Above & Beyond | Canada's Arctic Journal 2019 | 02

The Inflight Magazine for First Air

2019 | 02 Yours to Keep

shuvinai Ashoona Artist and Collector Bond

recording Inuit Names Genealogy of Nunavut

Glaciers, Grads, and Geezers Climate Change You Can see and touch

Under the Ice Mussel Harvesting

PM40050872

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Dear Guest ᑐᕌᖅᑐᑦ ᐃᑭᒪᔪᓄᑦ,

Spring, a time of growth and rebirth, is on the horizon. It’s easy to draw a parallel between spring and the merger between First Air and Canadian North. The merger will bring a growth of benefits and synergies between both airlines that will allow us to build a strong and sustainable airline dedicated to serving the North.

As much as the merger is top of mind for all of us, we remain firmly committed to investing in the communities we serve. With that in mind, we are investing in partnerships, sponsorships and events that bring value to the communities while ensuring they are in balance with the unique nature of the Inuit culture.

This past February, we were incredibly honoured to partner with Canada Goose as they launched Project Atigi. Project Atigi saw 14 seamstresses from Nunavik, Nunatsiavut, Nunavut and Inuvialuit handcraft one-of-a-kind parkas that showcase true Inuit culture. The designs were unveiled at an event in New York City. The project celebrates the expertise and rich heritage of the North. Proceeds from the sale of this unique collection of parkas will go to the communities through the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

On February 12, we were proud to be a lead sponsor of the Arctic Inspiration Prize, this year held in Whitehorse, Yukon. We have been partners of the Arctic Inspiration prize since its inception. The prize, which recognizes innovation, excellence and teamwork for issues that affect the Arctic and its people, has provided tremendous benefits to the communities. I would like to send my heartfelt congratulations to all nominees and recipients of this year’s awards.

Sports are an important element of life in the North. We are always happy to be involved with sports teams of Northern communities, whether they are attending tournaments, the Arctic Winter Games or the recently completed Canada Games. It brings a sense of pride to the families and friends of the athletes who participate, and we feel part of the team as we cheer them on.

I’d like to send special congratulations to the Iqaluit Blizzard Novices Team (ages 7-8) that brought back the gold medal from their recent tournament in Ottawa, Ontario. Moments like these bring pride to an entire community!

Thank you for choosing First Air for your flight today. I hope we were able to make your journey a great one and we hope to see you aboard again soon.

Chris Avery First Air President & CEO

Chris Avery fE{ ∑KE

Johnny Adams ÷i ≈bu Executive Chairman of the Board, First Air ᐃᓱᒪᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᒃᓯᕙᐅᑕᕆᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᓂ, ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᕐ

ᐅᐱᕐᖔᖅ, ᐱᕈᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᓇᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓄᑕᐅᓕᕆᐊᕐᕕᒃᓴᓇᐅᑎᓪᓗᒍ, ᓂᕆᐅᓐᓇᖅᓯᓯᒪᓕᕆᕗᖅ. ᐊᔪᕐᓇᖖᒋᓗᐊᕐᒪᑦ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐊᑭᓕᕇᓕᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑕ ᐅᐱᕐᖔᑉ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑲᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᕆᐊᕐᓂᖏᑕ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖅᑎᖏᑕ ᕘᕐᔅᑦ ᐃᐊ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑲᓃᑎᐊᓐᓂ ᓄᐊᔅ ᑕᐅᑐᖅᑰᕐᓴᕋᐃᓐᓇᕐᒪᑦ. ᑲᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᕐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐱᑕᖃᓕᕈᑎᐅᓂᐊᕐᒪᑕ ᐊᖏᒡᓕᕙᓪᓕᐊᓂᖏᓐᓂ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑕᐅᔾᔪᑎᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᕈᑎᐅᔪᓂ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᕙᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᑕᒪᒃᑭᓐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖅᑎᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᕈᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᑎᑦᑎᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᐊᓕᕋᑦᑕ ᓴᖖᒋᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᕈᒃᑲᓐᓂᕆᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖅᑎᓂᒃ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ.

ᑲᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᕐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖏᑦ ᑕᒪᑦᑎᓐᓂᓗᒃᑖᖅ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᐅᓗᐊᓕᖅᓯᒪᒐᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ, ᓱᓕ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᖅᑎᐅᓂᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᕿᑐᕐᖏᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓯᒪᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᑲᔪᓯᒋᐊᖅᑎᑦᑏᓐᓇᖅᐳᒍᑦ. ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊᓗ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᒋᑦ, ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᐱᕈᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᓪᓕᐊᕗᒍᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒋᓕᖅᓯᒪᔭᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ, ᑮᓇᐅᔭᑎᒍᑦ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᓂᒃ ᐱᑎᑦᑎᕙᓐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂᑦ ᐊᑐᕐᓂᖃᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᑕᐅᑦᑎᒃᑰᕐᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᓇᓕᖅᑲᐅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᖃᕋᑎᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐱᐅᓯᑐᖃᕆᔭᖏᓐᓄᑦ. ᕕᑉᕈᐊᕆᐅᑎᓪᓗᒍ, ᐅᐱᒍᓱᓪᓚᕆᓚᐅᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᖃᓕᕐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᑲᓇᑕ ᒎᔅ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᕐᕕᖓᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᒋᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᖏᓐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅ ᐊᑎᒋ ᑕᐃᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ. ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅ ᐊᑎᒋ 14-ᖑᔪᓂᒃ ᒥᖅᓱᕐᑎᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᕕᖕᒥᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓄᕕᐊᓗᐃᑦ ᐊᕕᒃᑐᖅᓯᒪᓂᖓᓂᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᖃᕋᑎᒃ ᔭᐸᓕᐊᕆᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᑎᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐱᐅᓯᓪᓚᕆᖏᑎᑐᑦ ᓴᓇᐅᒐᓕᐊᖑᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ. ᔭᐸᓕᐊᖑᓯᒪᔪᐃᑦ ᑕᐅᑦᑐᖏᑦ ᓴᖅᑭᑕᐅᓚᐅᕐᒪᑕ ᑕᑯᔭᒃᓴᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᓂ ᓂᐅᔪᐊᒃ ᓯᑎᒥ. ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒍᑎᖃᕐᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᕗᖅ ᐊᔪᖖᒋᓐᓂᖃᒻᒪᕆᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᓴᓇᐅᒐᓕᐊᕆᕙᒃᑕᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ. ᓂᐅᕝᕈᑎᖃᕐᓂᕐᒥᑦ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᓕᐊᖑᔪᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᓇᖖᒐᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᖃᕋᑎᒃ ᔭᐸᓂᒃ ᑲᑎᖅᓱᐊᖑᓯᒪᔪᓂᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᖕᓄᑦ ᐅᑎᖅᑎᑕᐅᓂᐊᕐᒪᑕ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑕᐱᕇᒃᑯᑎᒍᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ.

ᕕᑉᕈᐊᕆ 12-ᒥ, ᓴᕆᒪᒋᓚᐅᕋᑦᑎᒍ ᓯᕗᓕᖅᑎᐅᓪᓗᑕ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᑎᒍᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᕈᑎᒃᓴᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐃᔾᔪᐊᕈᒥᓇᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᓵᓚᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᒥ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ, ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᒥ ᕙᐃᑦᕼᐅᐊᔅ, ᔫᑳᓐᒦᑎᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ. ᑕᐃᒪᖖᒐᓂᑦ ᐱᒋᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᒻᒪᑕ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐃᔾᔪᐊᕈᒥᓇᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᑖᓚᒃᓴᐅᑎᑖᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᓐᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᐅᖃᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᖅᐳᒍᑦ. ᑖᓚᒃᓴᐅᑎᑖᕈᑎᑦ, ᐃᓕᑕᖅᓯᔾᔪᑎᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᓄᑖᑎᒍᑦ, ᐱᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᑐᑎᒍᑦ ᖁᑦᑎᖕᓂᖅᐹᖑᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᒃᐸᓐᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᓕᕆᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᒃᑐᐃᓯᒪᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓄᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᐊᖏᔪᐊᓗᖕᒥᒃ ᐃᑲᔪᕈᑎᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᓯᒪᓕᕐᒪᑕ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ. ᐆᒻᒪᑎᓐᓂᑦ ᐱᔪᒥᒃ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒍᑎᔪᒪᕙᒃᑲ ᑕᒪᕐᒥᒃ ᓂᕈᐊᒐᒃᓴᖖᒍᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᑎᑖᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᒥ. ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᑐᕌᖓᔪᑦ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᑕᐅᒻᒪᑕ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐃᓅᓯᕆᔭᐅᔪᓂ. ᖁᕕᐊᒌᓐᓇᖅᐸᒃᑕᕗᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᕙᓐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᓄᓇᓕᖏᓐᓂᑦ, ᐅᐸᒍᑎᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂ, ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐅᑭᐅᒃᑯᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᑎᑦᑎᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᒫᓐᓇᓵᖑᓂᕐᓴᒥ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᒧᑦ. ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᖃᓐᓇᕆᔭᐅᔪᓂᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᓴᕆᒪᒋᔭᐅᒻᒪᕆᒃᐸᒻᒪᑕ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᓪᓗᒍ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᕙᒃᑲᑦᑕ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᓄᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑐᐃᖃᑕᐅᓕᕌᖓᑦᑕ. ᖁᕕᐸᓱᒍᑎᔪᒪᕙᒃᑲ ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ ᐱᓕᔪᕐᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᖏᑦ (ᐅᑭᐅᓖᑦ 7-ᓂᑦ 8-ᓄᑦ) ᑲᓐᓂᑲᒥᒃ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᑎᑖᓚᐅᕐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕐᓂᖃᓵᓚᐅᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐋᑐᕙ, ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕆᐅᒥ. ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇᐃᑦᑐᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᑎᑖᖅᑐᓂ ᓄᓇᖅᑲᑎᒌᓕᒫᓂᑦ ᓴᕆᒪᒋᔭᐅᕙᒻᒪᑕ ᐊᖏᔪᐊᓗᖕᒥᒃ! ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ ᕘᕐᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖓᓂᒃ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᖠᓯᒪᓚᐅᕋᕕᑦ ᐃᑭᒪᓪᓗᑎᓪᓗ ᐅᓪᓗᒥ. ᖃᖓᑕᓂᕐᓂ ᓈᒻᒪᑦᑎᐊᖁᓇᖅᐳᓯ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᑰᑎᒃᑲᓐᓂᓛᕆᕗᒍᑦ ᕿᓚᒥᐅᔪᖅ.

ᑯᕆᔅ ᐄᕗᕆ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᖅ & ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᔨᒻᒪᕆᒃ

ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᐅᑉ ᐅᔾᔨᕆᔭᐅᑎᑕᐅᓂᖓ

Employee Spotlight | Iqqanaijaqtiup Ujjirijautitauninga

ᕗᐊᕆᔅ ᐆᓪᓚ | Waris Ullah ᐃᕐᓂᐊᖑᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᕈᖅᓴᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᐸᐃᖕᓚᑎᔅᒥ, ᕗᐊᕆᔅ ᐆᓪᓚ ᑲᓇᑕᐅᑉ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᖓᓄᑦ ᓄᒃᑎᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒃᑯᓕᕆᔨᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖅᑖᕋᓱᐊᕈᒪᓪᓗᓂ 2009-ᖑᑎᓪᓗᒍ. ᒫᓐᓇᐅᔪᖅ ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦᒥ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ, ᓚᐃᓴᖄᖅᑑᓪᓗᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᒋᔭᐅᕗᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᖏᔪᒻᒪᕆᒻᒥᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᓂᖃᖃᑦᑕᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᓱᐴᔫᓕᖕᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᓂᒃ.

ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒃᑯᕖᑦ ᓴᓇᕝᕕᖓᓐᓂ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᒥᒃ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖅᑖᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᒋᕙᓪᓕᐊᓪᓗᓂᒋᑦ ᐋᓐᑎᐊᕆᐅᑉ ᑕᖅᕋᖓᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑭᖑᓂᐊᓂ ᓄᒃᑎᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᓂᐅᕙᐅᓐᓛᓐᒧᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᒋᓕᕈᓐᓇᖅᑕᒥᓂᒃ ᓇᓂᓯᓯᒪᓕᕋᓱᐊᖅᑐᓂ, ᑕᐃᒪᓗ ᑕᐃᑲᓂ ᓚᐃᓴᑖᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅᑖᕈᓐᓇᖅᓯᓕᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂ. ᐋᓐᑎᐊᕆᐅᔪᑦ ᐅᑎᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅᑖᕐᓯᒪᓕᕐᑐᓂ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᐅᔪᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᐊᕐ ᔪᐊᕐᔨᐊᓐᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑕᐅᓂᖃᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐃᐊᕐ ᑲᓇᑕ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᖏᓂᒃ ᑐᕌᓐᑐ ᐱᐅᕐᓴᓐ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒃᑯᕕᖓᓂ. ᐱᖁᑎᓕᕆᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕌᓂᒃᓯᒪᐅᑎᖃᓕᓚᐅᕆᕗᖅ ᓯᕗᒻᒧᒋᐊᕈᑎᒋᓂᐊᖅᑐᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒃᑯᕕᖕᒥ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᕆᔭᒥᓄᑦ.

ᓄᕕᐱᕆ 2018-ᒥ ᕘᕐᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᓐᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ, ᒫᓐᓇᐅᒥ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᕆᔭᒥᓄᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ — ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᕆᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᖃᓗᓐᓂ. ᓇᐅᑦᓯᖅᑐᐃᔨᐅᕗᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᐅᔪᓕᕆᔨᖏᓂ, ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᓂᒃ ᐋᖅᑭᐅᒪᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᑎᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᓄᑦ ᖁᑦᑎᖕᓂᖅᐸᐅᔪᑎᒍ ᒪᓕᒃᑕᐅᒋᐊᓕᖁᑎᖏᑦ ᒪᓕᒃᑐᒋᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒪᓕᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓂᒃ ᑲᒻᐸᓂᒋᔭᐅᒥ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓚᒃᓴᖁᑎᓂᒃ ᓴᓇᔨᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᒪᓕᒐᖁᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᒪᓕᒃᑕᐅᒋᐊᓕᖁᑎᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑐᖖᒐᕝᕕᒋᔭᐅᕙᒃᑐᖁᑎᓂᒃ. ᑲᒪᔨᒋᔭᐅᒋᕗᖅ ᑭᖑᕙᖖᒋᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᑎᑕᐅᕙᓐᓂᖏᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᐅᔪᑦ, ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐸᐅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᓂ ᖃᓄᐃᖖᒋᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᔭᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᑕᐃᒪᖖᒐᓕᒫᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖁᑦᑎᖕᓂᖅᐸᐅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᐸᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᐃᑭᒪᔪᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᖅᑕᐅᕙᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ. ᕗᐊᕆᔅ ᓇᐅᑦᓯᖅᑐᐃᔨᐅᒋᕗᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓄᑦ ᒥᑦᑕᕐᕕᖁᑎᓕᕆᔾᔪᑎᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑕᐅᕙᓐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᖃᓗᓐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒃᑯᕕᖕᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᔪᓄᑦ, ᐃᓚᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᑲᓕᔾᔪᑎᐅᕙᒃᑐᓂᒃ, ᓯᑯᓯᒪᓂᖏᓂᒃ ᐲᔭᐃᕙᓐᓂᕐᓄᑦ, ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᕙᓐᓂᕐᓄᑦ, ᐊᓯᖏᓂᒃᓗ. ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᕐᒥᑎᒍᑦ ᖃᓂᑐᕋᐅᓐᓂᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᓇᕐᖓᕐᓇᒻᒪᕆᒃᑑᓪᓗᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᖑᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᕗᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᕈᑎᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᖓᓂ ᓄᓇᖃᖃᑕᐅᒋᐊᒥᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᕐᓂᖓᓄᑦ ᐃᖃᓗᓐᓂ. ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᖓ ᐱᔭᕇᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒋᐊᖅᑕᐅᕙᓐᓂᖏᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᑭᒪᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐃᑭᕙᓪᓕᐊᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐃᑭᕙᓪᓕᐊᕙᓐᓂᖏᑕ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᕗᐊᕆᔅ ᐃᓗᒥᒍᑦ ᓈᒻᒪᑦᑎᐊᖅᑑᓂᖓᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖁᔭᓕᔾᔪᑎᖃᕐᓂᕐᒥᓂᒃ ᐃᒃᐱᓐᓂᐊᒍᑎᒋᕙᒃᐸᖏᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑎᑕᐅᓂᕐᒥᓂᒃ ᕘᕐᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᖏᓐᓄᑦ.

ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᒃᑯᑦ ᓴᓇᕝᕕᒋᔭᖓᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᖃᑕᐅᓂᖓ ᐃᑲᔪᕈᑎᐅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᐊᔪᖖᒋᓐᓂᕆᔭᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᐅᓯᒋᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᓂ, ᓴᕆᒪᒋᔭᖃᕐᓂᖓᓄᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᕆᔭᒥᓂᒃ, ᐱᓗᐊᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᓲᕐᓗ ᐅᔾᔨᖅᓱᑦᑎᐊᕋᓱᒋᐊᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᖖᒋᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᒋᐊᖃᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ, ᖃᓄᐃᓕᖓᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐅᔾᔨᕈᓱᑦᑎᐊᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ, ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖃᑎᒌᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖃᑎᒌᒃᐸᓐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᓂᖃᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᖃᖅᑐᓂᒃ, ᑕᒪᐃᑎᒍᓪᓗ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᕐᓂᕐᒥᓄᑦ ᓯᕗᒻᒧᒋᐊᕈᑎᒋᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂᒋᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᓪᓚᕆᒃᑐᒍ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᓕᕐᓂᕐᒥᓂ.

ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖓᑕ ᐊᓯᐊᓄᓪᓕ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᔭᖃᕐᒥᔪᖅ ᑎᑕᒃᑎᐅᓂᕐᒥᒃ (ᑭᑖᖅᑎᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᐃᖖᒋᖅᑎᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑎᑕᒃᑎᐅᔪᓄᑦ), ᑕᕐᕆᔭᐅᑎᓕᐊᖑᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᕐᕆᔭᕆᐊᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᒥᒃ, ᓂᕆᔭᖅᑐᕐᕕᖕᓂ ᓂᕆᔭᖅᑐᕐᐸᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ, ᓂᕆᔭᒃᓴᓕᐅᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᒥᓂᒃ ᐃᓅᖃᑎᖃᕈᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒥᓂᒃ. ᕗᐊᕆᔅ ᓯᓚᕐᔪᐊᓕᒫᒥᐅᓄᑦ ᐅᐊᔭᕈᒪᕙᒻᒥᔪᖅ ᐃᓚᒋᓗᓂᒋᑦ ᐊᐃᑉᐸᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᕆᔭᓂ, ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐊᖏᔪᒥᒃ ᐃᑲᔪᕐᓂᖃᖅᐸᓐᓂᖓᑕ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᓄᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᕐᑑᓂᖓᓂᑦ.

ᕗᐊᕆᔅ ᓱᓕ ᒫᓐᓇᒧᑦ ᑎᑭᑦᑐᒍ ᓄᖅᑲᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅᐸᒃᑐᖅ ᑕᑯᒃᓴᕈᒪᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᓂᐊᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ. “ᐃᓗᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᔾᔨᖃᖖᒋᑦᑐᒥᒃ ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᓪᓚᕆᒃᐸᒃᑕᕋ. ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓪᓗᖓ ᐊᒃᓱᕈᕈᑎᒋᓪᓗᒍ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᓯᒪᓂᖓᓂᑦ ᓈᒻᒪᒃᑐᒥᒃ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᖅᐸᓐᓂᖏᑦ ᐱᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᑑᕙᒻᒪᑕ.”

Born and raised in Bangladesh, Waris Ullah moved to Canada to pursue a career in Aviation in 2009.

Currently based in Iqaluit, Nunavut, he is a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and has extensive experience on Turbo-prop aircraft.

His first job in the aviation industry as an Apprentice Aircraft Maintenance Engineer was in Northern Ontario and then he later moved to Newfoundland to follow opportunities, which resulted in him achieving his dream of becoming a successful Licensed Engineer.

He moved back to Ontario and worked as a Maintenance Production Manager for Air Georgian operating as Air Canada Express based out of Toronto Pearson Airport. He also completed Supply Chain Management & Aviation Management courses to help further his aviation career.

Coming on board with First Air in November 2018, his present position at First Air is as Maintenance Manager — Line & Base Operations in Iqaluit. He oversees the Aircraft Maintenance Department, ensuring all aircraft are maintained to the highest standards and comply with all company and manufacturers regulatory requirements and standards. He is also responsible for the on-time performance of the fleet, prioritizing safety first at all times and ensuring the highest level of customer service is achieved. Waris also oversees the aircraft ramp operations and Iqaluit base operations, which includes aircraft towing, de-icing, marshalling, etc.

Working in a close-knit community and being a part of the mesmerizing North are some of the perks of living and working in Iqaluit.

Being able to participate in the completion of an aircraft inspection to preparing the aircraft for departure and seeing passengers board the aircraft with a smile on their faces gives Waris the best feeling of satisfaction and thankfulness to be a part of the First Air Team.

Being in the aviation industry has also helped him develop skills such as time management, taking pride in his work, paying particular attention to safety, situational awareness, team work, and organization, all of which have helped him further his aviation career doing what he passionately loves.

His other interests include music (he used to be bass player in a Heavy Metal band), movies, restaurants, cooking and spending time with his family. Waris also enjoys travelling around the world with his spouse and family, one of the great advantages of being in the aviation industry.

Waris still stops and stares at an aircraft every time it is about to take off. “The joy I get from it is parallel to none. Knowing all the hard work that went behind it to make a successful take-off is astronomical.”

From the Flight Deck Operating aircraft on gravel and paved runways Throughout our network, we serve several airports that have paved runways but many of the airports only have gravel runways.

The different kinds of runways don’t stop us from operating but it does mean we must consider different factors depending on the kind of runway we are using.

One of the most obvious differences is that the gravel runway generally isn’t as smooth and flat as a paved runway. You can likely feel that during the takeoff and landing phase of each flight. The airport operator does their best to keep the gravel surface as smooth as possible but the roughness naturally results in a bit more wear and tear on the wheels and landing gear. As a result, we must track each takeoff and landing from a gravel runway a little bit differently to ensure we carry out several maintenance tasks more frequently than we would if we only operated from paved runways.

Another consideration for gravel runways is the loose surface — all of the small rocks and the dust. As the airplane takes off and lands, the dust and some of the smaller stones can get lifted off the ground and get thrown into the aircraft or the propeller blades. Over time, as you can likely imagine, this also damages the various parts of the aircraft. We can make some modifications to the aircraft to help reduce this damage though. On the ATR, we have added deflectors around the nose wheel to prevent stones from being thrown up by the front wheels and then hitting the aircraft. There are also protective coatings and shields that are added to some other components to protect them when they do get hit. Some older jet aircraft, like the B737-200, also had a system that would

© Jason Miller - Baffin Photography

blow a stream of air below the engines to act as a barrier to prevent rocks and dust from being sucked into the engine. Since the engines on the B737-400 are much larger, and much closer to the ground, that kind of a modification simply isn’t possible. As a result, that aircraft isn’t permitted to land on gravel runways. Our ATR pilots also use a couple of different techniques when handling the engines and steering controls to minimize the chances of rocks being sucked off the ground.

In general, gravel runways can be harder on the aircraft than on paved ones but that doesn’t mean that they are worse than paved ones. There are times that gravel runways can also make our lives easier. During the summer months, even a small amount of rain can form puddles on a paved runway since the water has no place to go. Those puddles can make the runway quite slippery.

Since gravel runways can soak up a bit of the

water, they don’t often have that same problem following a rain storm. We can also see some benefits in the winter time. If a small layer of snow builds up on a paved runway, it can quickly turn into a sheet of very slippery ice. When that happens on a gravel runway, since the thin layer still allows some of the gravel to poke out of the top, the runway doesn’t get that slippery.

At the end of the day, you can’t really say that one kind of a runway is better or worse than the other. They each are different and we just have to adjust our operations to adapt to the kind of runway that the airport has.

Captain Aaron Speer Vice President, Flight Operations First Air

If you are curious about a specific topic regarding flying and aircraft operations, let us know what you’d like to learn about and we’ll try to include it in a future column.

Email: editor@arcticjournal.ca

The Inflight Magazine for First Air

2019 | 02 YOURS TO KEEP

Shuvinai Ashoona Ar st and Collector Bond

Recording Inuit Names Genealogy of Nunavut

Glaciers, Grads, and Geezers Climate Change You Can See and Touch

Contents

March | April 2019 Volume 31, No. 2

Under the Ice Mussel Harvesting

10 PM40050872

o www.arcticjournal.ca

A beautiful turquoise light breaks through the ice as we start harvesting mussel. © Guillaume Roy

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Features

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Shuvinai Ashoona

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In July 2018, my husband and I joined a 12-person fly-around to art-producing communities on Baffin Island. Our local hosts asked us which artists we would be interested in meeting — if possible.

I mentioned Shuvinai Ashoona. — Richard D. Mohr

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Recording Inuit Names

The Family Relations and Genealogy Strategy 2010-2014, developed by the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage, initiated a series of Family Relations and Genealogy workshops across Nunavut from 2010 to 2012.

— Edited by Sharon Angnakak

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Under the Ice Mussel Harvesting

Human ingenuity has allowed the Inuit to adapt to one of the world’s harshest ecosystems by developing amazing techniques to obtain daily needed proteins.

One of the most striking examples of such cleverness is the unique way they harvest mussels.

— Text and photos by Guillaume Roy

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Glaciers, Grads, and Geezers

Teenagers line up with two elderly shipmates, one in his early nineties, the other his mid-eighties. One after the other, they climb down into a Zodiac that will ferry them to an Arctic experience none of them will ever forget. — Whit Fraser

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09 Destination Focus

13 Living Above&Beyond 19 Resources

35 Education Teaching Earth Sciences Awareness

38 Science Snow Goose Hunting Project — Jill Larkin 41 Culture Dog Teams — Nick Newbery 45 Culture Cache Tuktu — Peter Autut

48 Bookshelf

50 Inuit Forum — Natan Obed President Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

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67.5586° N, -64.0236° E

D E S T I N AT I O N F O C U S

OIkIOTARJUAO I I I

Nunavut’s most westerly community, Qikiqtarjuaq is located off the east coast of Cumberland Peninsula on Baffin Island. Formerly known as Broughton Island, the community was renamed Qikiqtarjuaq in 1998.

Qikiqtarjuaq is an Inuktitut word meaning, “big island.”

Qikiqtarjuaq received the name Broughton Island in 1818 by Royal Navy explorer John Ross. Ross opened up the west shore of Baffin Island to European whalers who had already been hunting the nearby Greenland area. Seasonal visits by whalers to the Qikiqtarjuaq area began in July 1824 and continued for a century.

Qikiqtarjuaq’s history includes traditionally used adjacent areas including Kivitoo and Paallavvik. The construction of FOX-5, a DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line auxiliary site, close to Qikiqtarjuaq in 1955 marked the beginning of continuous permanent residency of Inuit and non-Inuit in the current hamlet location.

Before the construction of the DEW Line site, Inuit continuously moved throughout the area to take advantage of local wildlife conditions. Traditionally, ringed, bearded, and harp seals were the most important species in the area and the main source of meat for Inuit. Qikiqtarjuaq boasts an abundance of wildlife including; migratory birds, polar bears, bowhead, orca, caribou, belugas, narwhal, and walrus.

The presence of whalers and traders allowed local Inuit to adopt foreign manufactured goods and technologies into their daily lives, such as guns and ammunition, animal traps, and sewing machines. Inuit readily adopted new forms of recreation such as musical instruments and tobacco. Despite annual contact with whalers, trading was primarily conducted at the trading store in Pangnirtung, 240 kilometres away over difficult mountain passes.

The Hudson’s Bay Company trading post was established in the Qikiqtarjuaq area in 1960. An Anglican church was built in the community in 1964. The nursing station was established in 1967. By 1973, the community had transitioned to a cash economy and a local community cooperative was formed.

By 1970, almost all of the area’s people were settled close to present-day Qikiqtarjuaq. As Inuit settled in the vicinity of FOX-5, the federal government began providing services to Inuit such as health care, housing, and education. Many Inuit arrived in search of employment, leftover building materials, and surplus food. FOX-5 provided both steady and temporary employment for Inuit.

Qikiqtarjuaq is famously known as the iceberg capital of the world. Throughout the summer spectacular icebergs, calved from Greenlandic glaciers, float past the community as they travel down Davis Strait headed for southern waters.

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© Nick Newbery

Essential Qikiqtarjuaq experiences include:

• Visiting Auyuittuq National Park to hike the famed Akshayuk Pass, ski the Park’s pristine ice fields, or summit Auyuittuq’s peaks.

• Meeting at the Gathering House, a joint project between the Hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq and Parks Canada, for guided tours and conversations with elders and artists.

• Experiencing nature — by boat in the summer, by snowmobile in the winter.

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In Cape Dorset’s Aupalutuk Park last July, Shuvinai Ashoona unfurls and presents to the author a pen-and-ink that she had unsolicitedly drawn for him the night before.

Shuvinai Ashoona, “Untitled [Baleen on a Rocky Shore]” (2018), pen-and-ink, 30” x 11”, 76cm x 28cm. © Richard Mohr.

Shuvinai Ashoona The artist and collector bond

By Richard D. Mohr

In July 2018, my husband and I joined a 12-person fly-around to art-producing communities on Baffin Island. When First Air landed the Adventure Canada group in Cape Dorset for a four-day stay, our local hosts asked us which artists we would be interested in meeting — if possible. Carving enthusiasts named Nuna Parr. Hoping against hope, I mentioned Shuvinai Ashoona.

Part of Shuvinai Ashoona’s entourage examines the spine of a bowhead, which had been successfully hunted seven years earlier in Aupalutuk Park. Though the whale’s baleen had been harvested long ago, time and tide had not yet cured the vertebrae sufficiently for carving. © Richard Mohr.

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Rising Star and Super Star: L to R: Saimaiyu Akesuk and Shuvinai Ashoona. Across the Spring of 2019, the retrospective of Shuvinai Ashoona’s work at Toronto’s Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery has solidified her stature as Canada’s greatest living Inuit artist. In January, Ashoona won the $50,000 Gershon Iskowitz Prize, which is awarded annually through the Art Gallery of Ontario for excellence in Canadian visual art. © Louis Jungheim

A serene, nearly life-size pen-and-ink drawing of a plate of baleen by Shuvinai Ashoona on display in July 2018 during the pre-dedication exhibition at Cape Dorset’s new kenojuak Cultural Centre. © Louis Jungheim

During 2016, I had purchased an early pen-and-ink drawing by her, one depicting an abstract rocky shore, a subject that launched her career in the late nineties. She now has work on permanent display in the National Gallery, and her Spring 2019 retrospective at Toronto’s Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery (until May 2019) has solidified her reputation as Canada’s greatest living Inuit artist.

The next day, the group got a sneak peek into the Kenojuak Cultural Centre, where the exhibition for its soft opening was almost entirely devoted to Ashoona’s work, including both serene pen-and-inks of baleen and drawings of monsters and beheadings.

On the third day, we met rising print artist star Saimaiyu Akesuk. And, just as we were sitting down to dine, who should stroll in from out of the blue but Shuvinai Ashoona. Smiles all around.

I had with me a catalogue of her work, and by the time she agreed to sign and be photographed with it, the North-South ice had been broken. Chatting all around.

I knew that asking pointed questions of Inuit was impolite and that direct questions asked of Inuit artists were nearly always deflected. So, over a char lunch, I simply asked her how her day was going. She said, “This morning, I got up before the other people in my house and saw polar bears as big as mountains walking over the mountains and then they turned into snakes.” She was present, attentive, and engaged. Sparkling eyes all around.

From reading ethnographical literature, I knew that traditionally Inuit viewed monsters, ghosts, and spirits in general as having the same degree of substance as you and I. They are not illusions, phantoms, hallucinations, mere projections of the mind. Rather they are free-standing and can knock you off your feet. Ashoona was simply being traditional.

On my iPhone, I showed her a photo of her drawing that I owned. She greeted it as an old, lost friend. Inuit artists rarely learn what becomes of their work once it is “sent South.”

On our last day, the group drove out to visit archeological sites in the town’s Aupalutuk Park, whose coastal rocks were clearly the source of those in my Ashoona drawing. Just as the group was about to move on, who should unexpectedly drive up in a pick-up but Shuvinai Ashoona with two friends in the cab and a jamboree of young boys in the back. She hops out, strides across 80 metres of rock directly toward A B OV E & B E YO N D — C A N A DA’ S A RC T I C J O U R N A L

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me holding out a scroll, as though I were receiving a highschool diploma. At this point, jaws of my fellow adventurers are starting to drop. Unsolicitedly, she had, overnight, drawn for me a pen-and-ink that fuses her current interest in baleen with the rocky scene from the drawing I already owned.

Was it a gift? No. But what she asked for it was the merest token of what it would be stickered for in a Vancouver gallery, not even enough to buy dinner for her and her friends at the local restaurant.

The drawing now hangs on the header of our staircase, so its joy can greet us every morning as we descend to take on the world. Thanks, Shuvinai.

Richard Mohr, who lives in Urbana, Illinois, holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto. He and his husband, Robert Switzer, frequently travel with Adventure Canada: “We came for Nature but stayed for Culture.”

The author Richard Mohr, the artist Shuvinai Ashoona, and Robert Switzer in Aupalutuk Park. © Louis Jungheim

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LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

New stamp features National Park

Nunavut’s Quttinirpaaq National Park is featured on a new Canada Post stamp. Part of the Canada Post From Far and Wide series, it was released January 14. The Park is located on the northeastern corner of Ellesmere Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut.

This is the second time Nunavut has been featured in a Canada Post stamp collection. Last year, a stamp of the Northern Lights in Arctic Bay was depicted on an international mail stamp.

The nine-stamp From Far and Wide series offers a traveller’s view of many must-see places in Canada, including breathlessly beautiful landscapes such as Quttinirpaaq National Park, Nunavut.

Courtesy Parks Canada. Photographer: Ryan Bray © Canada Post 2019

Prize will help research in the Arctic

The winner of this year’s Weston Family Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Northern Research from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation is Dr. Derek Muir.

Working at Environment Canada, Muir is recognized as one of the first to discover high concentrations of chemical contaminants in Arctic food chains, and his work has led to local, national and global policies to manage toxic chemicals, such as mercury.

Muir and other scientists have discovered that toxic substances are mainly carried to the Arctic from far away and include the widespread presence of a stain protection chemical from a group of chemicals known as polyfluorinated compounds, used in furniture, carpets, textiles, non-stick cookware, paper coatings, and firefighting foams. Over more than 35 years, Muir

has uncovered how these pollutants end up in Arctic plants and fish and work their way up the food chain to seals, whales, polar bears, and people. They can cause health issues like cancer and hormonal abnormalities. Because the diet of Arctic residents includes polar bears and other marine mammals, the impact of these contaminants is especially detrimental there.

Muir’s $100,000 prize includes $50,000 in cash and a matching amount he can use for a research fellowship position to support ongoing work. He plans to use that research money to hire a younger researcher to look at freshwater quality and possible contaminants in lakes fed by melting permafrost in the Arctic.

Dr. Derek Muir holds the sculpture he received as part of his winnings for the Weston Family Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Northern Research. The work is titled “Fisherman” and was sculpted in 1970 by artist Levi Qumaluk from Puvirnituq, Nunavik. © Dr. Derek Muir

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LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

Awards recognize Arctic research The Nunavik Research Centre (NRC) is the recipient of the 2018 Northern Science Award, recognizing its significant contribution to knowledge and understanding of Canada’s North.

For over 40 years the NRC in Kuujjuaq has been conducting community-based science that serves the needs of Inuit. Envisioned, created, and owned by Inuit through the Makivik Corporation, the Centre has been at the forefront of developing research methodologies that incorporate scientific and Indigenous knowledge and is respected locally and internationally for its work. Environmental projects include monitoring fish, marine mammals, water fowl, and caribou for contaminants and heavy metals.

The Award includes a $10,000 prize and the Centenary Medal, which commemorates the first International Polar Year (1882-83).

Peter May of the NRC has also been awarded the 2018 Inuit Recognition Award from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. May celebrated 35 years with the NRC last September. The award recognizes Inuit who are making strong efforts towards meaningful Inuit involvement in Arctic research.

Some members of the NRC team and staff of Makivik’s Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research pose for a photo after receiving the 2018 Northern Science Award in Ottawa in December.

M. Donat Savoie C.Q, far right, nominated the Centre for the prestigious award. © Makivik

Peter May (centre) of kuujjuaq's Nunavik Research Centre receives the 2018 Inuit Tapiriit kanatami Inuit Recognition Award at the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting’s Gala on December 13.

Makivik’s Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research President Adamie Delisle Alaku and Nunavik Research Centre Director Dr. Ellen Avard presented the award. © ArcticNet

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LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

Participants in the Merging Arts and Crafts with Technology and Manufacturing class watch as their cultural products are created on a 3D printer.

L to R: Annie Felix, Edith (Tootsie) Lugt, and Julia Ekpakohak. © Eric Cheyne

Funds will boost micro-manufacturing artisan programs In January, Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for the Northwest Territories, announced that the new Arts, Crafts, and Technology Micro-manufacturing Centre (ACTMC) in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, will receive $196,500 over the next two years from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor). McLeod was representing the Honourable Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development.

The idea for the facility grew out of the Merging Arts and Crafts with Technology and

Manufacturing program at Aurora College, a 10-week course that introduced existing and aspiring artisans to the potential artistic and economic benefits of micro-manufacturing.

The new Centre will allow artisans to merge traditional arts and crafts with new technology, micro-manufacturing, training, technical support, and applied research.

The Centre was developed by Aurora College, in partnership with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Gwich’in Tribal Council, and the Government of Northwest Territories’

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Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI). The CanNor funding is in addition to a $57,500 contribution from ITI, and $60,000 from Aurora College.

Art is a significant economic driver in the Beaufort Delta: approximately 1,400 residents produce arts and crafts for sale, 600 in Inuvik alone. With these investments, artists in the Beaufort Delta Region will have the opportunity to improve their art skills, produce high quality products, and develop sustainable business ventures.

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LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

Order of Canada medals awarded to Northerners

improved education, food security, cultural rights and economic development. As executive director of the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, she established and furthered health policies, notably those addressing youth mental health and suicide.

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, invested four northerners as Members of the Order of Canada recently at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario.

Andrew Qappik, from Pangnirtung, Nunavut, was honoured for his “initial drawings that helped inspire draft versions of Nunavut’s flag and coat of arms” and “for his contributions to defining the visual culture of Nunavut as a master printmaker and sculptor.”

Minnie Grey is congratulated by Governor General Julie Payette. Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2018

Andrew Qappik with Governor General Julie Payette.

Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2018

Minnie Grey, from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, received her award for her dedicated leadership to protect and promote the Inuit way of life for 30 years. Former vice-president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and chief negotiator for the creation of a Nunavik regional government, she spearheaded and bolstered initiatives that

Stephanie Dixon receives her Order of Canada medal from Governor General Julie Payette.

Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2019

Stephanie Dixon, from Whitehorse, Yukon, is a champion of inclusive sport. At home in the water since the age of two, she is a highly decorated Paralympic swimmer who has won 19 medals. She is also a broadcaster, keynote speaker and mentor who shares her conviction for the power of sport to elevate and empower all Canadians.

James Eetoolook with Governor General Julie Payette.

Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2019

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James Eetoolook, from Taloyoak, Nunavut, has been a tireless advocate for Inuit rights, culture and heritage for 45 years. As president of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, he was involved in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement negotiations — a landmark achievement on the path to self-governance. He has also served on multiple boards, notably as chair of the Inuit Wildlife and Environment Council.

For more information about the Order of Canada or to nominate someone, visit www.gg.ca.

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LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

Commissioned from the kitikmeot Heritage Society Elders in residence, “A Stitch in Time” is a three-piece wall hanging. In trying to create a visual narrative for the evolution of both Cambridge Bay and its population, elders created a series of different portraits throughout time: one depicting local Inuit 100 years ago (2015 marked the anniversary of the first significant western contact with Copper Inuit populations through the Canadian Arctic Expedition), one depicting local Inuit 50 years ago, and one showing present populations.

“A Stitch in Time” hanging in the Main Research Building of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) campus.

Artists: Annie Panak Atighioyak, Mary Akariuk Avalak, Mabel Pongok Etegik © Polar Knowledge Canada

CHARS campus now offers tours

Polar Knowledge Canada describes the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) as “a hub for Canadian Arctic research”. The facility specializes in Arctic science and technological innovation, “where Indigenous Knowledge is recognized as fundamentally important to the co-creation of new knowledge.”

Weekly tours are now offered at the CHARS campus in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Tours are every Friday at 3 pm. Drop-ins are welcome.

If you are part of an organization, please reserve ahead with the number in your group.

Contact: tours@polar.gc.ca

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Each seamstress was supplied with an identical kit of fixings, trims and materials, including several different colours of the Canada Goose ArcticTech fabric.

Each seamstress created her own personal pattern and design, using detailing and embellishment to make it her own. They drew upon traditions passed down through generations, the local environment, and their own sewing style and skill to craft these one-of-a-kind pieces. © Canada Goose

Canada Goose partners with Inuit seamstresses to make original parkas

Canada Goose was born in the North and for generations has been inspired by its people, communities and landscapes. To celebrate Inuit communities and their culture, Canada Goose has partnered with Inuit seamstresses to each make a one-of-a-kind parka. When translated into English, the Inuktitut word “atigi” means “parka”.

Project Atigi celebrates the expertise in the North and the rich heritage of craftsmanship that has enabled the Inuit — the original parka makers — to live in the most formidable climates and conditions.

For the project, Canada Goose commissioned 14 seamstresses representing nine communities across the four Inuit regions — Inuvialuit,

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Nunatsiavut, Nunavut, and Nunavik — to create custom-made parkas using their traditional skills and designs, and modern materials.

Seamstresses hail from Pond Inlet, Arviat, Sanikiluaq, and Iqaluit in Nunavut; Kuujjuaq and Kangirsuk in Nunavik; Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories Inuvialuit Region; and Makkovik and Nain, Newfoundland in the Nunatsiavut Region.

The collection of parkas includes amauti styles as well as details like the Delta Braid. An amauti is one of the most famous traditional Inuit parkas and each region has its own unique style. Made specifically for mothers, the amauti’s design incorporates a carrying pouch that allows the infant to lean directly on its mother’s

back, to promote contact between mother and child. The beautiful geometric pattern of a Delta Braid is created using ribbons made from layers of multi-coloured bias tape and seam bindings.

Each original design will not be recreated and will be sold for between $5,000 and $7,500. The money from sales will go to Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), a national organization that advocates for the rights and interests of about 60,000 Inuit in Canada. The money will be used for various Inuit community initiatives.

To see the entire collection and learn more about the Inuit seamstresses who created these parkas, follow the journey on social media channels and visit www.canadagoose.com.

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NUNAVUT

Exploration continues on Diamond project

Dunnedin Ventures Inc. continues to focus on future kimberlite pipe exploration at its Kahuna Diamond Project.

The Kimberlite pipe KH10-11 is confirmed to be diamondiferous but low grade. Advisor Chuck Fipke has recommended focusing pipe exploration efforts on the Josephine Target Area during 2019 and is prioritizing targets for drilling.

The company reports significant extensions to the strike length of its high-grade diamond dikes.

Gold prospecting permits received

Silver Range Resources Ltd. has received prospecting permits covering a large gold target near the Meadowbank Mine.

The Atlantis Project consists of two prospecting permits covering 31,778 hectares on the east half of NTS Sheet 66H14. The property covers 21 square kilometres of highly prospective Archean mafic volcanic rocks, which were first identified on Geological Survey of Canada maps published in 2002.

The property is 55 km north-northwest of Agnico Eagle's Amaruq Deposit, currently being prepared for production. As such, Silver Range considers the Atlantis Project to be highly prospective to host economic gold mineralization given the proximity of the project to the Meadowbank Mine Complex and the fact that the target is underlain by the same rock types hosting the Amaruq Deposit.

NWT

Rare earth elements project gets new partner

Avalon Advanced Materials has attracted a new partner in private Australian company, Cheetah Resources Pty Ltd. to participate in the development of the rare earth resources at its Nechalacho project, located at Thor Lake near Yellowknife.

Avalon and Cheetah have signed a binding terms sheet under which Cheetah will acquire ownership of the near surface resources in the T-Zone and Tardiff Zones for a total cash consideration of C$5 million while Avalon will retain ownership of the resources in the Basal Zone. Avalon will continue to manage work programs on the property and retain its royalty.

RESOURCES Cheetah is focused on the small-scale development of rare earth resources enriched in the “magnet rare earths,” neodymium and praseodymium, presently in short supply and high demand for clean technology applications such as electric vehicles.

NWT government signs socio-economic agreement

In January, Fortune Minerals Limited and the government of the Northwest Territories signed a socio-economic agreement for the proposed NICO mine 50 kilometres northeast of Whati.

Wally Schumann, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, signed the agreement on behalf of the territorial government.

The 48-page document includes targets for Indigenous employment, local business contracts and spending on training and education, to name a few.

The matter of financing the mine remains.

Construction of the mine will cost approximately $500 million. Production costs will bump it to $900 million. The mine is proposing production of cobalt, bismuth, gold and copper.

Negotiations with the Tlicho government are underway.

Gold targets identified for expansion

TerraX Minerals Inc. 2018 exploration programs have delivered concrete advancement of targets at the Yellowknife City Gold project. While continuing to deliver high grade surface results, TerraX compiled and enhanced all data sets to achieve a clearer understanding of the deposits.

Analysis and review of the entire district by a panel of internal and external global experts has identified new targets and further defined existing ones.

Barney Deformation Corridor, Crestaurum and Sam Otto will be the focus for expansion of gold deposits. Homer screened as a new high potential target and will be the focus of confirmation drilling. All four targets lie within 5 km of each other in the Northbelt Core focus area of the project.

YUKON

New gold mineralization found

White Gold Corp. has announced that its Rotary-Air-Blast drill results from its Betty property include areas encountering near

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surface gold mineralization. The mineralization was found along the eastern extension of the Coffee Creek fault which hosts the adjacent Coffee deposit owned by Goldcorp Inc. These results represent a new discovery on a previously undrilled target, discovered through the company’s systematic and data driven regional exploration program, backed by partners Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Kinross Gold Corp.

The Betty Property is located 58 km SW of the Golden Saddle deposit and 62 km SSW of the Vertigo discovery, 145 km SW of Dawson City.

Targets confirm deposits

Alexco Resource Corp. has released results from its 2018 surface reconnaissance and deep drilling program comprising 26 drill holes on six targets across the Keno Hill Silver District. The targets were mostly blind and were selected to determine if the ore control model developed for the Bermingham deposit is duplicated in other areas across the district.

The program confirmed the presence of the Bermingham deposit structural framework down plunge of the existing deposit ("Bermingham deep") and the inferred presence of the Bermingham structure more than two kilometres southwest of the post-mineral Brefalt Fault. The Bermingham/Hector-Calumet style geological architecture is also interpreted at various intervals and elevations along several district scale structures. The 2019 surface drilling program will focus on the "Bermingham deep" area.

Further work is also required to explore a new gold discovery in the historical No Cash area, approximately one kilometre north of Bermingham.

In other news, Alexco's Al McOnie (VP, Exploration), Seymour Iles (District Exploration Manager) and Jared Chipman (Sr. Geologist) were honoured with the H.H. 'Spud' Huestis Award for Excellence in Prospecting and Mineral Exploration in December by the Association for Mineral Exploration. This award is a result of their work on the recent discovery and delineation of more than 60 million ounces of silver in the Flame & Moth and Bermingham deposits in the Keno Hill Silver District.

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NUNAVIK’S LEADING INTERNET SERVICE Affordable. Reliable. Accessible.

The Survey Vessel the Polar Prince navigating its way through unusually late sea ice in the Hudson Strait. The Polar Prince is performing the sub-sea survey for an eventual marine fibre-optic cable.

IT Telecom crew prepare to launch a sonar/scan device to obtain Geophysical information.

IT Telecom crew prepare to launch a Gravity Corer used to obtain seabed core samples.

Broadband Internet is more than just a convenience. Remote northern communities, businesses, hospitals, schools and other institutions need it to offer services and create opportunities. That’s why the Kativik Regional Government (KRG) launched Tamaani Internet in 2004 and is proud to announce its latest project to improve broadband Internet service in Nunavik, Arctic Québec.

© KRG (5)

The Tamaani phase 5 project.

KRG representatives and IT telecom representatives during the planning/Kickoff meeting for the subsea survey. IT Telecom won the bid for the project.

The KRG Tamaani Internet Phase 5 Project is constructing an undersea fibre optic backbone along the eastern coast of Hudson Bay that will initially reach as far north as Puvirnituq, and even beyond. The fibre optic infrastructure will connect at least four of Nunavik’s Hudson coast communities, enabling residents to have access to broadband Internet service on par with major cities in the south. A broadband Internet backbone is also planned from Schefferville to Kuujjuaq, and fibre-to-the-home networks will be completed in the remaining 10 Nunavik communities.

These latest upgrades will be completed by 2021, making Nunavik an integral part of the digital age. They will permit better tele-health services, faster tele-justice, and increased education, skills development and job opportunities. They will improve videoconferencing and bring residential users closer together.

This KRG Tamaani Internet Phase 5 Project is being made possible through a joint Canada–Québec investment of $125.2 million. Canada’s Connect to Innovate program and Québec’s Société du Plan Nord have each committed $62.6 million.

The KRG’s Tamaani Internet has a client base of almost 2,800 residential subscribers and operates more than 300 points of service for its corporate clients in all 14 communities of Nunavik, Arctic Québec.

1 888 TAMAANI www.facebook.com/tamaani

Recording Inuit Names Genealogy of Nunavut A band of Inuit raise their hands as if to say, ‘we are here’. Circa 1884, glass plate photography.

Band of Inuit at Stupart Bay by Robert Bell of First Canadian Hudson Bay Expedition 1884-1885: Nunavut Archives, N-1993-006

Edited by Sharon Angnakak

Genealogy, also known as family history, is the study of families and tracing their history. Genealogy research requires the careful study of textual, visual, and audio records. In Nunavut, these include records from census, military, regional immigration, land use reports, re-settlement programs, government projects, missionary and church, trading company, ethnographic literature, and explorer literature.

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he Family Relations and Genealogy Strategy 2010-2014, developed by the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage, initiated a series of Family Relations and Genealogy workshops across Nunavut from 2010 to 2012. From these workshops, Elders identified family genealogy as one of the project’s chief strategic action items for Nunavut to undertake.

Undertaking genealogical research in Nunavut is not without obstacles. Genealogists studying southern Canadians often study historical immigration records from foreign regions including Europe, the Middle East and Asia to determine family roots. Nunavut’s family history is distinct from Southern Canada because it predominately consists of regional

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Boy in Windy River, Kivalliq, sporting his Eskimo Identification Canada disc, with onlookers. Library and Archives Canada PA-102695, 1950

migration within the Arctic, and, up until the recent past, people did not keep detailed or consistent records of individuals.

Genealogy in Nunavut can be completed by studying records that detail regional migration, including the federal re-settlement phase of the 1950s and 1960s. Before 50 years ago, births, marriages, deaths and adoptions were not recorded consistently for Inuit by governmental and church institutions, or by the trading companies.

Another difference between genealogical research on southern Canadians and Inuit is that Inuit traditionally did not have surnames, and so it is common to find only one name to represent a person in archival records.

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Genealogy starts with the individual conducting the research and then works backwards. First, research begins with a historical survey of names, or atiit in Inuktut. Genealogy uncovers the way names used today were not used in the past.

Changes in surnames and given names range from spelling variances to completely different names. For example, if an individual was adopted, they would have a different name than their biological family.

In Nunavut, Inuit names have undergone significant changes over a short span of time. In addition, the complexity of the Inuit concept of the lifecycle, inuusiq, has a central focus on the name, atiit. These names are not gender specific and newborns are often named after recently deceased family members; this custom gives vitality to the soul of the deceased who becomes the child’s namesake. Namesakes can be attributed to more than one child, linking the children with the same namesake and forming a strong bond between them, through a special designation called atiqatigiik.

Beginning in the 1930s, federal policies affected Inuit names. The Government established a platform for providing health and social services, including income support, that required names to be registered. Due to the difficulties in maintaining a consistent administrative system for Inuit, who at the time did not customarily have surnames, identification by the use of disc numbers was introduced in 1935. The first phase of the disc numbers was implemented before the first Northwest Territories census carried out in 1941 where identification numbers were used in conjunction with first names.

By the early 1960s, the identification of Inuit shifted from disc numbers to formalized surnames. In 1963, the Northern Service Officer Keith Crowe (1927-2010) produced the prototype Project Surname for Pangnirtung. He established a local committee to verify spellings. Crowe was fluent in the Inuktut language and subsequently reported to the Department of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources his concerns on how formalized last names might affect the naming culture of deceased souls given to newborns.

However, due to criticism of the disc system, the Canadian government and the Northwest Territories Council initiated a program in 1970 to replace disc names with surnames known as Project Surname. It was argued that identifying the Inuit by last names rather than a series of numbers was more humane. Other parts of the Arctic such as Greenland and the Soviet Union began similar renaming projects. Northwest Territories councilor Abraham “Abe” Okpik, an Inuit leader, was hired to carry it out.

Koonoo (b. 1892) interviewed by Father Guy Mary-Rousselière (a.k.a. Ataata Maari) for Pond Inlet and region genealogy. ca. 1970.

Pond Inlet Archives

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The one and only genealogy pedigree chart for Inuit (North Baffin): Genealogical Table from Qitdlarssuaq, the Story of a Polar Migration (1991)

by Rev. Guy Mary-Rousselière of Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

Another difference between genealogical research on southern Canadians and Inuit is that Inuit traditionally did not have surnames, and so it is common to find only one name to represent a person in archival records.

Part of Okpik’s mission was to travel the North and explain the new system to locals, answering their questions and reassuring them that their surnames were to be their choice. Most Inuit chose to be registered under their ancestors’ names. From this project, genealogy of family members can be ascertained by an individual’s last name corroborated with historical records in which Inuit first names are found.

Genealogy looks at various places to determine family histories. Research in family’s locations include where people lived, worked, were born, married, died, came from, and went.

The information on places is important because historical records of those places may provide information about your family. In Nunavut, it is especially important to note that place names in records can have variant spellings, pronunciations and alternate between English and Inuktut names for the same location.

In your own genealogical research, you will need to rely on gazetteers, maps and atlases which illustrate the places you research. Inuit Heritage Trust is an excellent source for Inuit place names maps. Additionally, ethnologists such as Franz Boas and Knud Rasmussen included gazetteers that provide rich descriptions of locations and what they were traditionally used for around the North. Of special interest, Boas and Rasmussen had Inuit informants who were able to produce hand drawn maps from memory with remarkable accuracy.

Genealogical research must also include dates such as birth and marriage records that can be inaccurate. When Inuit moved into settlements, local and federal public authorities wanted to log specific dates of birth for health records, social assistance applications and other administration purposes.

Only the most basic personal information was collected from Inuit before 1940.

Participants pose for the Family Relations and Genealogy Workshop in Chesterfield Inlet.

Government of Nunavut – Culture and Heritage Departmental photograph, 2012

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Aivillik woman Niviatsinaq, also known as Shoofly, in traditional regalia.

A.P. Low Expedition, 1903-1904: Library and Archives Canada PA-053548

The early foreign explorers to Nunavut all created detailed reports of their search of the Northwest Passage and whaling grounds. Their journals included references to Inuit with whom they had made contact and who helped them survive.

As an example of record keeping prior to 1940, take Igloolik’s Zipporah Innuksuk, who lived from 1923 to 2008. The year of her birth was determined by her family answering the following question: at the time of Zipporah’s birth, how many full year cycles had lapsed since the time she was born to when the famed Greenlandic explorer Knud Rasmussen came to Igloolik in 1921? For Zipporah, two years were added to 1921.

Although names, places, and dates are a primary starting point, learning about historical events assist you in shaping your family tree. In this view, becoming familiar with local historical events is useful in your research. The early foreign explorers to Nunavut all created detailed reports of their search of the Northwest Passage and whaling grounds. Their journals included references to Inuit with whom they had made contact and who helped them survive.

The Greenland-based Knud Rasmussen’s Fifth Thule Expedition of 1921 to 1924 documented the largest ethno-cultural record of the Eastern Arctic up to that time period. His 10 volume journals were an account of ethnographic and archaeological data representing communities from Canada’s Eastern Arctic to Alaska, all by dog-team. Useful to genealogists are the names of families and individuals which Rasmussen recorded from across the North.

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Various missionary, explorer, whaler, and trader literature contain information about Inuit as well. The Igloolik and Pond Inlet archives both house extraordinary missionary literature that have detailed pedigree charts useful for genealogy.

The whaler Captain George Comer sailed Cumberland Sound between 1875 and 1895; and, Hudson Bay from 1895 to 1912. He hired Kivalliq Inuit as whaling hands as well as tailors for caribou skin clothing and he recorded their names in the process.

At Southampton Island, Comer came to know Niviatsinaq, a woman also known as Shoofly, as beaded on her famous amauti housed at the American Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Niviatsinaq had a son named Oudlanak who later was given the name John Ell. The son John Ell travelled with Captain Comer. Local folk lore attributes the name ‘John Ell’ to the American boxer of the day, John L. Sullivan.

Between 1910 and 1926, the Hudson Bay Company opened posts all across the North. These posts produced ledgers that recorded the sales of fur and the purchase of goods between Inuit and traders. These records provide names of Inuit by location and identify family relationships among the Inuit who visited the posts and who were employed.

Additional sources of records come from the RCMP. From 1924 to 1968, the RCMP conducted patrols to monitor the general status of Inuit in traditional camps, and later the outpost camps attached to permanent settlements. These reports contain general information of names and families across the North.

Despite the Arctic’s short history of written records, oral histories have emerged as reputable and helpful sources for information. The Department of Culture and Heritage has undertaken many projects and initiatives that aim to make archives, along with oral histories, accessible to the public so that Nunavummiut can research their own rich family histories, narratives that make up the diverse and interesting story of Nunavut.

Condensed from the Government of Nunavut, Department of Culture and Heritage.

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Kangiqsujuaq, located on the shores of Wakeham Bay, is surrounded by majestic mountains.

Under the Ice Mussel Harvesting

Text and photos by Guillaume Roy

Human ingenuity has allowed the Inuit to adapt to one of the world’s harshest ecosystems by developing amazing techniques to obtain daily needed proteins. One of the most striking examples of such cleverness is the unique way Kangiqsujuamiut harvest mussels … under the ice when the tide recedes.

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The best mussel and seaweed dinner ever.

turquoise light breaks through the ice, shining on the algae attached to the ice roof over our head. Squatted in a 1.5-metre high cavity, Juusipi Nappaaluk scans the area with his headlight to find hidden mussels through the seaweed-covered ground. It is only 1 pm, but the sunlight barely goes through the thick layer of ice covering Wakeham Bay. “I was coming here to harvest mussels when I was young,” says the 65-year-old man, witness of an ancient practice in the area.

Under the ice mussel harvesting is a remarkable adaptation to the natural environment because the activity is only practiced in a few locations, where geography and topography permit. “We can only come under the ice around the full moon, during the biggest tides of the year,” explains my guide.

A few metres away, George and Alasi Pilurttut and two other tourists also look frantically through the ground to harvest as many mussels as possible in a short period of time. We need to hurry, because the tide is rising and we have less than an hour before the water comes back. “When the tide rises, fog starts filling the air and it’s time to go out,” explains Alasi. To make sure we don’t get stuck, we stay not too far from the hole we dug to get in, but there are also other rules to follow. “For security reasons, we should never yell under the ice and nobody should walk over our heads,” she adds.

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The experience is so unique, I feel like I am in a live documentary. And I am not the only one feeling this way since many international filmmakers, from Germany, Japan, Italy, France, and many other countries, come to the area every year to show the world this practice.

One of a kind experience

Ever since I heard about harvesting mussels under the ice, I have wanted to live this dangerous looking experience. To transform this idea into a reality, I reached out to Aventures Kangiqsujuaq, a community-based tourism business incubator managed by the Nunaturlik Landholding Corporation. “We want to help local people start their own outfitting businesses,” states Brian Urquhart, Economic Development Coordinator at Nunaturlik Landholding Corporation.

To help tourists get out on the land for archeological, wildlife or outdoor experiences, Aventures Kangiqsujuaq created a guide directory. When I asked about mussel hunting, Brian put me in contact with Juusipi Nappaaluk, a respected elder in the community.

Around lunchtime on April 14, he picked me up with his snowmobile at the Co-op hotel, with all the gear stowed in his qamutiq, the traditional Inuit sled. “The tide will be low in about an hour, so we need to head out quickly,” he says. I hop on behind him as he drives slowly through the ice monticules to reach the bay of Wakeham, named after William Wakeham, a British explorer who led an expedition to the Hudson Strait in 1897.

Once on the ice, we feel surrounded by the mountain range encircling the 800 souls community. We only need to drive a few kilometres out to reach the mussel harvesting grounds, near a cliff where peregrine falcons nest, explains Juusipi.

He surveys the ice methodically to find a fracture, where ice mounts emerge near the shore. His goal: find where the ice is the thinnest because there is almost two metres of ice in some areas! He stops, knocks a few times on the ice to hear if it’s hollow underneath, and keeps going to find a better spot. After a few tries, Juusipi finds a suitable location to start digging with his ice chisel. A few minutes later, another group, led by George and Alasi, join us, and we all take turns digging through the ice.

After more than half an hour, the half a meter hole is big enough to let us reach the hidden gem under the ice. As soon as I get in, I notice the temperature difference.

Even if it is under -20°C outside, the temperature reaches around 5°C under the ice, a particularly hot weather at this latitude.

While I am still amazed by the sight of the turquoise light shining through the ice, the locals start looking for mussels, to see if there is enough to be harvested. “It’s not the best spot, but there will be enough for all of us,” says Juusipi.

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Juusipi Nappaaluk finds a good spot to start digging with an ice chisel.

It took about 30 minutes for six people to dig a hole big enough to get under the ice.

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We find a 1.5-metre high x 4 metre large cavity to harvest mussel. A good enough spot to feed more than six people.

I take a bag and start digging though the seaweed to find mussels attached to the bedrock. Meanwhile, I learn the seaweeds are also edible and I pack up a bunch for tonight’s dinner. “You can cook them together and it tastes very good,” George tells me, sneezing, before adding, “it’s also a good medicine for coughs”.

Forty-five minutes after getting in, it’s already time to get out before the cavity is filled by the rising tide. As soon as I get out, I realize how lucky I am to have such an amazing experience.

After driving back to the hotel, Juusipi agrees to come inside for a coffee. We continue our conversation and he tells me how life has changed since his childhood.

Born and raised in an igloo (during winter time) until he was nine, he recounts the numerous trips he made with dogsleds to go hunting near the crater. He also remembers when the Canadian government decided to kill most of the dogs in the 1960s, for “security” reasons. “We are lucky in Kangiqsujuaq, he says, because there has always been a lot of food in the area and we did not have big famines like in other villages.”

The Aivirtuq area, 30 km south of Kangiqsujuaq, has always been known to be a good hunting ground for Bowhead whales and walrus. In the late 1700s, around 300 people lived in the area, the largest population in the Ungava Bay.

Developing a tourist product

With the growth of tourism since the opening of the Pingualuit Park, Nunavik’s first national park, in 2007 (the park was created in 2003), and all the documentaries made about under the ice mussel harvesting, some locals are concerned the mussel grounds could become over-harvested, notes Brian Urquhart. “Everybody who comes to town wants to go and do that,” notes the Scottish native who moved to roam through Canada’s Arctic in 1970.

To develop tourism in an ethical way for locals, the community decided to put restrictions on people who can use the site close to the community, he adds, and develop another site, on the other side of the bay, for tourists. “Tourism is a completely new thing in the community, and we need to develop it slowly and properly if we want the local population to accept it.”

The Kangiqsujuaq area has been inhabited for centuries and is recognized as an archeological hotspot. One site is of interest because it holds 180 human and animal faces carved on soapstone made 1,000 years ago by the Dorset people. The Qajartalik site, about 40 km away from Kangiqsujuaq, is one of the Canadian proposed sites to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to Brian Urquhart, it could become the main tourist attraction over the coming years.

To find a guide, visit: www.aventureskangiqsujuaq.com. Cost is approximately $100 per person, with a minimum of 2 persons.

The sunlight barely goes through the thick layer of ice covering Wakeham Bay and harvesters need to use flashlights.

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Excerpt from: True North Rising by Whit Fraser

Fred Roots ninety-plus, hiking with students on Baffin Island, 2014.

Glaciers, Grads, and Geezers Climate change you can see and touch SIX TEENAGERS ARE at the rail of a ship. Though it’s summertime, they are bundled in warm clothing and life-vests. They are far above the Arctic Circle and looking out over water that’s as blue as the sky. In every direction, there are pure white icebergs the size of skyscrapers.

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he teenagers then line up with two elderly shipmates, one in his early nineties, the other his mid-eighties. One after the other, they climb down into a Zodiac, a sturdy, stubby black rubber boat that will ferry them to an Arctic experience none of them will ever forget.

Once settled into the Zodiac, the teenagers have by now learned that they are sitting shoulder to shoulder with two of the world’s most decorated scientists and explorers.

By now the teenagers have heard extraordinary lectures and storytelling and perhaps even shared a meal. They are all now friends and shipmates.

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Is this the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea?

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Command performance: another humpback takes an encore bow. © Martin Lipman/SOI Foundation

They are even on a first name basis with Fred and Don, who have each been awarded the Explorer’s Medal by the prestigious Explorer’s Club of New York, an honour shared with Neil Armstrong, the first person to step on the moon; Robert Peary; Roald Amundsen, the first to reach the north and south poles; and Edmund Hillary, the first to climb Mount Everest.

What’s more, their guide and the driver of the Zodiac, a grizzled man in his early seventies, is a musician that every fan of Canadian folk music would recognize.

Welcome to Students on Ice. The explorers are Fred Roots and Don Walsh. The musician is Ian Tamblyn.

On this day, I watch from my own place in a nearby Zodiac. We are all of us sliding over glass blue Arctic waters, manoeuvring around these floating ice mountains that have broken away from the Greenland Icecap. As we pass between two of them, I look to the bow and see the ice-sculpted likeness of a frozen hand towering twenty to thirty metres above the water. The words of the great Arctic anthem written by Stan Rodgers come to mind, is this the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea? A moment later as we circle another iceberg with steep eroded walls, the light suddenly changes and the image of a face appears. It is a big face, solemn, with a furrowed brow and wide eyes. It makes me think of every likeness of Buddha that I have ever seen.

For five years, I have participated in this remarkable educational undertaking. I have met hundreds of students from big Canadian cities and small Arctic settlements as well as teenagers from the U.S., Europe and Asia. Their distinguished northern educators have led them on explorations of Arctic and Sub Arctic areas, from Labrador northward into the Northwest Passage, and the High Arctic and Greenland. Students and scientists become shipmates, mentors, and friends. It’s a special bond connecting elders and youth; a free exchange of curiosity, wisdom, knowledge, and unwavering mutual respect. 

On a later expedition, when we spotted the first of more than a dozen polar bears we would see on that trip, Fred provided an impromptu lecture on the bears. He lamented that not much is known about polar bears, saying: “Unfortunately, mostly, the polar bear is viewed through binoculars or through the sights of a rifle…It’s the nomadic nature of the polar bear,” he told us, “that makes it so difficult to study and understand.”

When Fred sat down, a student from Qikiqtarjuaq on Baffin Island stepped to the front of the ship’s lounge, which had been turned into the evening lecture theatre. Lindsay Evaloajuk nervously picked up the microphone. She looked out over the group, including her own peers, two dozen other Inuit students.

The iceberg makes me think of every likeness of Buddha that I have ever seen.

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Students on Ice and Polar Bears “observe” each other. © Lee Narraway/SOI Foundation

wasn’t a put down of a distinguished Arctic scientist. It was a gentle reminder that scientists would know a lot more about the Arctic and its environment if they spent more time talking to the people who live there.

Lindsay said that she also, in Fred’s words, “observed a polar bear through the sights of a rifle,” recounting that on a recent hunting trip with her father, she had shot a tenfoot male bear. This is the kind of teaching that Students on Ice offers. 

“I bet you’re asking what a nineteen-year-old little girl would know about polar bears?”

In fact, Lindsay knew quite a bit. She showed us how to tell the difference between male and female bears. The science journals will tell you that males are larger, which is not very helpful if you’re only looking at one bear or if you don’t know if it’s full grown or not.

Lindsay said, “Look at how they walk.” Then, spreading her arms wide and turning her hands inward, she demonstrated how the female will turn her paws more inward while a male’s paws will be more in a straight line.

This is basic life and death knowledge for Inuit. A female bear may have cubs that aren’t visible, which would make her more aggressive and unpredictable. Lindsay’s short lecture

If there’s a Students on Ice ritual, it unfolds like this. We sail to the head of Disko Bay and anchor at Ilulissat and then walk to a majestic, even magical, place at the foot of the Jakobshavn Glacier. It is nature’s own cathedral, where rocks, formed billions of years ago, provide a natural amphitheatre to watch and listen as icebergs peel away from one of the world’s greatest glaciers.

We are all directed to sit in silence for several minutes, to look and to listen to what lies before us.

In the silence, we all hear nature’s language and warnings. Spoken sometimes in soft tones, other times, almost musical notes from melt water cascading from frozen ledges into the still pools below. Then suddenly the raised voices of the icebergs groaning and grinding; even angry sounds as ice sheets peel from the edges and crash below.

We sit in silence but our eyes and ears hear and see a world changing.

It’s no wonder Geoff Green describes Students on Ice as the “Greatest Classroom on Earth.” At the front of this class are two exceptionally skilled professors and communicators: Erik Mattson and Bianca Perren. The melting and receding glacier is their backdrop.

They offer both a eulogy for a great glacier and a prophecy for the climate and our environment.

Akademic Loffe in Sondrestrom Fjord, Greenland.

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Ian Tamblyn with students in Zodiac.

Bianca and Erik are experienced in handling the rigours of the outdoors, and comfortable operating the Zodiacs in choppy water, with its currents and shifting tides.

They can also be seen standing sentinel with a shotgun while scanning the horizons for the wandering polar bears that are a threat every time the expedition goes ashore.

Erik Mattson is a professor at Nipigon University in North Bay, Ontario. For the past 25 years, he’s studied and measured melting glaciers and their impacts on the climate in general and fresh water production specifically.

Bianca Perren works for the British Antarctic Survey and her work is devoted to the study of how the eco system is responding to climate change.

Erik and Bianca have both done the math. The Jakobshavn Glacier is losing an estimated 60 metres every single day.

A hundred years ago, it was losing less than a kilometre in a year — now it’s losing more than that in a single month. They estimate that this glacier which can be eight hundred to a thousand metres thick will, within a decade, stop grinding and sliding its way down the ice choked fiord, but instead stop, and become “grounded” about 60 to 80 kilometres away. The face of the glacier will continue to break away and the meltwater will feed a glacial river roaring down a rock gorge to the harbour where we sit.

Bianca and Eric, and now all their students, know how special this place is in the unfolding climate change era. Few places on Earth offer a more graphic and even daily barometer of our changing climate. 

The Students on Ice “classrooms,” in my view, also bring out the best in the northern and Inuit students who now comprise about one quarter of the student participants. Northern governments, land claim organizations, and businesses have recognized the value of the program and offer generous scholarships for Inuit and other indigenous students to participate.

They are certainly the students most comfortable getting in and out of the Zodiacs, considering that water travel remains a key means of transportation in the communities.

Sometimes, they have a much different and more practical perspective on the lectures.

It’s also common for the Zodiacs to be in the company of whales, including Humpbacks, Minke, and the largest of all, the Fin Whale.

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Glaciers, Sirmilik National Park, Baffin Island.

As the whales or other mammals move near the ship or the Zodiacs, marine biologists will describe their size, age, migration routes, their impact and contribution to nature’s cycles.

At the same time, the young Inuit men will invariably offer their experience about where and how to properly place a harpoon. Often one or two would have already participated in a community whale hunt.

Long ago, I was taught that, without context, there is little understanding. Most of the southern students were likely raised to shudder at the idea of killing a whale. Yet they recognize that here, when Arctic youth look at the whale, or the walrus, the seal, or the polar bear, it is in the context of food and survival in a way of life that maintains harmony with the cycles of nature. In all this vastness and beauty, no matter the season or climate, all there is to live on is wild.

In my experience, the southerners, regardless of age or background, come to accept that reality. …

The author can be reached at www whitfraser.ca.

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Mining makes it happen

E D U C AT I O N

Teaching Earth Sciences awareness

There’s nothing like an AHA! moment, when something suddenly clicks, someone “gets it,” and a smile blossoms with the knowledge. For educators, those moments are golden, and in Canada’s northern regions, they’re becoming increasingly common, thanks to Mining Matters, a charitable Canadian organization focused on raising Earth science awareness in students, educators and the public. Mining Matters teaches young Canadians about Canada’s geology and mineral resources, about mining and its relevance to quality of life and about the importance of education to open doors for the future.

Mining Matters Reach. © Minke Design

Teaching girls in Dawson City how to test the physical properties of minerals. © Yukon Women in Mining

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This year the organization celebrates 25 years of delivering those AHA! moments. Based in Toronto, Ontario, their core programs spark interest in Earth science across the country, delivering foundational information about rocks, minerals, metals and mining. Program content, designed by teachers for teachers and meshing with provincial curricula, has grown over the years to include information- and activity-packed teaching kits for both indoor and outdoor learning environments. Kids and adults alike light up when they get the connection between a copper sample and computers or a smartphone, iron ore and the steel in everything from kitchen tools to vehicles, mica flakes and eye shadow, or lithium ore and a battery. They see that “mining makes it happen.”

In 2002, the organization initiated a program specifically designed for Indigenous communities, starting with 18 students from six communities gathered for a week-long experience at the Kullik Ilihakvik School in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

Today, their highly successful Indigenous Communities Education and Outreach Program (ICEOP) reaches students, teachers and communities across Canada in camp and school settings, professional development workshops and during Indigenous community gatherings, career fairs, conferences and festivals.

From youth to elders, Indigenous communities benefit from teaching resources developed with sensitivity to the important role those communities play in resources stewardship, management and development. Says Mining Matters President Patricia Dillon, “Indigenous communities have much to offer and gain as partners in Canada’s present and future economic development. We are proud to have been among the first to collaborate with community leadership and educators to design and deliver Earth science resources that feature local geology and mineral 35

ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᑕᐃᒎᓯᓕᐅᖅᑏᑦ Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit Inuit Language Authority Office de la langue inuite ᐃᓕᓴᕆᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓰᑦ ᐱᖁᔭᑦ ᓇᓗᓇᐃᖅᓯᑦᑎᐊᖅᖢᓂ ᐃᒫᒃ ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓇᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᐃᓄᖏᑦ ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᐱᔪᓐᓇᐅᑎᖃᕐᒪᑕ ᐊᑐᕈᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖓᓂᒃ • ᑲᑎᖅᓱᐃᔩᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᖅᑭᑎᑦᑎᓲᑦ ᑐᑭᓯᐅᒪᖃᑎᒌᒍᑕᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕐᓂᒃ, ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ; • ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᓲᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕐᒥᒃ ᐊᑐᕈᓐᓇᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕈᑎᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ; • ᐃᑲᔪᓲᑦ ᓇᒻᒥᓂᖃᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓂᓪᓗ ᑕᒻᒪᖅᓯᒪᙱᑦᑐᓂᒃ ᑎᑎᕋᖅᓯᒪᔭᕆᐊᓕᖕᓂᒃ; • ᑲᒪᒋᔭᖃᓲᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᑐᑭᒧᐊᒃᑎᑦᑎᔨᐅᓲᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕐᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐃᓄᒃᑐᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ; • ᑎᑎᖅᑲᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᓯᐅᔾᔭᐃᖅᓯᓲᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᑐᖃᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪ ᓄᓇᓖᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ; • ᑐᒃᓯᕋᕐᕕᐅᓲᑦ/ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᖃᓲᑦ ᑎᒥᖁᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᓯᓚᑖᓂᓗ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖏᑕ ᒥᒃᓵᓄᑦ

Ilitariyauhimayut Uqauhiinni Maligaq Nunavut Kavamatkunnit nalunairutauyuq Inuit Nunavunmiut pilaarutiqaqtut aturiamikku uqauhiqtik Inuinnaqtun • Havaktut ilitturipkaiyullu nalaumayunik taidjutinik, atuqpauhiinik, titirauhiiniinullu; • Havaktut uqauhiit ayunnginnikhaagut, uuktuutikhaagullu; • Ikayuqhugit nanmiuyut havagviit aallallu ihuaqtunik atuqpauhikhaagut; • Havaariliqhugu tiliuqhugit ihivriuqhiyut uqauhikkut; • Titraqhugit ilitturipkatigiblugit taimani atuqtauvakut tainiit aallatqillu uqauhiit inuktut; • Tuhaqtittivaktut/ havaqatigivagait katimayiuyut Nunavunmi ahinilu Inuit uqauhiannut.

Official language Act within the Government of Nunavut affirming that the Inuit of Nunavut have an inherent right to the use of the Inuit Language • Develops and promotes standard terminology, usage & orthography; • Develops language competency levels & testing; • Assists businesses and others with correct usage; • Undertakes or supervises research about the Inuit Language; • Documents and promotes traditional terminology and dialects; • Shares & collaborates with organizations in Nunavut and abroad on Inuit Language Issues.

Loi sur les langues officielles du gouvernement du Nunavut affirmant le droit inhérent des Inuit à l’utilisation de le langue inuite • Élabore la terminologie, les usages et les expressions normalisés, et en assure la promotion; • Élabore les niveaux de compétences et les tests permettant de mesurer ces niveaux; • Aide les entreprises et d’autres organismes à offrir des services de qualité en langue inuite; • Entreprend ou supervise des recherches au sujet de la langue inuite; • Consigne et fait la promotion des expressions et des dialectes traditionnels; • Partage et collabore avec des organismes au Nunavut et ailleurs vis-à-vis les enjeux ayant trait à la langue inuite. ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑕᐅᔪᒪᒍᕕᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᒋᔭᐃᑦ ᐃᓄᒃᑐᑦ ᐊᑎᖅᑖᖁᒍᖕᓂ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᐅᖃᕈᓐᓇᖅᑐᑎᑦ Ikayuqtiqariaqaqqata nanminiit havagviit atiliuriarni Inuinnaqtun uqarvigittaaqtaptigut If you need help with creating your business name in Inuktitut contact us Si vous avez besoin de l’aide pour traduire le nom de votre entreprise en inuktitut, veuillez prendre contact avec nous

www.taiguusiliuqtiit.ca ᑐᕌᕈᑖ ᐸᕐᓇᐃᕕᒃ ᑎᑎᖅᑲᒃᑯᕕᒃ 1000, ᑐᕌᕈᑎᖓ 810, ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ X0A 0H0 Parnaivik Bldg 2nd floor P.O. Box 1000 Station 810, Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0 (: 1 855 232 1852 | 867 975 5539

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IUT@gov.nu.ca

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E D U C AT I O N

Exploring rocks and minerals during a field trip to the Ranney Hill Geological Interpretive Trail near Yellowknife, NWT.

Yellowknife student displays his completed amethyst and copper necklace.

Educators learn how to implement classroom resources provided in the Mining Matters Teacher Resource Kit. © billbradenphoto Courtesy of TerraX Minerals Inc. (3)

exploration. We value the special relationships we have with the communities in which we have delivered programs.”

After 17 years, those relationships now exist in dozens of Indigenous communities across Canada. In 2018, Mining Matters teams delivered 46 programs for young people, educators and the public as part of their ICEOP. Northern destinations in 2018 included: • Yukon: Whitehorse, Pelly Crossing and Dawson City • Northwest Territories: Tulita, Norman Wells, Coville Lake, Deline, Fort Good Hope, Yellowknife (including teachers from Whatì, Gamètì and Wekweètì), Dettah, Ndilo, Behchokǫ̀ and Hay River. Partnership programs extended reach into Aklavik,

Fort Providence, Inuvik and Tuktoyuktuk.

• Nunavut: Iqaluit, Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay • Nunavik: Salluit, Kangiqsujuaq.

In the report, “Facts and Figures of the Canadian Mining Industry” published by the Mining Association of Canada in 2017, Brendan Marshall cites that: Many of Canada’s 1,200 Indigenous communities are located within 200 kilometres of approximately 180 producing mines and more than 2,500 active exploration properties. Recognizing the mining industry as a significant presence in northern Canada, former Whatì community Chief Charlie Jim Nitsiza welcomes Mining Matters programs, commenting, “The Elders have been saying for many years that the Tlicho people need to be introduced to mining and geology at an early age so

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that they can become active participants in future mining, exploration and development on Tlicho Lands.”

Mining Matters introduces that early learning through teaching resources that complement classroom curricula with supplementary material for all ages, from activity books to posters, and hands-on activities from Cookie Mining and Amethyst Jewellery Making to Headframe Engineering Challenge and Water Filtration Design. Participants get excited about handling rock and mineral samples and experiencing practical geological and mineral exploration.

They meet industry role models, take field trips and explore career opportunities in the minerals industry. One young participant from Whitehorse couldn’t wait to share her reaction to the program, saying, “I loved everything about the program, especially the way they taught it!”

Numerous companies, communities, associations, governmental departments, foundations and school districts support and partner with Mining Matters, knowing the importance of exciting youth about Earth science and careers in the mineral exploration and mining industries. The staff at Mining Matters expect their educational initiatives, including ICEOP, to expand steadily over the next 25 years, achieving countless AHA! moments and a brighter future for many more young people across Canada.

MiningMatters.ca

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SCIENCE

Snow Goose Hunting Project Tale from the plucking table

By Jill Larkin

The sun shines brightly at the Broad River camp in Wapusk National Park, but a cold wind brings a bite to this May morning. It is not quite 7 a.m., but the sun has been up for hours, and so have we. Sunlight reflects off the snow and onto my skin, darkening my tundra tan, and blending my face into the camouflage browns of my parka. I sit in a pile of feathers on a patch of dry lichen-covered tundra, surrounded by snow-covered ground.

Millions of white feathers mingle with the shimmering snow.

Jill Larkin, Parks Canada Resource Management Officer, with Lesser Snow Geese she harvested in the Broad River area.

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Feathers are stuck to my greasy, unwashed hair, my lips, and my blood-smeared clothing — all the way down to the bottom of my rubber boots. I am thankful for the wind, even though it is bitterly cold, because it blows some feathers away from me. Plucking has made my thumbs raw, and gutting has made my hands greasy and blood-stained. This kind of dirt remains under your nails and in the cracks of your hands long after your return to running water and hot showers. The lingering dirt reminds you of a successful hunting trip. A gardener or mechanic would be familiar with these stains — I smell like a mixture of goose fat, guts, bog mud and pond water.

As I continue plucking, I scan the horizon regularly for polar bears, black bears and barren ground grizzlies. I look east and see a figure in camouflage walking towards camp and realize it is Darcy, a hunter from York Factory First Nation.

As he approaches, Cyril, a Churchill hunter, emerges from another tree island. They stop to chat for a moment, then Darcy continues on until he reaches me at camp. He drops off eight more snow geese for me to clean.

A little while later, Frank and Brendan arrive at camp with their morning harvest and join me at the plucking table. We are in a rush to get as many geese plucked and gutted so they are ready to load onto the helicopter that will soon come to pick up Kelly, another Churchill hunter.

I am thankful the hunters have arrived to help, but their time at the plucking table does not last long. All of a sudden, a flock of snow geese flies low over the camp. Frank and Brendan grab their guns and each drop a snow goose.

This was a day from the snow goose hunting pilot project conducted in Wapusk National Park last spring. After consulting and coordinating with local and Indigenous communities, Parks

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SCIENCE Darcy Wastesicoot, a local hunter from York Landing First Nation, sits in his hunting blind waiting to harvest more snow geese.

Plucked snow geese harvested for the community event, with the Broad River camp in the background.

Canada flew six goose hunters, as well as the provincial game bird manager and myself to the Park to bring much-needed awareness to the snow goose hyper-abundance issue and the detrimental effect these birds have on the landscape.

The Park, located in the remote wilderness of northern Manitoba, is home to a wide variety of plant and animal species, including more than five million snow geese that nest in or migrate through the Park each year. The birds’ foraging behaviour causes extensive damage to the Park’s landscape, leading to erosion and higher salt content in the remaining soil. Eventually, the landscape becomes hyper-saline, vegetation growth is prohibited and habitat quality for geese and other species declines.

The impacted area in Wapusk has increased from 4 km2 to upwards of 300 km2 in 40 years.

While it is unlikely the hunt will decrease the bird’s presence, it brings awareness of the damage this over-abundant species is having on a significant protected landscape.

Following the successful snow goose hunt, Parks Canada hosted a community snow goose cook-off in Churchill with geese harvested in the Park - over 150 people attended the event, tasted the dishes and voted for their choice for the Golden Goose Award. The event promoted the culinary value of geese, especially to people living in an area where healthy protein is incredibly expensive. Snow geese represent a nutrient rich food source to local people, free of packaging and freight costs.

While we acknowledge this pilot project will not have an impact on the snow goose population, it has allowed Parks Canada to actively

collaborate with Indigenous groups and traditional land users, increasing their sense of connection to Wapusk, and the opportunity to discuss possible strategies to manage the hyperabundant species in the future.

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Jill Larkin is the Resource Management Officer at Wapusk National Park. She and Jodi Duhard, Public Relations Officer for the Manitoba Field Unit, Parks Canada, wrote this article together.

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Dog Teams

C U LT U R E

Back-to-the-land support system

Text and photos by Nick Newbery

Qimmiq. The Inuit sled dog is known for its ability to work hard, travel over long distances and require comparatively little food.

It was invaluable to Inuit when they lived on the land not only as a freight carrier but as a warning and attack animal where bears were concerned.

Laymakee Kakee and dog team. Laymakee ran a dog team for many years out of Qikiqtarjuaq to hunt for seals using nets placed in cracks in the winter ice. The seals caught provided food for both the dog team and his family and cost less than running a snowmobile.

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Traditionally Inuit were a nomadic people, continually on the move searching for animals. They walked huge distances, usually with only a few dogs to help pull their entire possessions. The dogs were valuable; in winter they could pull heavy loads on a qamutiq (sled) for long distances without having to be fed too often and in summer were used as pack animals as the people wandered over the tundra. They were not pets but semi-wild working animals that could offer protection by providing both an alarm system and a fighting support team for hunters when confronting polar bears, as well as for sniffing out seals at seal holes.

By the 1970s, the qimmiq (the Inuit sled dog) had been so diluted as a breed that a program was developed in the Western Arctic to restore the strain to its original integrity.

Nowadays running dog teams has started to make a comeback in recreational and commercial ventures, usually involving larger teams, and is popular in back-to-the-land projects for youth, in regional competitions and in tourism programs.

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Dog team approaching Qaummaarviit Park. Taken in June at midnight, with the sea ice beginning to melt.

Learning the traditions. Younger Inuit are sometimes given the chance to learn to work with dog teams, harnessing, hitching and steering them, and later feeding them. This puts them in touch with their traditions and the chance to see if they want to run dog teams themselves in the future.

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C U LT U R E

Qaummaarviit Park dog team trip. In spring, dog team trips from Iqaluit are offered to nearby Qaummaarviit Territorial Park. Because the snow on top of the sea ice melts before the ice itself, parts of the trip can be somewhat damp for all concerned, particularly for those with short legs!

Watchful ‘husky’. Iqaluit boasts several dog teams, in large part for recreation and the tourism market, providing some fine examples of the original breed of Inuit sled dogs.

Nick Newbery taught in several communities in Nunavut from 1976-2005. The photos in this article are from Nick’s Arctic photo collection, which can be found at www.newberyphotoarchives.ca and should be viewed from a historical perspective.

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C U LT U R E

Cache Tuktu

A survival tool for Inuit

By Peter Autut

It was a way to survive the harsh long winters. Inuit knew the tuktu would be needed in the dead of winter.

They discovered that by storing it away just when it was starting to get colder, they could bury their food and retrieve it in the winter. This process is known as cache meat. This ancient method of storing food is still practiced by Inuit. It’s not only for tuktu; they may do it with whales, walrus and other meat that can be preserved this way. This food allows Inuit to have plenty of food to hunt more with less effort. I’ve been fortunate to be able to practice this several times with my family. It is not just about burying the meat. The location, the type of rock to use first and what time of rock it will sit on, north or south of the hill, are all important considerations.

You can do everything right, only to have a wolverine dig it out, or a polar bear. In the past, especially, this could have a devastating effect on the family. © belov3097 / fotolia.com

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C U LT U R E

We must be careful too when we do cache. If you go too early, the black flies will get to it and ruin the meat. If we go too close to the shore, the polar bear will take it.

Walrus cow on ice floe. © Vladimir Melnik / fotolia.com

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In early fall, we’d be out hunting tuktu. We were after the bull tuktu. It can be quite eerie when you’re camping by the lake and it’s just frozen, so it sings all night or moans through deep cracks. It sounds like something very hungry, or at least as a kid, I thought it sounded like that.

Or ice thunder, that initial crack that makes you pop open your eyes. Then the long crack well; it’s just nerve-wracking. It was nice when you’d look out the tent and see the Northern Lights; they seemed to dance with the ice cracking. As I grew older and less jumpy, I’d miss those moments more.

We’d cache our catch, so we can pick it up in February. We’d make sure it was in an area where not much snow would be covering it in the dead of winter; there was no GPS back then.

The area had to be lemming proof or siksik proof. No big rocks could touch the meat; it makes it too hard to remove in the winter. We’d use golf ball-sized rocks as a blanket so if you kick the meat in the winter, it was easier to move. Big, heavy rocks were set on top. If they didn’t freeze together it would take a bit to move but wasn’t impossible. We’d try to keep the pure meat away from each other. We’d have the ribs touching each other so when frozen, we’d still be able to take them apart. Once pure meat freezes together, it’s almost impossible to take apart, unless you thaw them. It was important because as a whole piece, it was just too heavy to carry around, not impossible but just more work. Sometimes we’d leave an antler behind as a marker, but we never really relied on those, a wolverine, wolf, or fox would love to chew on that and move it away.

Cache is important because sometimes the tuktu go far or further away, and when it’s -40 for long periods of time, it’s harder to get out and catch your tuktu in long winters. We must be careful too when we do cache. If you go too early, the black flies will get to it and ruin the meat.

If we go too close to the shore, the polar bear will take it.

We didn’t cache meat every year, but we certainly did it. We cached if we caught maybe one too many tuktu to carry back to the boat or have too much to put on the ATV. We didn’t want any of it to go to waste. Once we started using GPS, it was a lot easier to find in the winter.

I prefer to eat aged beluga, and sometimes aged walrus, from cache meat. Translated in my dialect, it is pirujaviniq, “it used to be buried”.

The cache allowed us to have readily available meat if food was scarce in the winter. The long winters sometimes make it almost impossible to catch your meat, because even fishing becomes a task; most times the ice can be 12 feet thick. Cache was a survival tool for Inuit back

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C U LT U R E

Paul Autut looks to see if this site is suitable for a cache.

in the day. Many people still practice this today for the taste is delicious. I’ve seen some now use unheated sheds to practice this. I’ve heard it’s called, “never been frozen in the freezer”.

The natural process gives the meat that unique taste.

This was usually done just before the snowfall. Once there is too much, it’s almost impossible to do. Walrus could also be wrapped, looking like cigars, and buried for the winter.

We call it igunaq. Sometimes we’d use that meat and fat as pickles for other frozen food: tuktu, fish, seal. The aged walrus has a lot of oil and is great to dip into like soya sauce.

If you’re driving along in the fall and come across a nice antler over what seems like a grave, you may have come across some delicate food for the dead of winter. It’s not uncommon to come across a grave-like cache that was once lost. Maybe it snowed too much that year and it became forever buried. One couldn’t always tell but my ol’ man would say, “that looks like a pirujaq, cache meat. They vary in size; sometimes you may have more than one tuktu in the cache.

Of course, if they were lost and if they weren’t picked up by early spring, then the meat would go to waste. Inuit would try to place them away from the north side of a hill; that area would usually be covered with snow drifts from the north winds.

We’d come back in the winter, when the ice stopped singing and there was blowing snow and a little sunlight. We’d bring a crow bar and some shovels, but mostly we’d just use loose boulders or rock laying around and smash it against the boulders that had the cached meat.

Once we had the initial movement, it would be like cherry picking. You could tell by how much or how little, if any black flies had laid any eggs. If there wasn’t any, that meant no warm days came after the meat was stored. If it was stored too early and the black flies got in, the meat was spoiled.

If you have been asked to try caribou meat, ask if they have cached tuktu meat. They may have some in their freezer. If they do, don’t be shy to ask if you can try a bite. Think of it as frozen jerky; the texture is about the same only cache meat has no flavour added to it. It may be the most delicious meat you’ve ever tried.

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© Peter Autut

The cache allowed us to have readily available meat if food was scarce in the winter. The long winters sometimes make it almost impossible to catch your meat, because even fishing becomes a task; most times the ice can be 12 feet thick.

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BOOKSHELF

Sam Steele A Biography

Rod Macleod University of Alberta Press January 2019

Kangiryuarmiut Inuinnaqtun Uqauhiitaa Numiktitirutait Dictionary Edited by Emily Kudlak & Richard Compton Nunavut Arctic College September 2018

Kangiryuarmiut Inuinnaqtun Uqauhiitaa Numiktitirutait Dictionary is the most comprehensive dictionary of any Western Canadian dialect of the Inuit language. It contains over 5,000 Inuinnaqtun entries and subentries with their translations, over 3,000 example sentences, and a large inventory of suffixes. It details the Inuinnaqtun dialect, as spoken in the community of Ulukhaktok in the Inuvialuit Region of Canada’s Northwest Territories. Very similar dialects to this are spoken in Qurluqtuq (Kugluktuk) and Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay) in Nunavut. The introduction includes an overview of Inuinnaqtun, its sound system, orthography, and major word classes. Main entries include both related subentries and examples. Suffix entries include information about lexical categories, inflection, the different forms a suffix may take, and examples of how each suffix is used. The work shows a unique window into the Inuinnait culture and way of life.

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Drawing on the vast Steele archive of correspondence and diaries at the University of Alberta, this comprehensive biography vividly recounts some of the most significant events of the first 50 years of Canadian Confederation. Sam Steele: A Biography follows Steele’s rise from farm boy in backwoods Ontario to the much-lauded Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele. The account includes the founding of the North-West Mounted Police, the opening of the North through the Klondike, and Canada’s participation in the South African War — from the perspective of a policeman who became a military leader with a high-profile public career.

Northern Light

The Arctic and Subarctic Photography of Dave Brosha

Dave Brosha Rocky Mountain Books November 2018

With stunning images taken in Greenland, Iceland, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, the Torngats of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Yukon, Dave Brosha’s Northern Light, is a beautiful collection of landscapes and powerful portraits. From one of Canada’s most passionate and widely published photographers, this book of photography transports the viewer to amazing Arctic and Subarctic locations.

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INUIT FORUM

We carry our songs

© Letia Obed

David Serkoak tells a story about the day the police officer arrived in 1950. David’s father, Miki, was drum dancing and his mother, Qahuq, was singing a pihiq when the officer entered the tent and broke Miki’s drum.

Over the course of a decade between 1950 and 1960, the community of 62 Inuit were uprooted from their homes and relocated as many as four times. Last month, Serkoak interrupted the same song, sung by elder Mary Anowtalik, to ask his daughter Karla to take the drum. It was the emotional culmination of more than 70 years of struggle.

In her January 22 apology to the living 21 Ahiarmiut who were relocated, along with their families who now number approximately 200, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett offered an apology on behalf of the Government of Canada for the forced relocations undertaken without explanation, without consultation and without consent. “I humbly and sincerely offer these words to all Ahiarmiut past and present. We are sorry. We are sorry. We are sorry. Mamiapugut. Mamiapugut. Mamiapugut.”

The apology was poignant and was met with raw emotion by those in attendance. I often talk about Inuit being largely a coastal and marine people. But there are also Inuit who live inland. Ahiarmiut were inland people, living in what is now the southwest corner of Nunavut — close to the present-day borders of the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. “They never experienced salt water before. High tide. Low tide. Never seen a seal or tasted one before,” Serkoak says.

Many families eventually settled in what is now Arviat, where they were known as Ahiarmiut, or “people from another place”. Children were taunted for being different. The word Ahiarmiut was used as a slur. Through it all, the families worked to maintain their culture — their songs and rich drumming traditions.

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L to R: Karla Serkoak, Meeka Serkoak (holding her cousin’s baby boy Gustin Illungiayok), David Serkoak and Amanda Kilabuk in Arviat, Nunavut, for the federal government’s official apology to Ahiarmiut. ITK

“Like so many of the darkest chapters in Canada’s history, the story of the Ahiarmiut relocations is not only one of tragedy, but also of resilience. Despite unimaginable hardship, the Ahiarmiut have survived and thrived, ensuring that the past has not been forgotten and that Ahiarmiut culture remains vibrant,” Bennett said in the closing words of her address.

Apologies mean a great deal. It means moving the conversation towards action. The acknowledgement of this historic injustice can ideally start the process of closure and regrowth. This is the first step of reconciliation.

I now look forward to seeing this symbolic gesture evolve into tangible remedies that

address the ongoing challenges that are linked to this and other human rights abuses against Inuit.

I meet many people in my work who dedicate their lives and their hearts to creating a better future for those they fight for. David Serkoak stands out to me as an incredible leader who has persevered with resiliency, compassion, and strength. I thank him for his work on behalf of the Ahiarmiut community, which also is a significant contribution to Inuit self-determination in Canada.

Nakummek,

Natan Obed

President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

A B OV E & B E YO N D — C A N A DA’ S A RC T I C J O U R N A L

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