EdgeYK June/July 2017

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June/July 2017

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CONTENTS

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ISSUE 33

June/July 2017 COVER Headpiece by: Nigit'stil Norbert Model: Nigit'stil Norbert Photo by: Angela Gzowski nigitstil.com angelagzowski.com

Contributors

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Front EDGE

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15

40

25 COME DANCE WITH US

Gho-Bah/Gombaa's circle of 200 northern drummers promises to break records and break down barriers towards reconciliation Lawrence Nayally land have influenced Dene fashion then and now Kyla Kakfwi-Scott

28 DECISIONS, DECISIONS:

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GHO-BAH/GOMBAA: THE FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday started probing what reconciliation could look like for people here. The result, one of the territory’s largest-ever arts projects, is taking over downtown on National Aboriginal Day Leela Gilday

EDGITORIAL Beading Heart: The meaning behind my red beaded headpiece Nigit’stil Norbert FOUND FOOD Morels, sundried tomatoes and arugula pasta Amy Lam GET-UP-AND-GO SUMMER OF 2017 MIX We know best-selling author Richard Van Camp likes to crank the tunes when he writes. With 20 books to his credit, we asked the frenetic storyteller to put together a playlist of his top 10 summer songs Richard Van Camp

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A MINING FLOWCHART Yellowknife’s past — and present — have been centred around the resource industry. As for its future? We’ve got some tough choices to make Tim Edwards

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A LIFE IN PIECES Paul Andrew was born on the land in the Mackenzie Mountains and raised in a strong Shuhtoatine Dene family, until residential school. Here he tells the story of “Joe,” a character based on his own experience, and how he came to cross the divide from hate to forgiveness Paul Andrew

53 SMILE, THIS WON’T HURT A BIT

Ollie Williams’ first trip to the dentist in nearly two decades is a jawdropping experience in more ways than one Ollie Williams

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40 DENE STYLIN’

From museum collections of clothing and accessories to Hollywood's red carpet, Kyla Kakfwi-Scott explores the ways politics, artistry and the

DOOK'S LOOK BACK Goodbye Tall Trees: The tallest trees for miles were felled in the name of progress, proving once again, you can’t fight city hall Catherine Dook OLD TOWN VERSIFIER Seasonal affected dis-order Anthony Foliot

62 EDGEYK EVENTS

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Celebrating the future

while remembering the past.

On June 21st, we celebrate National Aboriginal Day. This is an opportunity for all Northerners to celebrate the rich and diverse cultures of the Northwest Territories’ Aboriginal people and the role they have played in shaping the territory we have today. In the NWT, we recognize this day as a statutory holiday demonstrating our strong commitment to honour the Dene, Inuvialuit and Métis people of our territory.

Many partners are working together on Aboriginal language preservation and revitalization in the NWT. We look forward to sharing the NWT Aboriginal Languages Framework: A Shared Responsibility. Language speakers, wisdom keepers, Aboriginal Governments, and Elders of the NWT shaped the Framework. With their guidance and with continued open dialogue, the GNWT is committed to the work ahead.

Robert R. McLeod Premier of the Northwest Territories

Our territory is proud to be part of Canada as our country celebrates its 150th Anniversary.

However, it is important to recognize that not everyone’s experience of the last 150 years has been positive. We must acknowledge and learn from the past, and at the same time, celebrate the accomplishments we’ve achieved working together.

One such example is the role NWT Aboriginal residents played with early patrols of the RCMP. Special Constables, guides, interpreters and seamstresses of the North ensured the survival of the RCMP members as they brought policing throughout the North. I hope you can join us to honour and celebrate these groups with a new exhibit at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, opening at 7:00 pm on August 3, 2017. View more details at the newly launched GNWT Canada 150 site www.canada150.eia.gov.nt.ca.

On National Aboriginal Day, and throughout this year, I invite all residents to celebrate our country and our territory for what they are, an exciting work in progress. And I encourage all Northerners to embrace the wealth of traditions, lifestyles, and languages that make up the fabric of the Northwest Territories.

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CONTRIBUTORS

NIGIT'STIL NORBERT Nigit'stil Norbert is a multidisciplinary artist originally from and based out of Denendeh, Yellowknife. Her art has toured Canada and the U.S. and her most recent body of work, Beading Heart, which focuses on the Nagwichoonjik/Dehcho/ Mackenzie River – the beating heart of North America’s entire water system – will exhibit in 2018 (see cover and p. 9). Norbert is passionate about politics and engaging with her community, with a focus on strengthening and empowering youth voices and growth when it comes to avenues of creative expression.

CODY FENNELL Cody Fennell is a Yellowknife-born-and-raised Metis artist.

Cody graduated from his humble beginnings doodling in his Sir John Franklin chemistry textbooks to designer/illustrator for clients including the Michael Jackson Estate, Kendrick Lamar and Spike Lee. This issue he illustrates the frightening experience of Ollie Williams' first visit to the dentist in a long time (see p. 53).

EDITOR Laurie Sarkadi editor@edgeyk.ca PUBLISHER Matthew Mallon mmallon@vergecomms.ca PHOTOGRAPHER Angela Gzowski photo@agzowski.com DESIGNER Pamela Schoeman pschoeman@vergecomms.ca ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jeremy Bird jbird@vergecomms.ca ADVERTISING SALES Dwayne Simmons dsimmons@vergecomms.ca | (867) 445-8380 FOUNDER Brent Reaney breaney@vergecomms.ca

©Copyright 2017 by: KYLA KAKFWI-SCOTT Kyla Kakfwi-Scott is the granddaughter of master embroiderer and 1994 Sahtu Dene Games' Best Overall Dene Woman, Georgina Kakfwi, and the daughter of infamous style maven Marie Wilson. Kyla has understood the power and importance of fashion since she learned to walk and got her first pair of red shoes, and has refined her knowledge of global and Dene styles through a lifetime of travel, artistic inquiry, and obsessive reading of fashion magazines (see p. 40). She is a founding member of Dene Nahjo and proudly reps Dene style by showcasing the work of Dene artists in public speaking appearances across the country.

INCLUDING Paul Andrew, Bill Braden, Catherine Dook, Anthony Foliot, Tim Edwards, Leela Gilday, Amy Lam, Melaw Nakehk'o, Lawrence Nayally, Carla Taylor, Richard Van Camp and Ollie Williams.

Thank you!

All rights reserved.

ISSN 1927-7016 (Print) ISSN 1927-7024 (Online)

info@vergecomms.ca | (867) 445-8360 Box 2451, Station Main 5112-52 Street Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 2P8

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Kieron Testart MLA Kam Lake

Have any questions, concerns, or issues you’d like to discuss?

Contact me anytime at:

kieron_testart@gov.nt.ca (867) 767-9143 June/July 2017

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A Message From City of Yellowknife Senior Administrative Officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett.

I have to say, it’s been a really busy first 3 months as Yellowknife’s City Administrator. And also a lot of fun!

Here’s what I've seen from this vantage point at City Hall: things can move fast at this level of government. I’ve learned that there is a nimbleness at the community level that requires the City, to respond to issues and address concerns. Luckily we have the tools to respond, and continue to refine them. On a daily basis, your local government is faced with questions about parking, food trucks, our downtown, tourism, dog kennels, arsenic, land claims, or sidewalk patios (to list just a few); this list is long, varied, and changes by the hour.

Residents, businesses and other orders of government know that the City of Yellowknife can act pretty quickly.

However, I’ve also learned that just because we are nimble doesn’t mean the solutions come fast all the time. Yellowknifers know we face tough and complicated issues. Finding solutions for homelessness, addressing the cost of living and enhancing our downtown are things that don’t happen overnight; nor should they.

I’ve learned that our local traditions take time to change as well. As Yellowknife’s first female City Administrator, I think about tradition, privilege, and the assumptions people make about how things are from a gender perspective. Approximately 38% of the City’s workforce is female (and 17% of the Directors team) so if I, as a privileged, educated, white-looking female, sometimes feel under-represented, it’s a sobering reminder to how others must feel when they don’t see themselves in the world around them.

I’ve learned that Yellowknife needs to speak louder about our role in the Northwest Territories. Marking Yellowknife’s 50th anniversary as the capital of the NWT is an opportune time to reflect on our past and the

SHEILA BASSI-KELLET

Leading, Learning and Questioning on the Job:

directions we take in the future. As the capital, we have the responsibility and honour of representing and serving the rich culture, heritage and beauty of not only our community and region, but the entire NWT. Many people who visit Yellowknife may not make it to other areas of the NWT; we need to provide them with a sense of how incredible our territory is. We have work to do in this area and it starts with promoting and celebrating this great place that we live in.

I’ve learned that we need to get uncomfortable and talk about things that matter. Given the large Indigenous population within Yellowknife from all areas of the NWT and beyond, we must acknowledge that reconciliation is a key factor that has to guide our actions as we look to the future. The City needs to open up the dialogue on what reconciliation looks like in Yellowknife in the next 50 years and beyond. Let’s face it, this can be a challenging and uncomfortable conversation, but timely and important. Here are some questions we need to think about: • How can the City be a better, more engaged, partner with the Indigenous peoples and nations in the NWT, particularly the Yellowknives Dene First Nations, whose traditional lands we are on? We can and should enhance the relationship between YKDFN and City - let’s get working on regular Council to Council meetings, common issues, administrative connections, annual feeding the fire ceremonies to begin a cyclical time of the year, and more.

• How can we successfully partner with and seek the guidance of YKDFN on place names that respect and reflect the traditional uses of the area? For example, Franklin Avenue, our main street, is named after a British explorer who passed through on his way to search for the Northwest Passage. I often wonder why is it not named after leaders of the people who have made this area home for thousands of years?

• How can we guide the evolution of our institutions so that they reflect the diversity of our community and territory?

• How can we better create understanding of the different perspectives people bring based on their culture heritage and collective experience?

• How can we support a more diverse slate of candidates in our municipal elections?

In a three month nutshell, I’ve learned that while we get things done fast at the local level, we have many thoughtful, difficult, and historically significant milestones to reach.

From the City Administrator chair, I keep these lesson, questions, and messages at the forefront of my day.

From the City Administrator chair, I keep these lessons, questions, and messages at the forefront of my day as I help make our city the best as it can be.

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Sheila Bassi-Kellett

FRONT EDGE

A lot has happened in the 150 years since Canadian confederation, not all of it worth celebrating WELCOME TO THE EDGE YK mostly Indigenous issue, our nod to National Aboriginal Day and a chance to reflect on the big picture behind some big ticket commemorations in 2017. This year the City of Yellowknife turns 50 and Canada ups that by a century to mark 150 years since Confederation.

Notice I didn’t say “celebrates”? While many Canadians are taking part in festive celebrations, many Indigenous people are resisting them. #Resistance150 is trending on social media in part to counter the narrative that Canada was born 150 years ago, when in fact a recent archaeological dig in B.C. confirmed people lived on the coast 14,000 years ago. While modern science dated the artefacts back to the ice age – older than the Pyramids – the Heiltsuk Nation have been passing down oral stories about ancient coastal communities through the ages. This was not news to them.

I tell you this as an example of what can be learned when non-Indigenous Canadians take time to listen to and try to understand First Peoples’ stories, cultures and the deep attachment to the land that underpins all of it. That’s why

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we’ve invited a diverse host of Indigenous writers and artists to share their work in this issue. As a start, might I suggest you find a quiet, uninterrupted place in the outdoors to read Paul Andrew’s story about “Joe,” a young Sahtu Dene boy born in the mountains who lived off the land with his family until his secure, idyllic life was abruptly stolen from him (see p. 31). There are many “Joes” in our midst, and understanding their stories grows compassion for their struggle, and also deep respect for their resiliency – the ability to carry on after such devastation, as well as to reclaim and revive land-based traditions.

That resiliency is what Andrew and other Indigenous contributors to this issue are celebrating this year (#Resilience150 is another trending hashtag). Singersongwriter Leela Gilday had a vision to honour survivors of the NWT’s 14 residential schools with art and song and drumming. It’s come together as the reconciliation project “Gho-Bah/Gombaa,” which means the first light of dawn (see p. 17). If you’d like to be part of this new dawn, you can see the performance at NACC on June 17 and a second performance on June 21 at Sombe K’e park beside city hall.

Expect to see some Dene stylin’ going on too at the celebrations. Kyla Kakfwi-Scott explores the history, politics and pizazz behind Dene fashion past and present on p. 40 and Richard Van Camp offers up a playlist designed to keep you bumpin’ on Aboriginal Day, Canada Day and all summer long (see p. 15).

As always, we welcome your thoughts and creativity in EDGE YK. You can send them along 24/7 to editor@edgeyk.ca Mahsi Cho. Enjoy the celebrations.

- LAURIE SARKADI Editor

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EDGITORIAL

I received a care package from Yellowknife.

A newspaper notified me our NWT government was welcoming the fracking industry into the territory without any public consultation or recognition of the serious and toxic impacts the process would have on the land, water, people and animals.

Beading Heart The meaning behind my red beaded headpiece

by NIGIT’STIL NORBERT IN THE SPRING of 2012, the Idle No More movement was reaching a feverish pitch in Tkaronto/Toronto; the heat and the unifying drum beat could be felt throughout the city, the energy was mounting. The same could be said for me. I was completing my fine arts degree and the city had embraced me as I began to come into my own as an artist and activist from Denendeh. For Canadians, the movement brought insight into controversial and racially targeted laws such as Bill C-51, which would, in part, criminalize Indigenous defenders and stewards of the land and water and according to the United Nations, rob Indigenous people of their basic, democratic human rights. Artists, activists, children and elders could be designated as terrorists by the Canadian government for defending the protection of their clean drinking water. With the shameful reality that over 150 boil-water advisories currently exist in Indigenous communities across Canada – 150 boil-water advisories for 150 years – the protection of clean drinking water was, and continues to be, a very real and lived reality that concerns all Canadians. It was during this time that

Few Northerners and Canadians are aware that the heart of North America’s largest and most important water system is located mostly in the Northwest Territories, the Nagwichoonjik/Dehcho/Mackenzie River, and that this river is under direct threat from government and the extractive industry.

I found myself back home in Yellowknife (Great Slave Lake is where the Nagwichoonjik starts its journey and travels 4,200 km north to empty into the Beaufort Sea) in the fall of 2013 and could think of no better way to speak to a broader audience about the lifelong impacts of fracking on the river than through the creation of a multidimensional and immersive exhibition; thus the project Beading Heart was born.

Through my artistic research I noticed that when one viewed the Nagwichoonjik topographically, the river and its tributaries resembled an anatomical human heart. I illustrated this depiction of the river and am now asking the women and elders who use it and live along its banks to contribute to the Beading Heart project by beading small pieces that will be brought together to create a large-scale mural of the river. By focusing on the Nagwichoonjik through the use of mapping, topography, beading and community awareness, Beading Heart explores the reawakening of our inner Mother Earth guardians as water and land stewards. Beading Heart challenges the skewed and detrimental uses of water and land in our northern and traditional territories and explores the fundamental aspects of the human heart and its intrinsic connection and relationship to the health of our water and land.

In 2015, one important element of the overall Beading Heart project began to take shape in the form of Gathering With My Elders, a 25-minute performance piece which featured myself wearing the red beaded headpiece on the cover of this month’s EDGE YK. One aspect of Bill C-51 that most concerned me was that an individual could

not wear anything on their face to protect their identity if they were at a lawful protest.

If you covered your face at a protest you could be considered unlawful and a threat to national security. Thinking about this made me frustrated and concerned for the future of our collective democracy in this country.

The beaded headpiece became an act of resistance. The headpiece signified that I would continue to be an autonomous, outspoken Indigenous woman, artist and activist when it came to the protection and defence of our most integral resource – water. That only I would choose to cover or not cover my face. That I would not be ashamed to be a protector, to be a defender of Mother Earth and that using my voice was a great honour and privilege.

When I was recently home in Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic, my ancestors and elders told me that they had paid the way for us, the Indigenous youth, with their own blood, tears, and lived experiences over the last 150 years.

Their words confirmed for me that to be a strong, healthy and passionate Indigenous women was in itself revolutionary and resistant. They are why I continue to be an artist and activist.

Top: Norbert's illustration of the Nagwichoonjik/Dehcho/Mackenzie River system.

June/July 2017

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FOUND FOOD

MORELS, SUNDRIED TOMATOES AND ARUGULA

Pasta Recipe and photos by AMY LAM

BY NOW WE’VE ALREADY seen two months of edible growth in the south. In the North our spring is delayed, but when it comes, we catch up quickly and furiously.

There are two edibles that are a herald of the season here – arugula in the gardens and morels for wild harvest.

Arugula seemingly grows overnight under the midnight sun, and morels pop up in post-burn areas, fueled by the moisture of the spring thaw. Combine the two for this quick and easy pasta dish and have dinner on the table in half an hour.

Active prep time: 30 min

Serves 4

June/July 2017

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Ingredients 400 g of dried ribbon cut pasta (e.g. spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine)

Directions

250 g of fresh morels or 30 g dried, rehydrated in 2 cups of boiling water for 30 min

1. B oil pasta until al dente according to package directions, drain and set aside.

75 g of oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped

2. I nspect and clean fresh morels for dirt and insects, brush clean with a dried pastry brush. Or, soak for 20 min. in cold salted water if desired.

If using dried, soak in 2 cups of boiling water for 30 min. Reserve the liquid from dried morels.

Squeeze and pat morels dry.

Slice the morels lengthwise, then crosswise in small pieces.

4 cloves of garlic, minced 4 shallots, finely diced 2 tbsp of olive oil 8 tbsp butter 1 cup of dry white wine 1 cup of stock (chicken or vegetable) if using fresh morels, or mushroom soaking liquid if using dried.

2 cups of arugula Salt and pepper

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3. S autĂŠ morels in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 5 min.

4. A dd half of the butter, garlic, shallots, sun-dried tomatoes and continue to sautĂŠ for another 5 min.

5. Add white wine and stock or dried mushroom soaking liquid and cook for another 2 – 3 min. until the sauce is reduced.

6. Stir in pasta and remaining butter and combine until pasta is heated through. Salt generously and season with pepper.

7. Remove pasta from heat, and stir in arugula prior to serving.

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June 21 Celebrating Aboriginal Day across the Territories

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2:

Glen Abernethy MLA Great Slave

For questions, concerns or comments please contact me at: (867) 767-9143 ext 12186 glen_abernethy@gov.nt.ca mla-greatslave.ca

ON JUNE 21ST,

celebrate the heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis!

I hope we all get the chance to participate and celebrate

NATIONAL ABORIGINAL DAY! Michael V. McLeod Member of Parliament Northwest Territories 114-5109 48th St Yellowknife, NT X1A 1N5 Tel: 867-873-6995 Fax: 867-920-4233 michael.mcleod@parl.gc.ca

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We know best-selling author Richard Van Camp likes to crank the tunes when he writes. His first novel, The Lesser Blessed, was created in the company of over 30 bands, including Iron Maiden and The Sisters of Mercy. With 20 books now to his credit, we asked the frenetic storyteller to put together a playlist of his top 10 summer songs.

Dancing, Kissing, Holding, Laughing, Singing, Drumming, Swimming, Overflowing, Giving, Receiving, Snuggling, Cuddling, Kunik’ing, Listening—Really listening, Exploring, Asking, Trying, Cooking, Feasting—there are so many ways to honour and celebrate each other and ourselves.

Here’s my party mix for you to springboard off of, and I hope you love these tracks.

1. Van Halen’s “Mine All Mine.”

This is my get-up-andgo song every single day.

The lyrics, the rush, the everything and the message: make your dreams come true for you! The world needs you healthy and strong.

Do what you gotta do to give’er!

2. “ Carry Me” by George Leach. Such an incredible song about healing and love. Mahsi cho, George!

3. B ella’s “No One Will Know.” This is a love story that inspires me to write my hottest and most luxurious stories. Listen to this and try not to text that someone special and finally admit that you’ve had a crush on them for years :) 4. P uscifier’s “Autumn.” I love it when voices glide together to remind you to hold on to summer for as long as you can. Perfect harmonies for perfect harnomies—yum!

5. “Give You Up” by Breach of Trust. Listen to those guitars and raise a mug of spruce tea for your peeps! This is the perfect anthem for any revolution!

6. Lana Del Rey’s “Love.” What a perfect summer breeze. An instant classic. What a voice!

7. M NDR’s “Cut Me Out” is the perfect track to pack any dance floor. Love it. Listen to that howl of hunger and THAT BEAT! 8. “As Good as I Once Was” by Toby Keith. I can’t listen to this without grinning. It’s so Yellowknife and Fort Smith all rolled up into one. Get ready to two step your way to glory with this one :) 9. “Sun Again” by Kinnie Starr. This song gives me hope for everything :) 10. “ Echo My Soul” by N’we Jinan Artists. I feel like I can do anything when I listen to this song because it taps into the innocent in all of us, and the message is beautiful: dreams are medicine and life is about your dreams coming true so do what you need to do to make’em happen :) Dream and dance hard, Cousins! See you on the dance floor.

Mahsi cho, Richard Van Camp Tlicho Dene Fort Smith, NWT: Treaty 8 Territory Living in Edmonton, AB: Treaty 6 Territory June/July 2017

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Gho-Bah/Gombaa organizer Leela Gilday.

Photo by Angela Gzowski.

Gho-Bah/Gombaa:

The First Light Of Dawn Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday started probing what reconciliation could look like for people here. The result, one of the territory’s largest-ever arts projects is taking over downtown on National Aboriginal Day

by LEELA GILDAY

IN THE FALL OF 2015, I started asking musicians and artists from around the NWT what “reconciliation” looks like to them. Their answers were as varied as the people I asked (see the sidebar on p. 22 for two examples). Some focused on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), some focused on the healing that must take place in our lives as Aboriginal people before we can move forward; some focused on the changes that need to take place in mainstream society, within non-native minds and hearts, before we can relate in a meaningful way to one another.

Not one person declined to answer. Reconciliation – restoring a balanced relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians – is very much in the public consciousness now.

It’s a much-warranted response to all that happened to our people in residential schools – the cultural genocide, the thousands of deaths across the country – and what continues to happen to our people: disparities in health, wealth, and self-determination. There is still a lot of anger and sorrow, but there is much hope as well.

June/July 2017

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Top: Pat Braden.

Bottom: Casey Koyczan.

Photos by Angela Gzowski.

I believe that Denendeh (NWT) has a unique part to play in this national dialogue, as it was one of the last places to be colonized.

To this day, our relationship with outsiders remains more friendly and open than in some of the nations in the south that were devastated culturally and linguistically. Our Dene leadership is strong – the Berger Inquiry into a proposed pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley in the 1970s demonstrated that. It was the first time in history that an Indigenous people had stood up to a multinational corporation and prevented a huge development.

We have had Dene at the highest levels of government leadership, from MPs to premier. Our languages and traditional cultures are comparatively robust, perhaps due to the fact we make up half the population of the NWT. Still, some of the trauma we faced was equally as excruciating, and some of the worst horror stories happened in the classrooms, hallways, and dorm rooms of our residential schools.

There were 14 residential schools in the Northwest Territories.

Apart from the TRC National Event held in Inuvik in 2011, there has never been a large public event, or any public art created for the people, by the people, in acknowledgment and in tribute to the survivors of those 14 residential schools, and the generations that have come after.

Until now... continued on p. 20

18 EDGEYK

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19

Top: Catherine Lafferty.

Centre: Lawrence Nayally.

Bottom: Paul Andrew.

Photos by Angela Gzowski.

Through my conversations on reconciliation, the idea for a large-scale artistic project was born. Northern musicians, artists, writers, drummers and a choir will come together on June 21, National Aboriginal Day, to present Gho-Bah, which means “first light of dawn” in the Slavey language.

Gho-Bah, also named Gombaa (in Weledeh dialect), will be presented by myself, Pat Braden, Lawrence Nayally, Stephen Kakfwi, Paul Andrew, Catherine Lafferty, Andrea Bettger, Meg Dolovich, Casey Koyczan, and three diverse Dene artists: John Rombough, Carla Taylor, and Melaw Nakehk’o. Together, through support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the JW McConnell Family Foundation, we’ve created a concert of new music and a large public mural that honours survivors of the 14 residential schools in the NWT and celebrates our cultural resilience as Indigenous northerners. The concert will include music written for and performed by the Aurora Chorealis (at least 25 members from the Yellowknife choir), and will conclude with the largest drum dance in history, a gathering of some 200 drummers (see p.

25).

It has long been an artistic dream of mine to write music on this subject, and, in part, write songs in Slavey, my language. For me, it’s a challenging and emotional journey to write songs in this way. continued on p. 22

20 EDGEYK

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I was not raised speaking my language, and still do not understand most of what is said. Many people of my generation inherited this void.

Through the lessons that our parents were taught in residential schools, they believed that English was the only language we would need, and that to succeed in the world, you did not need to speak your native language; that it would in fact be a detriment and a disadvantage. And so, not realizing that it was robbing us of a vital connection to our culture and history, they did not teach their children to speak the language. This was the case with many Dene youth.

My own response to the residential school legacy that I inherited is the realization that we are resilient beyond belief. Writing these songs, putting on a huge public concert and mural honouring and cherishing that resilience is in fact a powerful act itself. It is a demonstration that we are still here: not just in body, but in culture and spirit.

The Chiefs and Council of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation have granted us permission to hold this event on their territory. They’ve been asked to open the concert and mural unveiling. The City of Yellowknife is also on board. The event, and the artistic processes leading up to it, will be recorded by Dene filmmaker Amos Scott so the project can be shared far and wide. There will be a preview show at the Northern Arts & Cultural Centre on June 17.

It’s my hope that when people hear the music, see the mural and participate in the drum dance, their hearts and minds will be moved and a bridge from the past to the future will be formed. Awakening the mainstream to this through the arts will go a long way towards forging a new relationship. Art has the power to galvanize, to heal, and to empower.

I hope you will join us. continued on p. 25

22 EDGEYK

Carla Rae Taylor: Photo courtesy of Carla Rae Taylor.

Melaw Nakehk’o: Photo by Amos Scott.

What Reconciliation Means To Me ceremonies, dances, crafts, traditional dress and legends. It is the preservation and continuation of these that will continue to heal the past and build healthier relationships within Indigenous communities, and in relationship to these communities and their people.

Carla Rae Taylor The term “reconciliation,” as is being used in Canada today, is the mending of the relationship with Indigenous people. It is the acknowledgment of a history that left a wake of intergenerational trauma and the need to bring stories to light and healing to the people. It is the eradication of negative stereotypes surrounding Indigenous people and education on a greater scale as to why there is still so much struggle in Indigenous populations.

It is the honouring of Indigenous ways as valid and important, a celebration of traditional values and methods, a remembering of connection to the land and culture and integration of these into current-day existence.

It is the honouring of wisdom passed down through the Elders and the continuation of sharing the knowledge and telling the stories in a modernday context. Reconciliation is recognizing that modern, progressive and innovative people who are educated, talented and capable, are members of Indigenous nations that still uphold strong traditional values and ways of being.

Reconciliation is appreciating the diversity among the numerous Indigenous nations, recognizing that each is unique in its languages,

Melaw Nakehk’o I believe true reconciliation between First Nations and Canada needs to include Land. Not only do we need to recognize our collective past, acknowledge that something is wrong, we need to talk about Land.

On our way toward reconciliation, we are still working on ourselves, our families and our communities.

The preservation and resurgence of our Indigenous knowledge, our land-connected practices; both are vital to our health and wellbeing, physically, mentally and spiritually.

I’m excited to contribute to this incredible project, to share my love for our Land and the resilience of our strong people throughout Dene history – before and after the idea of Canada.

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Scene from last summer's Canada Day Drum Dance at SombaK'e Civic Plaza.

Come Dance With Us Gho-Bah/Gombaa's circle of 200 northern drummers promises to break records and break down barriers towards reconciliation Story by LAWRENCE NAYALLY Photos by BILL BRADEN

LAST SUMMER while my family and I were on a journey through the mountains heading to a wedding in B.C., I had a dream of a gathering. Many people were dancing in a huge circle. It looked more like a tea dance, but I could hear the drums. It was all taking place at Somba K'e Civic Plaza, the park at city hall. It was the exact same vision a friend of mine had many years ago. If my experiences on the land have taught me anything, it’s that when something special, powerful and meaningful is meant to be, the forces unknown make it happen.

So when Leela Gilday reached out and asked if I could help with a reconciliation project for the community, my mind went to the one place where I knew reconciliation could live – the arts; and a drum dance is art! I suggested we gather 200 drummers, a historical first for Canada. She liked the idea, and away we went to start organizing it.

June/July 2017

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That’s what might, what could happen here in Yellowknife, not exactly like that, but the pure feelings of joy, the tingles, the smiles, the laughter, this is what I’m after. This is what I want for everyone.

Building a community in this way is what I believe should and could be happening everywhere in the North. We all need this.

One of the things Gho-Bah/Gombaa wanted to do, at least to explore, is the idea of asking women who carry and use the drum to be involved in this event.

I think it’s time, at least slowly, to have women by our side. The protocol for this to happen is to speak with the elders, leaders, and groups interested in this.

And then it will be decided whether this will be ongoing. For now, it will only be for this one event.

Every group has something amazing to gift to the world, and we truly want the same, to gift to Yellowknife, and the entire North, a chance to be part of something special and sacred.

Lawrence Nayally, centre, with fellow drummers at Somba K'e Civic Plaza last summer.

At 11 a.m. on June 21, 200 drummers will open the Gho-Bah/Gombaa Concert as part of the National Aboriginal Day celebrations at Somba K’e Park. Our group has teamed up with Yellowknives Dene First Nation, North Slave Metis Alliance, the City of Yellowknife, APTN, and many others to make this happen.

I have some experience with large drum dances. In June 2012, I was part of the NWT Traditional Drumming Group that joined seven other groups from across Canada and the U.S. to drum together at the Adaka Cultural Festival in Whitehorse.

It was directed by the internationally acclaimed Alejandro Ronceria, who choreographed segments of the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

It was there that I drummed for the first time with women of the Yukon – strong, proud and amazing singers. They had songs no one had ever heard before, so sacred and special that only some will ever have a chance to hear them in their lifetime.

It was incredible, powerful, moving… like nothing I’ve experienced.

We were in a circle out back of the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre with the Tlingit mothers and sisters. It was a gloomy day, but once they started singing, the clouds majestically began to move away and the sun started shining. Above us, almost from nowhere, four bald eagles began circling as the women sang the opening prayer song and the sacred fire in the centre burned our offerings for the event.

26 EDGEYK

So, if you're interested, come and join us. After we’ve danced at the Sombe K’e Civic Plaza and the Gho-Bah/Gombaa events have ended, we’ll take the drum gathering to the sacred and traditional site of the Yellowknives Dene, Weledeh, along the river where we will continue the event long into the midnight sky.

At least that’s how I see it. That’s my vision. I want to thank you for reading this, hope to see you there! Mahsi Cho!

Gho-Bah/ Gombaa Concert THE NORTHERN ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTRE (NACC)

Saturday, June 17th, 7 pm Tickets $15 at NACC NATIONAL ABORIGINAL DAY CELEBRATIONS AT SOMBE K'E PARK

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MINING

Decisions, Decisions:

What if I told you there are

ARE YOU FOR OR AGAINST?

projects that will produce material needed to make batteries which could

A Mining Flowchart

Yellowknife’s past — and present — have been centred around the resource industry.

As for its future? We’ve got some tough choices to make

For the

Haven’t we

future of

damaged

the city,

the land

dig it up!

enough?

What do

finally make large-scale renewable energy viable?

Uh, well, yeah,

you think

I can get

of gold?

behind that.

Story by TIM EDWARDS Photos by ANGELA GZOWSKI

h

HOWEVER YOU FEEL ABOUT THEM, the diamond mines have driven much of the city’s economy since a brief, terrifying turn-of-last-century interlude when Giant and Con mines were shutting down and nothing was in place to replace them. But now — even if Ekati gets its Jay pipe expansion into operation — the remaining mine life of those mines will start fading in seven years, and likely end in 13. If there’s no replacement for these gigantic operations, Yellowknife will change, to put it mildly.

The local economy will dwindle: Former employees of the mines will leave, with former employees of businesses servicing the mines behind them; as more houses go up for sale, the current bubble of overvalued real estate will pop and home values will go down city-wide; the GNWT, which gets its funding mostly from Canada on a per-resident basis, will lose part of that funding as residents leave, and will lose the fees and royalties it gets from the mines, which we’d all hoped were going to be on the up and up after devolution. This last point is especially vital in a city where the public sector has, in the past four months, eclipsed the private sector in employment, according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics.

But there are projects on the horizon that, while small in territorial impact, may be big enough to buoy Yellowknife — that is, if we decide the benefits are worth the risks.

28 EDGEYK

With the world as unstable as it is right now, I wouldn’t invest in anything else.

Nah, give me something

But...

with actual practical use.

Located on the same

Good, because th

greenstone belt that

about to get a bit no

still very much in its

gave us Con and Giant

How about Lithium?

mines, producing

It’s a hot commodity

has gotten the reg

15 million ounces

in the production of

its exploration into

could be a lucrative p

of gold, this project

better batteries and

has shown some initial

its value rose 18

active lithium min

high grade results and

percent between

has a quality of 2.8 p

encompasses 382

2016 and 2017.

tonne of ore; at Hid an instance of 3.31

square kilometres

the high

of land.

YELLOWKNIFE CITY GOLD PROJECT TerraX Located within 25 km north and south of Yellowknife.

Ayup.

Sign me up!

YELLOWKNIFE GOLD But they’re located close But what?

YOU’RE

to some of the

KIDDING

best outdoors

ME!

playgrounds near the city.

TerraX’s project, on the same belt that birthed Giant and Con, has been turning up decent results and could be in operation in 10 years. It would be a short drive from the city, and, if Yellowknife and the Yellowknives Dene play their cards right, it could be a big driver for the area.

(Though those negotiations will happen with whoever buys it from TerraX, the junior exploration company currently focusing on it).

Mines elsewhere in the world have instituted requirements that their employees live in a community wherein the project sits. This same requirement could be made here, which would give the company a stake in the community and would likely result in investment. Do we need an addictions treatment facility here? Upgraded ski trails? Ball fields?

Here is a potential partner — and in the age of public relations and corporate citizenship, a likely one.

Are you a hiker or a paddler?

Its location on the road system gives it a leg up on other northern projects, and if gold is still valuable in a decade, we could have latitude on our end of the scale to make some demands.

Hiker

Paddler

LITHIUM

his paddler’s paradise is

Well, you wouldn’t want to endure three hours

oisier. While the project is

of hiking anyway — only to be assaulted by the

s early days, 92 Resources

gulatory go-ahead to kick high gear this year. And it

project: the world’s largest

ne right now, in Australia,

percent lithium oxide per

churn of machinery and plumes of smoke.

That said, not much work has been done on these sites in the last few decades, but the lease doesn’t expire until 2027. According to an NWT Geological Survey resource, these properties — the biggest lithium properties in the area, with

dden Lake, they’ve found

a historic inferred resource estimate of 7,155,900

percent. And it’s right by

tonnes at 1.47 percent lithium oxide — are one package that is up for sale.

hway system.

HIDDEN LAKE PROJECT

BIG HILL LAKE PROJECT

92 Resources Corp.

Erex International Inc.

Located approximately

Located 21 km east -

40 km east of Yellowknife.

northeast of Yellowknife.

This one, admittedly, is more headline than substance.

In the last couple years, much ado has been made of a prospective increase in demand for lithium. Elon Musk, the Tony Stark-esque American inventor, has had considerable success in developing electric (and recently, self-driving) vehicles, powered by lithium ion batteries. Our phones and laptops are, too. And Musk’s flagship company, Tesla, is beginning to develop stronger and smaller home-batteries to store solar energy. If the world is moving away from petroleum energy, lithium may play a significant role.

But several companies, in South America and China, dominate the scene right now, while Jeffrey Christian, managing director at researcher CPM Group, told the Financial Post last month that he views lithium as overhyped, and that a ramp-up in recycling existing batteries could have considerable impact on supply.

Despite this, lithium projects in the NWT (and Canada, for that matter) have an edge: they are hard-rock lithium, which is of a better quality and requires less processing than the majority of the world’s lithium supply right now (which comes from evaporating a lithium-containing saltwater brine).

It will be years before we know if the lithium deposits down the Ingraham Trail are viable—which is good, in a way, as that will give us time to enjoy the wilderness playgrounds near which they are, unfortunately, located.

June/July 2017

29

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The Early Years

A

s a young boy growing up in the mountains near Tulita, Joe was learning from the masters. His father, uncles and Elders taught him about the land, sky, water and animals. From his mother and other women he learned about relationships, respect and love. He was taught sewing, washing and other camp work, in case he ended up alone in the bush.

Elders told stories about how landmarks such as Bear Rock, where Yamoria confronted and killed giant beavers, were created. He loved the stories of Yamoria, the man who set the law for the Dene. His favourite stories were about how the raven came to be so black, and to squawk as if something is stuck in his throat.

Joe recalls the hard work, even as a child. Getting wood, ice, or water, or visiting rabbit snares early in the mornings, usually in cold weather. At times, it was not easy on the land. But he always felt safe. He was loved unconditionally, cherished, even on those days when he forgot to visit the snares. He felt honoured to be part of this big family.

The only ways to travel in those days were by dog team in the winter, or by hiking or boat in the summer. To travel down the river they needed a boat and the whole camp got together to build one from mooseskins. The men shot a lot of moose during the winter and took great care of the skins. In the spring when the river was high and fast-running, the men would start making the frame of a canoe and the women would sew the mooseskins together.

Joe remembers his part. Even as a five or six-year-old, he walked the forest with his grandfather looking for the best wood for the frame. He recalls the joy of collecting spruce gum to hold the skins together or helping make sinew, the “thread,” to sew them. There were songs, laughter and happiness in the air when the boat was completed.

He remembers riding in these ancient boats. The Mackenzie Mountains stood strong and majestic, its waters clean, ice cold and powerful. The area was home to hundreds of thousands of animals, birds and fish. Many times Joe simply could not breathe as nature revealed its beauty at every turn.

No matter where he was on the land or what time of the year it was, he felt at home. There was silence when you wanted it, when you didn't want it and every other time.

He learned how to pay respects to a new area of land or water when he arrived.

He learned to feed the fire and pray. Joe learned from his Elders the kind of songs to sing in the mornings. One of his fondest memories was waking up and hearing the older people outside singing about the beauty of being alive and songs for the land and the sunrise. He'd hear them talking, joking and laughing.

As long as he lives, he will never forget those early morning moments.

Something else he will never forget is a trip he took with his dad. Driving two dogs, making and breaking trail, they went out far in the bush and made fire and a lean-to. After they’d eaten, his dad told him about the area they were in.

They walked outside and watched the stars and the aurora dancing across the huge teepee in the sky. His father told him stories of what song the lights were singing.

Later they slept on spruce boughs with thin little blankets and a good fire going.

He was with his dad. He was safe. The Creator was very good to him. He was certain the temperatures were in the minus 30s or 40s, but he never worried or ever doubted his father’s ability to survive.

32 EDGEYK

"He started walking again to his “I forgive you place.” But when he got close to the area his legs wouldn’t move anymore."

continued on p. 34

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The Start Of The School Years There are other things Joe will never forget. When he was eight, Joe was sent to school in a faraway place. He will never forget that day. Never!

It was in the fall. Joe and his two older brothers had to get an education that was not available in his hometown, at least that’s what he heard. So, it meant boarding a small plane and flying somewhere. He was too young to understand. He thought he and his brothers were just going to school for the day.

They were taken to the beach. There were a lot of others kids heading down to the beach too. He still sees his mother crying as her three young children were taken away. The Indian agent had given all the kids chocolate bars for the long trip. Joe was very sad to see his mother cry. He gave his chocolate bar to her so she wouldn't cry.

He will never forget how the Indian agent yanked the chocolate away from her and threw it back to Joe. He will never forget the hurt, pain and humiliation in his mother’s eyes, or the anger he felt. He had never wanted to kill anyone before that incident. But, at that moment, if he had had a gun he would have shot the Indian agent like a rabbit.

He fought and didn’t want to get on the plane, but being a child among men he lost the battle. He remembers looking out the window, frantically trying to see his mom. There she was on the beach.

Joe started to cry. He cried his eyes out looking at her standing all alone, crying and waving to them. He will never forget that day. It was the saddest day of his life.

Joe always wonders what it was like for his parents, elders and communities when there were no children around.

He heard his grandmother say two of her daughters were taken to residential school and never returned. She died

34 EDGEYK

not knowing what happened to her girls.

Joe’s dad passed without finding out what happened to his sisters. After that experience on the beach, Joe often wondered, what did his dad and grandmother go through when their children were taken away? What was it like for his father, standing there helpless and wondering if he will ever see his boys again?

Joe never had a chance to ask them.

The New Beginning An Elder had told him to spend time alone, just to get a sense of what others are putting up with. Others told him to spend time on the land. Being alone on the land scared the daylights out of him.

Joe was not ready to go out on the land but one day he decided to spend part of a day out on the highway. He drove slowly, stopped and sat in his truck.

What was he doing? Was he crazy?

What the hell is going on? Deep inside he knew he had to deal with what happened to him. He parked his truck.

He walked like an old man deep into the bushes.

He didn’t want anyone to hear him or see him. He didn’t know what he was doing or where he was going or why he was out there, but he wanted to be alone.

After what felt like an hour of aimlessly wandering he came upon a small clearing. He sat on a log. He felt very alone and stupid. He was scared a bear or wolf would come and attack him.

After half an hour, it occurred to him that it was not the bears or wolves he was afraid of, he was scared of being alone with Joe. He wanted to pray but had forgotten how. He looked into the sky because that is where God is supposed to be.

Then he looked at the rocks and said to no one or thing in particular, “I forgive you.” Joe looked nervously looked around to see if anyone heard him. He was still alone. Slowly he said the phrase over again to the emptiness around him. But as the minutes added

up, he felt like he was talking to something or someone. Although he was alone, he was not alone. Strange!

After what felt like hours of talking to himself and whatever, Joe felt a little better as he drove back into town. He hoped no one saw or heard him. He still felt lousy.

He went back on the highway the next day and said, “I forgive you,” even before he got back to the same spot. In minutes he found himself saying, “Catholic church, I forgive you.” Then he mentioned the supervisors and one nun who hurt him and said, “I forgive you.”

He said it over and over again. He felt bad that he didn’t mean any of it, but he said it over and over again. He stayed for over an hour this time and by the time he left he noticed two things. His breathing was deeper and longer. He felt the muscle in his shoulders relax.

The next day he went back to same spot, but this time a new fear and anger gripped him in his throat. Joe stopped walking, looked around and didn’t know what to do. He sat down in the bushes for a bit. Deep inside Joe knew exactly where the fear was coming from – the one supervisor who abused him and caused so much pain!

How do you forgive the unforgiveable?

He said to himself, “No fucking way am I going to forgive that fucking asshole.

May he fucking burn in hell and his fucking mother too.”

Then Joe thought of the Holocaust survivor he had met.

“You have to forgive but never forget.

Always remind people that bad things happen when good people look the other way. The anger will consume you and eat you alive. Forgive, but never forget!”

Joe knew the time had come to stop looking the other way. He started walking to the spot again. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour.

He stopped. This time he sobbed uncontrollably. Joe will never know how long he cried but after what seemed like a long time, he had no continued on p. 36

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gasping for air. After a few minutes, his breathing slowed and he felt much lighter.

Joe looked at the sun and felt the sunlight like never before. He felt the gentle wind on his face. Mother Earth felt comfortable and safe. He sat crossed legged in the middle of some moss, bowed his head and said, “Creator, please forgive this man for what he did to me. Help him so he does not hurt another child.” Then, looking up he mentioned the man’s name and said, “I forgive you.”

He didn’t feel anything different. He just spoke words that were meaningless.

He closed his eyes and he saw his father saying the same thing to the former supervisor. “I forgive you for hurting my son. You must have been hurt too.

Deal with your own pain and leave my son alone. Get out of our lives and deal with your own pain.”

tears left. He looked up and saw a robin on a branch of a tree. It seemed happy, joyous and free.

Then he thought he heard, “You too can be happy, joyous and free.” He looked around but saw no one, just the trees swaying in the wind. He was sure he was going crazy. But this time he didn’t care. At least for a moment he felt like he did not have the same anger and hate.

He started walking again to his “I forgive you place.” But when he got close to the area his legs wouldn’t move anymore. He tried to push himself but his body refused. It didn’t want to deal with the supervisor who hurt him and took away all the trust he had. His body didn’t want to feel violated again. His emotions were raw. He was scared of crying and feeling used yet one more time.

What made the difference was his spirit.

Although broken, Joe’s spirit was still a powerful force. His spirit reminded him he comes from great people. It said his people will be happy only if Joe is happy. It said, “You can do this. You can do it.” Reluctantly and slowly his spirit

36 EDGEYK

won and he inched forward to his “I forgive you” spot.

All of a sudden he yelled at the top of his lungs,“You fucking asshole. I fucking forgive you.” Nothing happened. He looked around nervously. He was sure the supervisor was going to come out of the bushes and hurt him. Then it occurred to him: he had turned into the frightened eight-year-old again.

Then anger and hate came like the Mackenzie River during breakup.

Nothing, but nothing, holds the river and ice in the spring. It moves at will.

Its brutal force crushes everything in sight. Joe’s hate and anger were unstoppable. He swore like there was no tomorrow and screamed like there was no yesterday and cried like there was no today.

He picked up a stick and starting hitting everything in sight. He hit the rocks, the trees, the flowers. Nothing was safe from his free-swinging stick.

He didn’t know how long the swearing and hitting went on or when he stopped.

Suddenly, it was quiet and he was sitting on a rock, tired, wasted and

It was then that Joe knew, his parents never left him. They were gone but never far away. They were always with him. In that moment Joe had a clear and concise thought. My dad was not Catholic so he would not be in Catholic heaven.

When I die I want to be with my dad so I don’t want to go to Catholic heaven.

I would rather go to the same place my dad and other elders went. There was no fear, no guilt. Joe was no longer afraid of the Catholic God. Maybe there is a chance of some kind of a reconciliation or relationship here.

Forgiveness is still not easy for Joe. There was a deliberate effort to take away everything that was near and dear to him and the system almost succeeded. How do you forgive that?

How do you forgive the loss of language and culture? How do you forgive being abused sexually, physically, emotionally and spiritually? How do you forgive the coverup and the denial?

It was hard not to be angry or full of hate. It was still hard not to want to hurt someone, but Joe knew he could not live that way anymore. Many times he said, “I forgive you,” even when he did not mean it.

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June/July 2017

37

EDGE YK ADVERTISING

WHO WE ARE, AND WHO WE AREN’T

The Giant Mine Oversight Board (GMOB) is a relatively new entity in the long and often tangled history of Giant Mine, so it’s important to clarify exactly what the board is — and what it isn’t.

The GMOB is an independent group tasked with providing objective, high-level advice on the management of the future of the Giant Mine site.

The six members of the board were appointed by the six parties to the original Giant Mine Remediation Project Environmental Agreement, signed on June 9, 2015: the Government of Canada, the Government of the NWT, the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, the North Slave Métis Alliance, Alternatives North, and the City of Yellowknife. Board members were chosen for the ability to provide a wide range of expertise and experience in projects similar to the Giant Mine Remediation Project, and the issues that surround it.

Once appointed, board members are completely autonomous. Our objective is to ensure that remediation of the Giant Mine site is carried out in a manner that is environmentally sound, socially responsible, and culturally appropriate. Our mandate is to take the highest possible overview of the many moving parts involved in dealing with the future of the mine site.

One misconception that needs to be clarified is that we are not the Giant Mine Remediation Project Team. They are an entirely separate entity, made up of employees of the federal and territorial governments and are responsible for planning and then executing the actual physical remediation of the mine site.

Government of Canada

Yellowknives Dene

Alternatives North

Government of Northwest Territories

GMOB

North Slave Metis Alliance

City of Yellowknife

The Giant Mine Oversight Board is made up of appointees from the six parties

38 EDGEYK

Part of our mandate is to offer the Giant Mine Remediation Project Team advice and recommendations, to ensure that it stays on schedule, is transparent in its actions, operates with full public confidence, and has access to the latest technical knowledge.

However, the Remediation Project Team is just one of several groups that GMOB provides recommendations to: we may also provide independent advice to the various levels of government involved, to the various boards and regulatory groups, and to the public.

Examples of those recommendations can be found in our Establishment Report for the period from July 2015 to December 2016 (PDF). Note that GMOB is not a regulatory agency and so our recommendations are not enforceable.

GMOB

Governments

Public

Parties to Agreement

Giant Mine Remediation Team

The Giant Mine Oversight Board has four main audiences for its recommendations, including the Giant Mine Remediation Project Team

THE FUTURE VS. THE PAST

The long-term effects of Giant Mine on the communities around it are still being determined, and many residents are understandably still looking for answers. But it is important to be aware that the Giant Mine Oversight Board is a future-focused organization, with a mandate to oversee remediation efforts going forward and to find solutions to the mine’s underground arsenic legacy.

The board’s mission is wide in scope, but it has limits: to independently monitor, promote, advise and broadly advocate for the responsible management of the remediation of the Giant Mine site, and manage a research program to seek a permanent solution to the arsenic trioxide stored underground at the site.

So while it’s important to be concerned about the past history of Giant Mine, and about subjects like offsite contamination, it’s also important to realize that resolution of these issues are not part of the Giant Mine Oversight Board’s mandate. These are key issues of public interest, but while GMOB might not be the venue through which the past concerns can be resolved, we are a vehicle through which the past concerns can be noted and passed to the appropriate agencies who can address them.

This distinction needs to be made clear, because these issues do need to be discussed and dealt with, in a venue that will lead to meaningful action.

PAST

PRESENT

Assess

Legacy

1999

FUTURE Full Clean Up

Plan

2006

2021

Monitor

2027

Giant Mine Remediation is planned to start in 2021

WHERE WE ARE NOW

We, and all the other parties involved, are currently in the planning stage of the remediation process. Our major task at this point is to ensure that the Giant Mine Remediation Team and everyone else involved is ready for actual remediation of the mine site to begin in 2021, after the issuance of the necessary regulatory permits for the Project.

One of our major roles is to track progress as we head towards 2021, and to make sure that all involved parties are on the path to make this schedule work.

If you have any further questions, please visit us online at gmob.ca or drop by our office in downtown Yellowknife at 5014-50th Avenue.

June/July 2017

39

Fluorescent jewellery by Creations for Continuity/ Caroline Blechert.

Photo by Jaida Greyeagle.

40 EDGEYK

From museum collections of clothing and accessories to Hollywood's red carpet, Kyla Kakfwi-Scott explores the ways politics, artistry and the land have influenced Dene fashion then and now

F

ashion, as expressed through individual style, tells the world who you are and what you can do.

It conveys status, knowledge, relationship, and connection. Dene style has changed significantly in the years since first contact with Europeans, and can be expressed in many ways, but its importance in communicating who we are as individuals and as a community remains.

Pre-contact, everything Dene people wore came from the land and was made by hand. We were entirely clothed by our environment and our own skill and artistry. Hides, furs, and decorative elements such as quills, seeds, shells, and natural dyes all came from the land.

Sophisticated techniques for processing hides were developed over millennia, and handed down generation to generation.

Clothing was highly functional – designed for the environment and the daily routines of life on the land – but also decorative, often with elements that combine the two. Fringes, for example, remain a stylish choice today, but also provide quick access to a strip of hide that can be used to lash things together.

Adornment is an important part of Indigenous cultures, and this has always been true for Dene as well. From tattooing on the body to jewellery and accessories representing wealth, position, stage of life, and personal skill, we dressed to thrive and demonstrate our mastery. Groups with greater wealth of access to land had more resources

DENE STYLIN’ to draw from, and those with trading connections were able to import materials from other regions. The finest displays of beautiful clothing and adornment were reserved for those in elevated social positions, or for the most talented makers and those lucky enough to benefit from their skill. Wearing the best clothes and accessories communicated power and position.

Museums around the world are filled with examples of Dene style. Clothing, tools, jewellery, bags, and shoes were collected and archived for centuries. These collections show how styles have changed over the years, and have been influenced through contact with other peoples and cultures. Most early visitors to Denendeh wore uniforms; traders, RCMP, the military, the church. Their uniforms were intended to represent their position and privilege. These visitors came to impose power and authority upon Dene people, and they dressed accordingly.

June/July 2017

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Chief Jimmy Bruneau at Behchoko (then Fort Rae). NWT Archives/ Buffum family fonds/ N-1986-006: 0245.

Right: Dene jacket from the NWT archives. Photo by Kyla Kakfwi-Scott.

A

rchival examples show the incorporation of uniforminspired elements into traditional clothing postcontact, for example epaulettes and military collars on moosehide jackets. Power dressing by those in leadership was already in practice, so it’s unsurprising that the styles worn by these visitors were adopted by the Dene. More than just a design choice, I believe this was a political statement, a visual response to the imposition of new authority structures. As the adage goes, if you want to be the boss, you should dress like the boss.

One of the more well-known examples of such a political Dene fashion statement is that of Chief Jimmy Bruneau, the Tlicho leader who signed Treaty 11 in 1922. Photos show him smartly dressed in a double-breasted blazer with gold buttons and trim – somewhat like a captain’s jacket – accessorized with a wide-brimmed hat and his ubiquitous tobacco pipe. There is nothing traditional about the jacket – it is a settler-style article of clothing, but one that conveys an elevated position and authority. continued on p. 44

42 EDGEYK

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June/July 2017

43

TREND WATCH It’s all about revitalization and reinterpretation. Dene artists are learning about forgotten styles and bringing them back with a cool modern twist. Tania Larsson’s jewellery includes dentalium shell earrings and necklaces inspired by traditional Gwich’in adornment. She’s incorporating modern techniques to produce 3D-printed replicas and silver-cast botanical elements such as seeds and pinecones. Over in the Yukon, Heather Dickson (our honourary Dene cousin) created the iconic Granny headband, reinterpreting the headscarves worn by older Dene women into a modern style that is in such high demand she regularly sells out her online store within minutes of launching a sale. Melaw Nakehk’o, who works in multiple mediums, has produced moccasins that bridge cultures and eras by incorporating Transformer and superhero logos for her family. And Caroline Blechert’s most recent collection for Creations for Continuity contrasts the ancient and the cutting edge by combining porcupine quills with neon and day-glo beads.

2

T

he jacket was provided for Chief Bruneau by the government, and the terms of the agreement signed that day required that they provide him with a new one every three years. The signing of the treaty, meant to be an agreement between equals, was thus underscored by the chief’s insistence on equality even in the apparel worn by the signatories.

This was a man who understood that style is about much more than just aesthetic choices.

When the Tlicho Agreement was signed in 2003, the signing chiefs wore replicas of Chief Bruneau’s jacket. These versions, however, were made by Tlicho women to honour their leaders and the occasion.

Symbolically, the jackets carried the post-contact political history into this new era of self-government, reclaiming the narrative and making it their own.

Joseph Kochon, a director with the Sahtu Secretariat Inc., expressed this well during a joint meeting 1. Muskox horn, sterling silver ring, 22k gold and rose cut diamonds by Tania Larsson.

2. Granny Hanky Headband by Heather Dickson. Caribou Hide Earrings with Italian vintage beads by Tania Larsson. Photo by Shawna Mcleod.

Top: Treaty Day Behchoko, 1975.

NWT Archives/Northwest Territories.

Department of Public Works and Services fonds/G-1995-001: 1734.

Right: Chief Alexis Arrowmaker of Rae Edzo.

Jacket made by Francis (Erasmus) Richardson.

NWT Archives/Richardson, R. J./N-1979046: 0001.

44 EDGEYK

with the Sahtu Dene Council a few years ago. “We are nomadic people, in our life and in our leadership. We can be on the land one day, and in a boardroom in Toronto the next. And we don’t need to change our clothes in between – what you see is what you get.”

So what’s Dene style in an era of selfgovernment, cultural revitalization, and truth and reconciliation? As Indigenous people in Canada fight for self-determination, how we present ourselves to the world is always a political statement even when it’s not an active choice. We can be the bestdressed person in the room, the most conservative, the most bold, or the most just DGAF, and it will always communicate something about who we are and what we stand for. continued on p. 46

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June/July 2017

45

TREND FORECAST Keep an eye out for more traditional materials to reappear in Dene style. As Inuit designers continue to use sealskin in unique ways we’re likely to see Dehcho furs incorporated into Dene style in unique and modern applications.

And as more young Dene return to land-based practices and are able to produce their own materials, more whole-animal elements are poised to reappear. A visit to the NWT archives in Yellowknife – in preparation for the 2016 Urban Hide Tanning Project at City Hall – added swan-foot purses to the wish list for the Dene Nahjo crew (an indigenous innovation collective with a vision of Land, Language, and Culture. Forever), and with the best of the land and modern technology at our disposal we’re poised to enter an exciting new era of Dene fashion. Now we just need a 3D printer.

W

hen The Revenant had its Hollywood premiere, Melaw Nakehk’o needed a red carpet outfit. This was about much more than a pretty dress. Her character in the film is an Indigenous woman subjected to physical and sexual violence at the hands of non-Indigenous men.

The political narrative of the character, the film’s handling of the storyline, and Melaw’s own background in social activism, called for styling choices with something to say. But holding your own in Hollywood demands high fashion, and that requires connections or a couture budget. Enter the modern-day version of a trading network and access to resources; social media. Dene people are oral historians. We’re a culture of artists and storytellers, which is why the tech-savvy amongst us are so into social media; it’s a place to share knowledge and stories, and you can do both through images or oral tradition.

1. Shawl by Heather Dickson. Photo

by Shawna Mcleod.

1

2. Moccasins with porcupine quills

by Jean Marie River. NWT Archives/ Rene Fumoleau fonds/N-1998-051: 1252.

3. Swan-foot purse from the NWT Archives. Photo by Kyla Kakfwi-Scott.

3 2 46 EDGEYK

Christi Belcourt, a renowned Metis artist and prolific social media presence, had collaborated with the House of Valentino, one of Italy’s foremost fashion houses, to produce a couture collection inspired by her painting “Water Song.” Christi and Melaw knew each other through Walking With Our Sisters, the exhibit honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women. Would Christi be able to connect Melaw with Valentino?

Indeed she would. Would Valentino be willing to loan a couture piece for Melaw’s red carpet debut? They’d be delighted. Would I get to write the emails arranging all of this? Yes I sure would, and as a lifelong fashion NERD I have to tell you that they were among the most exciting emails I’ve ever drafted.

So, the outfit is sorted. Four dress options – three gowns and a wildcard choice – and shoes are being delivered to the Valentino store on Rodeo Drive, where Melaw will present herself for a fitting.

Now for hair, makeup, and accessories.

Dene fashion throughout history is produced by supportive groups of women. We sew together. We share patterns. We share techniques. We lovingly compete to produce the best work that we can, pushing each other to constantly elevate our skills. Melaw’s red carpet look was the product of just such a network, only this community of women worked remotely via Instagram to put together styling and accessories with input from Dene ladies in Yellowknife, Toronto, and Santa Fe. continued on p. 48

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Treat yourself to an Express or Spa Pedicure.

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5005 – 50th (Franklin) Ave. (beside Vixen Hair Den) 867-446-4436 www.etandah.com

June/July 2017

47

Melaw Nakehk’o wearing Valentino/ Belcourt dress at the premiere of The Revenant. Alamy Stock Photo

by WENN.

48 EDGEYK

continued on p. 50

CORY VANTHUYNE MLA YELLOWKNIFE NORTH If you have any comments, questions or concerns, I would like to hear from you.

cory_vanthuyne@gov.nt.ca 867.767.9143 ext. 12170 Toll Free 1.800.661.0784

June/July 2017

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W

e chose hairstyles and makeup artists. We sourced fine jewelry from New Mexico-based Indigenous artist Keri Ataumbi. We booked appointments and scouted locations. We worked around the clock, no kidding, for days. We did it because we love Melaw, and because we love fashion, and because we knew that the significance of the moment was so much bigger than any of those things – because she is Dene, and Dene style is political.

Top: Vintage European beads on Moosehide, sterling silver, 18k gold, rose cut diamonds and ruby necklace by Tania Larsson.

Bottom: Tiffany Ayalik (wearing Tishna Marlowe) and Grey Gritt of Quantum Tangle on the red carpet for the 2017 Juno Awards. Alamy Stock Photo by REUTERS.

50 EDGEYK

Melaw owned that red carpet. She wore the wildcard dress – a short, caped, fringed suede dress covered in beads and appliqued leather flowers – which fit her so perfectly that no alterations were required and the Valentino staff joked that it must have been made for her. She was included on national bestdressed lists. Images of her blanketed social media, and she used that spotlight to talk about missing and murdered Indigenous women, cultural appropriation, and the importance of positive and accurate representation of Indigenous peoples in mainstream media. We wept with pride.

On a more recent red carpet, Denesoline designer Tishna Marlowe dressed three northern Indigenous women for the 2017 Juno Awards. Leela Gilday, Tanya Tagaq, and Tiffany Ayalik – presenter, performer, and winner at the ceremony, respectively – chose custom designs that showcased their cultures, honoured missing and murdered Indigenous women, balanced modernity and tradition, and symbolically carried their families with them for the evening.

This complexity is central to Tishna’s work through her label Six Red Beads.

Modern Dene style does this on a smaller scale every day. Bringing together our lives on the land and our lives in urban and technology-influenced environments, our fashion choices make a statement about how we are choosing to live, the work we are choosing to do, and the priorities we are choosing to uphold.

Whether it’s handmade slippers or apparel, beaded and embroidered embellishments, furs and hides we’ve learned to tan for ourselves, or elements that come from or are inspired by the land – all are carefully incorporated with contemporary apparel for a balance that is functional and commanding, both on the land and in the boardroom. It communicates a reclaiming not only of culture, but of freedom and mobility. Dene style says we don’t just belong in any room we choose, we might also be the best dressed people in it.

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NATIONAL ABORIGINAL DAY FISH FRY & STAGE SHOW The North Slave Metis Alliance is pleased to announce that we will be hosting the 2017 National Aboriginal Day free-ofcharge fish fry and stage show at the Somba Ke Civic Plaza.

We invite everyone in Yellowknife to come enjoy an afternoon of Northern hospitality including, Metis, First Nations, and Inuit food, music and dance. The North Slave Metis Alliance staff, along with our sponsors and volunteers, look forward to seeing you there!

MLA

Caroline Cochrane, Range Lake (867) 767-9143 Ext. 12153 caroline_cochrane@gov.nt.ca

Join the gathering for Aboriginal Day Live 2017 at Somba K’e Park in Yellowknife on Wednesday, June 21! Daytime Activities 10am – 5pm with North Slave Metis Alliance in partnership with APTN to follow with an Evening Stage Show 6:30pm – 10-30pm.

Wednesday, June 21st Somba Ke Civic Plaza

June/July 2017

51

YOU’RE COMING THIS WAY ANYWAYS.

Why not stop and stay for a while?

STAY WITH ONE OF OUR PARTNERS IN TOURISM The Town of High Level has a number of quality hotels for you to choose from when planning your trip away from Yellowknife.

Contact one of Our Partners to book a room:

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Smile, this won’t hurt a bit

Ollie Williams’ first trip to the dentist in nearly two decades is a jaw-dropping experience in more ways than one Illustration by CODY FENNELL

THE LAST TIME I visited a dentist, the year was 1999.

Hello. My name is Oliver Williams, and I am a walking British dental cliché. Thank you for attending this gathering of Orthodontics Anonymous with me.

North Americans have long associated the British with virtually zero dental health. The Simpsons memorably enshrined this in “The Big Book of British Smiles,” a gory collection used by U.S. dentists to terrify small children into submission.

I didn’t care. It ain’t broke, so why fix it? Why anybody would voluntarily sit in a dentist’s chair when nothing actually hurt, I did not know.

However, my wife is Canadian, has perfect teeth, and takes a somewhat different stance. With our fourth anniversary approaching, I was politely told I was bringing shame to the family and it was dentist or divorce.

June/July 2017

53

This ultimatum arrived just as a new clinic, Birchwood, opened in downtown Yellowknife. Lo, I turned up on the doorstep of the clinic’s three-storey building on a Tuesday morning – its second day in operation – as the fourth patient in Birchwood’s history.

This turned out to be ideal. We spent the day learning together.

I learned about the importance of flossing thanks to a lecture delivered to me very pleasantly, but with the kind of tone ordinarily reserved for a particularly ignorant 10-year-old.

Meanwhile, staff members faced – and you’ll forgive this – teething problems of their own. We jointly learned how to operate their dentist’s chair, discovering after several attempts that button number three is “down” and button number one is “up.” Button two may or may not do anything.

Such is life in a brand new office. The phones were having problems, the internet wasn’t working, and the furniture hadn’t yet arrived. “I would offer you a seat…” the receptionist had said, trailing off as we surveyed an empty room.

Dr. Nittin Gohil had the honour of being the first dentist I’ve engaged in battle for 18 years. Five years, it took him, from acquiring this lot to finally opening the clinic doors. With four

“

“Your teeth are in remarkably good condition for someone who hasn’t seen a dentist since 1999,” Dr. Gohil remarked.

This prompted me, when he briefly left the room, to rapidly text the wife: “I AM WINNING.” Dr. Gohil returned and told me a little about his career.

It transpired that he is the territorial clinical lead for oral health, working on an NWT-wide strategy to improve the quality of our dental care.

Poor sod. My mouth must be a mile below his pay grade.

After a thorough harpooning revealed a couple of small cavities and nothing more, Dr Gohil told me I was done.

Waves of relaxation and delight. That’s it? Eighteen years and after 10 minutes, I can saunter out of the door a free man?

Not so fast. He introduced me to the hygienist.

I have no idea if late-’90s Britain had dental hygienists. I feel like it probably did, but either I never went near one or I repressed the memory. My 32 years on the planet had not prepared me for this.

All credit to Beth, the hygienist: it probably wasn’t a walk in the park for her, either. She probably prefers it when patients have flossed this millennium.

She probably prefers it when patients have flossed this millennium.

“

staff on the books, he’s juggling the roles of dentist, building supervisor, software technician and administrative support.

Within 10 seconds of opening up my jaw, he began letting out wondrous little murmurs.

“Hmm!” He exclaimed, prodding something with a tool designed to harpoon miniature whales.

“Hrgh!” I replied, unable to speak.

“You still have a baby tooth in here,” he clarified. Then he found another one, pointing at the X-ray in joyous confirmation.

There they were, clinging precariously to my gumline, no roots at all. Who knew?

54 EDGEYK

Here I am, patient number four, and it’s a voyage of discovery for everyone.

After half an hour of Beth mining my mouth for two decades of deposits, I used another brief interval to text the wife: “NO LONGER WINNING.” Beth, sensing I was new to this game, switched on the radio to provide some calming background noise.

The problem with this – as Beth could not possibly have known – is that the radio station is my former employer. Now I’m flat on my back, having my teeth scraped clean with uncompromising efficiency, unable to switch off a radio station from which I not-long-ago resigned.

At last, on about the fourth or fifth pass, Beth decided she’d rescued what she could and allowed me to leave. On my way out, she produced a toothbrush and toothpaste. Clearly, on the evidence she had seen, I was not to be trusted to find these on my own.

Back in reception, we found Dr. Gohil and a colleague on their hands and knees. During my spell with the hygienist, all the furniture had arrived – in flatpack form. A dozen or so chairs and their component parts were spread around the room.

There’s nothing quite like overcoming 18 years of dental avoidance to be rewarded with the sight, as you leave, of your dentist wielding a power drill.

Book me in for 2035.

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SUPPORTING PROMOTING BUILDING LOCAL FILM TALENT

IN CANADA’S NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FUNDING AND SUPPORT FOR THE NWT FILM INDUSTRY CONTACT THE OFFICE OF THE NWT FILM COMMISSION.

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For more information, call 1-800-661-0844.

56 EDGEYK

JILL AND JACKFISH PRODUCTIONS, KIRSTEN MURPHY PHOTOGRAPHY, CAMILLA MACEACHERN

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DOOK'S LOOK BACK

The tallest trees for miles were felled in the name of progress, proving once again, you can’t fight city hall

goodbye tall trees

by CATHERINE DOOK

I REMEMBER WHEN they cut down the big old trees at Somba K’e Park, back in 1975 when it was known as Petitot Park (the name changed in the late ‘90s after it was unearthed that Father Emile Petitot, a Catholic missionary priest, had sexually abused his young followers.) The city fathers planned to build a city hall on top of the stumps, though most of us would have preferred the trees. The park had trees and grass and sand and gravel and swings and a tennis court hardly anybody used. There was shade and sun, and how tall those trees stood. They were the biggest trees within miles, thick around and top-heavy and beautiful, as are all rare things. What were they? Spruce, I think. I helped run a playground program there for years. The park had room for games and crafts and pet contests and snacks. We sang songs and told stories and chased each other in wild games of tag and hide-and-seek and capture-the-flag.

Wasn’t the old town hall good enough? Mrs. K., the city secretary, had held sway at the old wooden town hall through a multitude of mayors and expressed opinions on all of them. When I was of an age that required a birth certificate, my mother took me to see Mrs. K. “Good morning. I want a birth certificate for my eldest,” she said.

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He introduced himself, then said, “It seems a shame to cut down these old trees.”

“I think so too,” I said, knowing even at my young age that he was paying lip-service to the sentiment and the trees would be felled as sure as I was standing there.

They were. Oh, there was some public protest, but it was as futile as mine and they built a city hall as elegant and expensive as the architect I’d met.

Yellowknife City Hall as seen from the intersection of 49th Avenue and 52nd Street. NWT Archives/Terry Foster fonds/N-2009-006: 0101.

“Cathy, isn’t it?” Mrs. K. said. “Give me her birthdate and I’ll have it for you in two days.

Three dollars, laminated.” Those were simpler times. She didn’t have to ask the spelling of my last name because she was a tea-drinking friend of my mom’s and I went to school with all four of her sons.

“Thirteen now, is she?” she asked. “She SHOULD have a birth certificate.”

“How’s the new mayor?” Mom asked.

Mrs. K rolled her eyes.

Yes, the old town hall was just fine. It had Mrs. K. in it, which was good enough for us. The building was small and smelled of dust and the floors creaked, but if the city went in for an architecturally-designed structure, wouldn’t we be getting above ourselves? Sure, Yellowknife had been declared a city, but we could lay claim to only 6,000 people and dogs and we weren’t up to the finer points of architecture.

I met the architect himself one summer day when I was running the playground program at the park. He looked like a southerner. He was elegantly groomed and expensively dressed, so naturally, I was immediately suspicious of him.

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With the same chainsaw sweeps with which they cut down the trees, they laid waste to the park playground program I’d helped run for years.

No more tree-climbing contests. No more shade for the boys I went to school with who worked for the city and made $7 an hour to my $3. I used to look at them sleeping peacefully on the cool grass under those trees – on the clock, of course – and wipe the sweat out of my eyes and wonder at the want of justice in the world. Oh, well.

I guess you can’t stand in the way of progress.

Trees are felled, city halls are built, Mrs. K. retired one day, and we have all moved closer to wage parity between the sexes. Now I go to work while my husband, honourably retired, cooks dinner and tidies.

It’s a funny world.

Catherine Dook was born in Yellowknife where her father worked as a bush pilot. She is the author of three humour books and now lives onboard the sailing vessel Inuksuk in Cowichan Bay, B.C. with her husband. Contact catherinedook@hotmail.com to purchase her books.

STAY TUNED FOR UPCOMING DATES IN 2017!

We will be holding Information Sessions throughout the year.

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The Medicine Shoppe - Yellowknife, NT medicineshoppe.ca | 867-920-7775 Old Airport Road next to Quizno’s June/July 2017

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60 EDGEYK

OLD TOWN VERSIFIER

AUTUMN WAS GREEN WITH ENVY

Seasonal Affected Dis-Order

by ANTHONY FOLIOT

despite being dark and grey ‘cause she knew he still harboured thoughts about the Lovely May. But even though they muddled through there was the elephant in the room he let it slip the way he felt, he still loved Pretty June.

Through the lonely, cold, harsh winter he was no fun to be around he rode the empty city bus with the sign that read C Old Town.

Yea that’s exactly how he felt, cold and all alone And not until winter’s grip was shed, did he start to feel some warm Then the sun was warm and the sky was blue there was even a twittering of birds he walked up Franklin Avenue trying to put his thoughts into words.

Yes, putting thoughts into words was his job it’s what he’s supposed to do but sometimes it’s hard to find thoughts for those words especially if there’s nothing new.

New? New!? What do you think? It’s not like a brand new scheme.

It’s not like watching a TV show on a sixty-inch plasma screen.

But Lovely May, she’s young and bright there’s a twinkle in her eyes and Beauty June, who’s warm and soft with pillow clouds in her skies.

Every year he told himself he’d never feel this again until he heard an encouraging word from the mouth of a long-time friend.

What was the encouraging word someone asked?

What made you change your mind?

“When it comes down to affairs of the heart Stick with the best you can find.”

So well, steady as she goes, I guess he may as well stay on the track.

May and June might hang around but Autumn is coming back...

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EDGEYK EVENTS

JUNE 10

JUNE 20

FIFTH ANNUAL YK GRAND PRIX School Draw Avenue This is Yellowknife’s premier soap box derby. Face-painting, games, BBQ by donation and races. To volunteer, participate or become a racer contact the NWT Disabilities Council 873-8230. Free.

NWT RIDER’S ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MIDNIGHT SUN TRUCK, CAR AND MOTORCYCLE SHOW & SHINE 7-9 pm YK Community Arena Parking Lot Midnight Motorcycle Ride to follow.

Registration is $20 and vehicle set-up is from 6-7 pm. Shine up those wheels for a chance to win draw prizes (no judging)!

Open to the public so come check out the vehicles, live band, BBQ, and silent auction. Proceeds to benefit the NWT SPCA. nwtrider@gmail.com

JUNE 16-17

Our events calendar at EDGENORTH.CA is your place to figure out what’s happening any day of the week. Just visit EDGENORTH.CA and click on EVENTS to add your own event for FREE!

JUNE 1-4 NORTHWORDS WRITERS FESTIVAL This year’s festival theme is “Reconciliation: Honoring the past, looking to the future." Join authors: Tracey Lindbergh, Rosanna Deerchild, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Hope Nicholson, Sam Bassam Halvey, Richard Van Camp, Laurie Sarkadi, Paul Andrew, Catherine Lafferty, and many other northern writers. Event tickets, memberships, and workshop sign-up available at the Yellowknife Book Cellar.

Full schedule at: northwordsnwt.com

EAST COAST GARDEN PARTY Multiplex Arena Grounds We all know that the best parties just happen. In Newfoundland, this usually happens in the kitchen and if too many friends show up, you get moved to outside, hence the Garden. Fresh seafood, kid’s zone, beer gardens. Bands include: Who Made Who, A Tribute to AC/ DC, Classified, Dallas Smith, Godson, Trooper, The Trews and MORE. eastcoastgardenparty.com

JUNE 17 BEER BARGE 4-11 pm Old Wardair Dock, across from Wildcat Cafe The Beer Barge features live entertainment and a free BBQ. Beer is brewed by the NWT Brewing Company. Sponsored by the Mining Heritage Society nwtminingheritage.com. $50 regular, $40 senior rate.

JULY 6-9 MIDNIGHT SUN FLY IN Wardair Dock, Wiley Road Planned activities include a fly-out picnic, live entertainment, dockside dining, airplane rides, pancake breakfast, memorial fly-past, and great bush pilot conversation. floatplaneflyin@gmail.com For more info: 873-4036

JULY 14-16 FOLK ON THE ROCKS Folk on the Rocks Festival Site City and Colour, Jason Collette, Tanika Charles and Shad are among the many performers at this premier outdoor music festival. For full schedule and ticket information: folkontherocks.com

JUNE 8 (and every Thursday)

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Photo by Angela Gzowski.

OPEN MIC AT THE CELLAR 8:30 pm - midnight Cellar Bar & Grill It's the official start to the Yellowknife Weekend! Host Mel Leonard invites you to join him onstage (or just enjoy the atmosphere!) at the Cellar every Thursday Night.

CHESTERFIELD /CHestər,fēld/ Noun Canadian English: a couch or sofa; that is, a large, cushioned seat that can fit more than one person

CELEBRATING

150

YEARS OF

CANADIAN HERITAGE

WITH FURNITURE AND DECOR THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME

quality furniture: a yk tradition

FURNITURE AND SO MUCH MORE! 4610 FRANKLIN AVE | 873-2004 | QUALITYFURNITURENWT.COM June/July 2017

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Yellowknife Airport to maintain and Most importantly, we're improving L’aéroport de Yellowknife enhance our level of safety, security and customer Where the North Connects | Le rendez-vous du Nord service at the Yellowknife Airport for everyone.