laughter and fun. There was only one caller saying she/he didn’t want to hear these old things because ‘we don’t need it anymore.’ Fortunately I didn’t listen to that caller and we continued to air throat-singing songs. Today, it is so popular at events, not only in Nunavut but also outside of the North. So, we nearly lost throat-singing, if it weren’t for those two women who brought it back to life on air for everyone to hear.”

“Moving Forward”

by Temela Aqpik, Kimmirut, Nunavut

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A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N

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Order of Canada Recipients Passion for the North Recognized

J

uly 1, 2010 at 1:24 pm. Nuuk, Greenland. For

A year and a half later, on December 30, 2011, these

the last four days, Inuit from Canada, Russia,

photographs take a totally different significance when

Greenland and Alaska assemble in Greenland’s

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston,

capital for the 11th General Assembly of the Inuit

Governor General of Canada, announces that both

Circumpolar Council. During an intermission in the

individuals are being appointed to the Order of Canada.

official proceedings, the paths of two participants

Both are being recognized for their contributions to

cross. Their encounter lasts a brief seven minutes.

Canada’s North, its people, its culture: a passion they

Neither of them knows who the other person is. Not a

share. Who are they? How did their encounter come

single word is exchanged. Yet, for both, this moment

about?

becomes one of the highlights of their presence in Nuuk. Luckily, one of them has immortalized their chance encounter with his camera.

March/April 2012

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© BOB DAVIS

© HANS-LUDWIG BLOHM (2)

A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N

Aaju Peter Aaju was born in northern Greenland. In her early 20s, when both Inuktitut and English were foreign languages to her, she emigrated to Canada to follow a young hunter who had won her heart. In her new home in Iqaluit she quickly learned both languages and rediscovered the Inuit culture she had lost.

Obviously Aaju developed a passion for her culture and took every opportunity she could to learn about its history, its traditions, and its language. But when Aaju sets her mind on something, she doesn’t only do it partially!

Aaju did not only learn English and Inuktitut, she became an interpreter and translator.

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Aaju did not only learn the techniques to make centuries-old sealskin clothes, she became a designer of contemporary clothes that are inspired by traditional Inuit designs.

Aaju did not only learn Inuit songs, she became an accomplished musician and a recorded performer and songwriter.

Aaju did not only hear about the beautiful ancient tradition of tunniit (facial tattoos), she participated in interviewing elders and documenting this once forbidden and almost forgotten tradition. Then, in August 2009, she was one of five Inuit women who allowed this ancient art live again by having their faces and hands tattooed. She did it for the younger generation, to show her pride for her culture, to take ownership of an art that was once part of Inuit identity.

Aaju did not only read about social and cultural issues in Nunavut, she embraced the seal-hunting heritage. To ensure that Inuit concerns about the European ban on the trade of seal products are addressed and voiced, she became an activist and obtained her degree in international law. For years now, she has been protesting, lobbying, speaking and publishing articles on the importance of sealing for Inuit livelihood and culture. In 2011, Aaju was the recipient of the Bernard Cahill Memorial Award, given by the Fur Institute of Canada to recognize the promotion of respect for people, animals and the environment.

Oh! Did I mention Aaju did all of that while raising a family of five children.

March/April 2012

Hans-Ludwig Blohm Born in Germany to a father who was an accomplished amateur photographer, Hans’s passion for photography was sparked at a very young age. At 25, as he was hitchhiking through Lapland, he crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time. Little did he know that the next time he would set foot in the Arctic would be 25 years later accompanied by his teenage daughter! During that period, Hans obtained his Master Carpenter credentials, immigrated to Canada, married and established his family in Ottawa. As he was about to turn 40, time had come for his passion, photography, to become his profession.

From rural school photographer to darkroom technician, from freelance cameraman to operating a wire service and partner in a photography business, Hans’s skills, versatility and reputation have continually grown. In 1966, he branched out on his own.

Looking back at the great variety of his work, Hans admits that “from tiniest microchips to huge murals, from small stamps to very large internationally running exhibits, from aerials to architectural, from books and photo-journalism to informal portraits and scientific subjects, from travel and advertising to the people of the North in their great country, all filled me with great joy and I keep on learning”.

The aspect of his work that moved him most and brought him most pride and recognition is his time spent up in the Arctic. For more than 30 years, he has been travelling across the Arctic in all seasons and under all conditions,

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capturing its beauty, its history and its spirit.

Elder gatherings, Inuit inmates in penal/halfway institutions, milestone events leading up to the establishment of Nunavut, highway construction, to name just a few, are all events immortalized by Hans’s lens. His book The Voices of the Natives: The Canadian North and Alaska, which includes essays from Northerners along with a selection of his photographs, is a testimony of his love and respect for the land and its people.

As Peter Irniq, then Commissioner of Nunavut, summarized it so well in a 2001 letter, “Hans is a true ‘Ambassador’. He is our voice in southern Canada and the world. He has also become a good friend of us Northerners — we trust him”.

Paths Cross Now, back in Nuuk, Greenland, July 1, 2010.

Early afternoon. The official conference procedures are underway. In the centre of the u-shape conference installation, where all delegates can see it, the traditional qulliq is burning. Aaju is sitting in the audience when she notices that the qulliq needs to be tended to. Unfortunately, she cannot interrupt the conference. Her anxiety level goes up one notch and she starts asking around for someone to go tend it. The president of Greenland who lit it earlier in the day is not available and no one present knows how to do it. She has no choice but must do it herself. But first, out of respect for the Inuit culture and the qulliq itself, she needs to put on a traditional outfit.

Luckily, it is also time for a recess in the proceedings. As soon as she can, Aaju walks towards the qulliq, takes the tending stick and proceeds with the traditional gestures of

making the flame more contained. At the same time, she sings a traditional song reminding us all how we need to care for the environment and how important wildlife and seal are.

Without their fat, the qulliq could not be lit.

“I felt intimidated because it was not my place to tend the lamp as I had not been invited to do so. But, at the same time, I felt honoured to have received the call to tend the lamp. It is such a fundamental part of our culture,” Aaju remembers.

Shortly after Aaju finishes her song, Hans walks by. With his trained eye always on the lookout for a special moment to immortalize, Hans notices her. Over the last four days, he has photographed and has been by the qulliq at various occasions. “But this time, I noticed something totally different happening and it fascinated me! I moved right in, close to get some shots of the very interesting human being whom I didn’t know who she was nor where she came from. But what fascinated me was her personality, the tattoos on her and the way she responded to me. I feel sometimes I was perhaps a bit too pushy but I saw some possibilities and she reacted to me. This is why we have the reflections of her hands in the oil. I had to move freely and I’m not afraid to do that under those circumstances and I’m very happy about it,” he recalls.

The photo session goes rather swiftly as Hans does not want to be in the way of other photographers nor does he want to interfere in any way with the procedure of the conference.

All communications between the two of them is done through their eyes. Seven minutes later, they part but both quickly inquire who the

March/April 2012

© BOB DAVIS

A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N

other person is. Aaju knew of Hans but she had no clue he was the person standing in front of her a few minutes ago. As soon as he returns home in Ottawa, Hans hurries to send some of the photos to Aaju. She is delighted and feels honoured that Hans felt compelled to take photos of that very meaningful moment for her.

In hindsight, Hans immensely regrets not having taken the opportunity to speak with Aaju. Undoubtedly, when their paths cross once again at Rideau Hall, they will have much to say to one another. This ceremony will also bear a very special meaning for Hans who was one of the few accredited photographers to attend the very first Order of Canada ceremony on November 24, 1967. Congratulations Aaju!

Congratulations Hans! May your paths cross again many more times!

France Rivet France Rivet lives in Gatineau, QC. She loves sharing her passion for the North through her photos, writings and presentations. You can follow her adventures and see more of her work at polarhorizons.com.

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Northern Nutrition

Drafting the recipe for a new northern diet t is an understatement to point out that lifestyles among Inuit in Nunavut have changed dramatically in just a couple of generations.

Nothing less than a radical transformation has altered the lives of a nomadic people who have traditionally thrived on physical exercise, fresh air, and a diet exclusively based on highly nutritious foods from the land and sea.

Those foods — and an unprecedented array of store-bought foods that now arrive in the North on planes and boats — lie at the heart of this transformation. As the traditional “country” food has been displaced to different degrees in many people’s diet, many of the new items on the menu are revealing themselves to be poor substitutes.

Nor does it help that human beings appear to be hard-wired to prefer salty, sweet, and fatty foods. Such foods arrive without any cultural context in the North, where there has been no experience passed from generation to generation about how such products should be consumed. Instead, people simply follow their preference for some of the less healthy choices, which drives up rates of obesity, malnutrition, and other related conditions.

Jennifer Wakegijig, Nunavut’s Territorial Nutritionist, is working with her colleagues on a variety of initiatives to address this problem.

Their efforts emphasize the value of traditional foods, while also underlining the importance of making the healthiest possible choices when store-bought foods are chosen. This work led to the recent release of a new edition of the Nunavut Food Guide, the result of two years’ effort examining the latest health evidence and feedback from community focus groups.

While the guide is intended to have plain language messaging that is accessible to the general public, it has been designed as a valuable teaching tool for teachers, nurses, and other health professionals.

“It’s a clear, plain language tool that has all kinds of key health messages related to food and eating and family health,” says Wakegijig, noting that she would especially like to see it in the hands of the territory’s community health workers. “These are local community members who may not have very much formal training, who do health promotion programming, such as providing cooking classes and other nutrition education in communities.”

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“The hope that we can shift the tides in peoples’ eating habits rests with those community workers and we need to invest in them,” adds Wakegijig, who describes them as front-line workers whose work has the potential to prevent many of the health calamities that have devastated aboriginal communities elsewhere in Canada. Diabetes

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A R T S , C U LT U R E & E D U C AT I O N remains the most prominent of these problems.

Warning signals, such as increasing obesity rates and increasing rates of pre-diabetes, are already on the horizon, and childhood obesity is also emerging as a considerable concern.

The incidence of this disease remains lower in Nunavut than elsewhere, but Wakegijig suggests that this may be because people in the region have only shifted away from traditional lifestyles in recent decades. She sees the potential for similar patterns (high rates of diabetes) to emerge here unless significant lifestyle changes take place, particularly with respect to eating habits and physical activity.

This is why the food guide and other nutrition education initiatives have become a top priority.

The simple four-page document is full of colourful images that are meant to foster reflection and discussion about the most appropriate diet for Canada’s contemporary North. The expressly Nunavut character of the guide is immediately evident in dominant images of the ulu, the iconic Inuit food-cutting knife. While there is little text, an intricate array of images includes the wide variety of animals that are traditional “country” foods, juxtaposed with examples of healthy store-bought foods.

In contrast to many earlier food guides, even those aimed at aboriginal populations, items such as salty snacks and soft drinks are bluntly labelled as “unhealthy”. There is also a section to broach the concept of good versus bad fats, along with recommendations to make water a primary drink.

“People talk about healthy food as very expensive; well, I like to reply that unhealthy food is too,” says Wakegijig.“People spend a lot of money on pop. The average Nunavummiuk drinks two to four cans a day, at $2 to $4 a can.

When you do the math, it adds up to about $1,500 a year for the average person, or more than $100 a month just on pop. Recent studies indicate that as much as half of the money spent on food and drink at the store by most Nunavummiut is spent on “treats” such as pop, chips and candy.

If freely available water displaces pop in the diet, then, money is freed up for healthier groceries, such as fruits and vegetables.

Clarifying such options is a key aspect of the challenge that is being taken up by the food guide. Susan Beaubier, a nutrition consultant who has worked in the field of Aboriginal nutrition for more than 40 years, began her career in Igloolik in 1969, where it was already evident to her that the influx of southern

foods was going to be highly disruptive.

“Food and eating was just how you lived,” she recalls.“Country food was the norm; store food was simply an add-on. You went into people’s homes and there was always a piece of cardboard with typically a seal on it, or a piece of caribou.”

For many reasons, including multiple pressures both overt and subtle, the transition from a nomadic hunting society to that of a more urbanized, cash-based economy has resulted in a decrease in hunting and a greater reliance on store foods.

Hunting and fishing have become expensive propositions requiring access to vehicles and fuel and time away from wage-based work.

While it varies community by community, country food is less available. Meanwhile, Beaubier spent much of her time relating the crucial distinctions between eating well from the land and from the stores.

“To go into the grocery store and buy something to eat isn’t as simple as it often seems,” she says. She likes to make that point in a somewhat humorous way by asking young people to compare her skill set with

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that of their grandfathers. While it amuses them greatly to think of her struggling to match him in hunting a caribou or seal, she reminds them that spending money to buy food in a store also requires knowledge, skills and experience.

“You start talking about how to select a nutritious meal out of the grocery store, one

that would be equal to what the caribou or seal would be,” she says. “Grandpa, like most shoppers, would have to decipher many uncommon words, in small print, and make sense out of the nutrient values (i.e. food labels), he’d have to determine the best nutritional value for his dollar, and on it goes.

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and skills. And it’s worth gaining those skills and building them up.”

Following the launch of the Nunavut Food Guide at the end of 2011, Wakegijig and her colleagues have continued to pursue this skills education process. They have assembled a set of 10 nutritious, healthy recipes using traditional and store foods, accompanied by videos showing the details of their preparation, and a toolkit is currently being developed for community workers with clear how-to’s and useful tools for nutrition education activities in communities.

In addition to this work to support community workers directly, the Nunavut nutritionists have also been exploring a partnership with the stores that sell food in the territory, and they are pleased at the level of partnership that is emerging. Not only are the stores planning to make copies of the food guide and recipes available, but also, they are donating space and equipment to make it easier for community workers to promote healthy eating. Wakegijig notes, “These kinds of partnerships can go a long way toward making it easier for people to make healthy choices.

“What these businesses are showing me is that they care about these communities too,” she concludes. “They’re willing to spend money to try to shift the balance of people’s choices to healthier foods. And retailers will be among the many partners who are needed to build a community of a meaningful change in Nunavut to encourage healthy eating habits.”

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NORTHERN BOOKSHELF

Great reads for all ages The Ice Balloon: S. A. Andrée and the Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration Alec Wilkinson, Knopf Canada, 2012 In this grand and astonishing tale, Alec Wilkinson brings us the story of S. A. Andrée, the Swedish aeronaut who, in 1897, during the great age of Arctic endeavour, left to discover the North Pole by flying to it in a hydrogen balloon. In addition to portraying the period, The Ice Balloon gives us a brief history of the exploration of the northern polar regions, both myth and fact, including detailed versions of the two recordsetting expeditions just prior to Andrée’s — one led by U.S. Army lieutenant Adolphus Greely from Ellesmere Island; the other by Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian explorer who initially sought to reach the pole by embedding his ship in the pack ice and drifting toward it with the current. Andrée’s flight and the journey, based on the expedition’s diaries and photographs, dramatically recovered 33 years after the balloon came down, along with Wilkinson’s research, provide a book filled with suspense and adventure, high ambition and courage.

Treasure Under the Tundra: Canada’s Arctic Diamonds L.D. Cross, Heritage House Publishing, 2011 It is said that the sparkle from Canadian diamonds mimics the awesome and seductive radiance of the northern lights. Yet until 1991, no one thought diamonds could even be found in Canada — no one except geologists Chuck Fipke and Stu Blusson who uncovered diamond-rich kimberlite in the Barrens at Point Lake in the Northwest Territories. Their spectacular discovery caused great excitement in international diamond circles and sparked the largest claim-staking rush in Canada since the 1896 Klondike gold rush. The two geologists sank their lives and savings into their belief that they’d find diamonds in the Barrens, and the story of their quest is a dramatic tale of perseverance in the face of immense odds.

Yellowknife Catholic Schools

Where Learning Lights the Spirit!

From Far and Wide: A Complete History of Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty Peter Pigott, Dundurn Press Ltd., 2011 Is Canada’s North a state of mind or simply the lands and waters above the 60th parallel? In searching for the ill-fated Franklin Expedition in the 19th century, Britain’s Royal Navy mapped and charted most of the Arctic Archipelago. In 1874, then Canadian Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie agreed to take up sovereignty of all the Arctic to keep the United States and Tsarist Russia out. But there wasn’t much need to send police or military expeditions to the North. Not only was there little tribal warfare between the Inuit or First Nations but there were few white settlers to protect and the “forts” were mainly trading posts. From Far and Wide recounts exclusively the historic activities of the Canadian military in Canada’s North in the early 20th century.

Où l’apprentissage refléte l’esprit!

Yedài Nezįᶖ T’à Hoghàgoetǫ

École St. Joseph School

École St. Patrick High School

Weledeh Catholic School

Grades K–8 English Grades K–8 French Immersion Principal: Gillian Dawe-Taylor Ph: (867) 920-2112 Fax: (867) 873-9207 489 Range Lake Road, Box 728 Yellowknife, NT X1A 2N5

Grades 9–12 English/French Immersion Principal: Coleen McDonald Ph: (867) 873-4888 Fax: (867) 873-5732 5010–44th Street, Box 2880 Yellowknife, NT X1A 2R2

Grades K–8 English Principal: Simone Gessler Ph: (867) 873-5591 Fax: (867) 873-8578 5023–46th Street, Box 1650 Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P2

Our district provides a strong, moral, ethical environment for our students. We encourage a loving, Christian perspective which supports Catholic principles and thought.

Central Services Office: Claudia Parker, Superintendent Box 1830 5124–49th Street, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P4 Ph: (867) 766-7400 Fax: (867) 766-7401

Years 0 6 g n i t a r b Cele ucation d E c i l o h t a of C www.ycs.nt.ca

STUDENTS FROM ALL RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS ARE RESPECTED… AND WELCOMED! March/April 2012

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INUIT FORUM

Getting down to business often talk about the dramatic political and social transformations that Inuit society in Canada has undergone in the past several decades. But recently I had the opportunity to talk business with Northern and Southern business leaders, first at the 2012 Northern Lights Business Showcase in Ottawa, and then at the Toronto Board of Trade.

I talked about how, from a business perspective, the changes we have seen across the Arctic over the last 50 years have been quite extraordinary — unlike anywhere else in Canada. And how it will take some strategic investments to sustain the current level of growth.

Years ago, when land claims were still a foreign concept to many people, the business community in the Arctic consisted of a Hudson’s Bay store, and very little else. Today, you’ll find businesses of all kinds and sizes — many of them Inuit-owned.

That transformation did not come easily.

The phenomenal growth we have witnessed in the Arctic is related in part to an investment environment that is a product of many years of negotiations and struggle. It’s hard to forget that Northern economies were once largely controlled by Southern interests. It’s equally apparent, however, that those days are over.

Inuit have become major investors throughout the Arctic. And Southern investors who seek to develop our natural resources must expect that they will do so only in partnership with Inuit.

Quite simply, it is an exciting time to be a business person in the Arctic today. Yet it is within this dynamic environment that we encounter the great paradox of Inuit Nunangat.

How is it that in Nunavut, as an example, where the GDP rose by an astonishing 15 per cent last year, there is a shortage of labour —

© ITK ARCHIVES

© PATRICIA D’SOUZA / ITK

I

While signals point to an economic boom in the Arctic, the reality is that a growing education deficit in Inuit Nunangat is preventing many Inuit from fully participating in the workforce.

and unemployment can be as high as 70 per cent in some communities?

As the Territorial Premiers pointed out in their 2007 Northern Vision document, the North has critical shortages of qualified homegrown workers — men and women with trades skills and professional qualifications.

So while all the signals are pointing to an economic boom unfolding in the Arctic over the next decade or two or four, the stark reality is that many of our people will be unable to participate in the economy.

We have an education deficit in Inuit Nunangat, and as Canadians we have a moral and ethical responsibility to pay down this debt by investing in education. In fact, this responsibility is so great it cannot be government’s alone. After all, it takes a community to educate a child. That’s the central message of First Canadians, Canadians First: The National Strategy on Inuit Education.

We know, of course, that some families are struggling to get their children to school every day rested and well fed. And this is

where the business community can make a difference: by supporting breakfast programs and after-school programs that provide that extra bit of support.

Businesses can provide a critical link between schools and the labour force by encouraging financial literacy, and sponsoring apprenticeships, work placements and continuing education for employees. They can also provide scholarships, and major program investments in areas related to their expertise.

Inuit-owned corporations have a role to play as well. I believe our major resource development agreements should pay a regular education dividend for community-based education projects aimed at keeping our children in school.

We can change things together. For businesses, it’s quite practical — they are building a workforce, a client base. For our children, they are making dreams come true.

Mary Simon

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami 75 Albert Street, Suite 1101 Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7 t. (613) 238.8181

March/April 2012

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arctic exotica

Northern Lights 2012 Cutting-edge craft, fine art and fresh new clothing design creations by visiting artisans from Nunavut and Nunatsiavut were all on display at the Ottawa Convention Centre, February 1-4, 2012. Š PIERRE DUNNIGAN (10)

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ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓅᖓᔪᖅ, ᐊᑲᕐᕆᓇᖅᑐᖅ, ᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᖃᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ

Nunallaat, Ihuarniq, Atuttiarniq Community, Comfort, Convenience

ᑲᓲᑎᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᑉ ᖄᖓᒍᑦ

Haniliriikhutik Hilarjuap Qulaani Spanning the Top of the World

© MICHELLE VALBERG (4)

X9o6 fxX2 yi6b3F4, x3Fx5, kNK5 Padlei Hotel, Arviat, Nunavut

www.InnsNorth.com ☎ 1-888-To-North ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓂ- ᓇᒻᒥᓂᕆᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᑐᔪᕐᒥᕖᑦ, ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᑦᑐᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᓕᒫᒥ.

Nunalinni-namminirijaujut tujurmiviit, kajjiqatigiittut upiuqtaqtulimaami.

Locally-owned hotels, working together across the Arctic.

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First in Customer Service Every day our team of 1000 dedicated employees puts YOU FIRST with our commitment to exceptional customer service and the best northern flight schedule to 30 Northern destinations. ᖃᐅᑕᒫᑦ 1 000 ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᕗᑦ ᐊᖏᖅᓯᒪᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᒃ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᐅᑎᑦᑎᕗᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᑎᕈᒪᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐱᐅᓂᖅᐹᖑᔪᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᑲᐅᓂᖅᐹᖑᔪᒥᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᖃᑦᑕᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᔪᒪᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓄᑦ 3 0- ᓄᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒦᑦᑐᓄᑦ.

Baker Lake Team Left to Right: Tracy Nateela, Ryan and Emily Tapatai, Adrienne Iyago and in the back Abraham Iksiraq