Above & Beyond | Canada's Arctic Journal 2018 | 05

The Inflight Magazine for First Air

2018 | 05 Yours to Keep

subarctic Lichens

Homage to a Naval Arctic explorer

Inuit Guardians

Amongst the Big Walls of Baffin

PM40050872

o www.arcticjournal.ca

Brock Friesen XÇ4 K‰n8

Johnny Adams ÷i ≈bu Chairman of the Board, First Air grjx5typz vtmpq5b, { wx Président du Conseil d'Administration, First Air

Dear Guest ᑐᕌᖅᑐᑦ ᐃᑭᒪᔪᓄᑦ, The communities we serve are the cornerstone of our business. We’ve always felt that finding ways to connect, engage and give back to the communities Is vital to our business. We look for ways to involve ourselves in events and projects that benefit the communities. I’d like to share some of the recent community events we’ve had the pleasure of being part of.

Every year, we partner with our good friends at Canada Goose to bring parka materials to communities to enable local seamstresses and tailors to create their very own personalized parkas using the highest quality materials. This year, we were in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. We were incredibly happy to see so many people join us for this amazing event. Our Chairman, Johnny Adams, was there to help and he was thrilled to meet so many from the community! I’m looking forward to the next event!

We have been partners with a very exciting educational program for a very long time, Students On Ice. This one-of-a-kind educational program not only visits some of the communities we serve, but, most importantly, allows members of those communities to take part in this adventure. This past July and August as many as 150 Students on Ice participants set off once again on this incredible youth program. The Students On Ice program has made an impact on so many young lives. We’ve recently renewed our partnership with Students On Ice and we can’t wait to see where the next journeys will take them for years to come!

Mental health and suicide prevention are also important issues in the communities we serve. We’ve recently joined many events taking place in several communities with our partners at Arctic Co-op. Together with other partners, we’ve joined on very special tours with magician and illusionist Brian Glow, Dave Devos and others to support the suicide prevention hotline and create awareness for this important issue. We are happy to announce that the next tour will start soon, this time visiting the Western Arctic. We’ve also partnered with Arctic Co-op and Feeding Nunavut for the youth community barbecues that have taken place around Nunavut this summer.

These events are only a few examples of how we put communities first in our day-to-day activities. We have many more events coming up and I hope to see you there!

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.

Brock Friesen First Air President & CEO

ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᕐᕕᒋᔭᕗᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᑐᖖᒐᕝᕕᐅᓪᓚᕆᖕᒪᑕ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᒋᔭᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ. ᐃᓱᒪᖃᐃᓐᓇᖅᐸᒃᓯᒪᔪᒍ ᓇᓂᓯᓯᒪᓕᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐊᑦᑕᑕᕐᕕᒋᓯᒪᓕᕈᓐᓇᕐᒪᖔᑦᑎᒎ, ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᒋᖃᑕᐅᓕᕈᓐᓇᕐᒪᖔᑦᑎᒎ ᓱᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᑎᒍᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᑲᔪᓕᕐᕕᒋᔪᓐᓇᕐᒪᖔᑦᑎᒎ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᐃᑦ. ᕿᓂᖅᐸᒃᑐᒍᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᑦᑐᑎᒍᑦ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᕐᓂᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᓕᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᐅᖃᑕᐅᓕᕈᓐᓇᕆᐊᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᑲᔪᕈᑎᐅᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓄᑦ. ᐊᒥᖅᑲᖃᑎᒋᕝᕕᒋᔪᒪᕙᑦᓯ ᐃᓚᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓂ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᕐᓂᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᐅᖃᑕᐅᕝᕕᒋᓚᐅᖅᑕᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ.

ᐅᑭᐅᑕᒫᑦ, ᐱᖃᑎᐊᓗᒋᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᑲᓇᑕ ᒎᔅ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᖓᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᓂᖃᖃᑎᖃᓕᖅᐸᒃᑐᒍᑦ ᔭᐸᑦᓴᓂᒃ ᓄᕕᖅᓵᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᒃᔭᖅᓯᓂᖃᖅᐸᓐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓂ ᒥᖅᓱᖅᑎᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᔭᐸᓕᐅᖅᑎᓂᒃ ᓇᖕᒥᓂᖅ ᔭᐸᓕᐅᕈᓐᓇᖁᓪᓗᒋ ᐱᐅᓂᖅᐸᐅᔪᓂᑦ ᓄᕕᖅᓵᓕᐊᖑᓯᒪᔪᓂᑦ. ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᐊᑐᖅᑐᒥ, ᒥᑦᑎᒪᑕᓕᒃ, ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒧᐊᖅᓯᒪᓚᐅᕋᑦᑕ. ᐊᖏᔪᐊᓗᒻᒥᒃ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᓚᐅᖅᐳᒍᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᑲᓪᓚᐃᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓚᐅᖃᑕᐅᓂᖃᓚᐅᕐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᑕᕝᕗᖓ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᕆᓚᐅᖅᑕᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ. ᐃᒃᓯᕙᐅᑕᕆᔭᕗᑦ, ᔮᓂ ᐋᑕᒻᔅ, ᑕᐅᕙᓃᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᕐᒪᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᖃᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᓪᓚᕆᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂ ᐊᒥᓱᓂᒃ ᐃᓄᓐᓂᒃ ᑲᑎᓯᒪᔪᓐᓇᓕᓚᐅᕋᒥ! ᓂᕆᐅᓐᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᓕᖅᓯᒪᔪᒍᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᒃᑲᓐᓂᕐᕕᒃᓴᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ!

ᐱᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᑑᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒧᑦ ᐊᑯᓂᑲᓪᓚᒻᒪᕆᐅᓕᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐃᓚᐅᖃᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᖅᐳᒍᑦ, ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᐃᑦ ᓯᑯᒦᖃᑎᒌᒃᑎᑕᐅᓂᖏᓄᑦ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᐊᔾᔨᖃᕋᓂ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᓐᓂᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒃᑯᑦ ᐃᓚᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᕐᕕᒋᕙᒃᑕᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᑎᑭᑎᑦᑎᓯᒪᖃᑦᑕᕐᒪᑕ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓗ, ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᓗᐊᕐᓂᖅᐸᐅᓪᓗᓂ, ᓄᓇᓕᖃᖃᖃᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓂ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᕙᒻᒪᑕ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᐃᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ. ᔪᓚᐃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᒡᒍᑎ ᑕᖅᑭᖏᑦ ᐊᑐᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᒃ ᐊᒥᓱᑦ 150-ᓗᐊᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᐃᑦ ᓯᑯᒦᖃᑎᒌᒃᑎᑕᐅᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒧᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᕐᒪᑕ ᑕᕝᕗᖓ ᐱᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᑑᓪᓗᓂ ᒪᒃᑯᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒧᑦ. ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᐃᑦ ᓯᑯᒦᖃᑎᒌᒃᑎᑕᐅᓂᖏᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᖅ ᐊᒃᑐᐃᓯᒪᓕᕐᒪᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᓂᒃ ᒪᒃᑯᒃᑐᐃᑦ ᐃᓅᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᓄᑕᐅᓕᕆᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᓵᓚᐅᕋᑦᑕ ᐱᓕᕆᓂᖃᖃᑕᐅᕙᓐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᐃᑦ ᓯᑯᒦᖃᑎᒌᒃᑎᑕᐅᕙᓐᓂᖏᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓂᕆᐅᓐᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᑕ ᐅᐊᔭᖃᑎᒌᒃᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᔪᒫᓕᕐᒥᔪᓄᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᓇᖖᒐᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂ ᓯᕗᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂ!

ᐃᓱᒪᒃᑯᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᖃᓕᖁᔨᖖᒋᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᒻᒥᓃᖃᑦᑕᖁᔨᖖᒋᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᑦ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃᑕᐅᖅ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᓕᕆᓂᐅᒻᒪᑕ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓂ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᕐᕕᒋᕙᒃᑕᑦᑎᓐᓂ. ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓕᓵᓚᐅᖅᐳᒍᑦ ᐊᒥᓲᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᓕᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᕐᓚᐅᔪᓂ ᓄᓇᓕᓐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖃᑎᒋᓪᓗᑎᒍ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᑯᐊᐸᒋᔭᐅᔪᑦ. ᑲᑐᔾᔨᓂᖃᖅᑐᑕ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒋᕙᒃᑕᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓕᖅᓯᒪᕗᒍᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᖅᑐᐃᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᖃᑦᑕᓕᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᓇᕐᖓᕐᓇᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᖅᑰᔨᑎᑦᑎᕙᒃᑐᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐳᕋᐃᐊᓐ ᒍᓘ, ᑕᐃᕝ ᑎᔫᔅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᑲᔪᕐᓯᓂᖃᓕᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᐃᒻᒥᓃᖃᑦᑕᖁᔨᖖᒋᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐅᖄᓚᐅᑎᑎᒍᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑎᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᓐᓂᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᔾᔨᕈᓱᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑖᔅᓱᒥᖓ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᓕᕆᓂᐅᓕᖅᓯᒪᔪᒧᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂ. ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒃᐳᒍᑦ ᑐᓴᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔭᖅᑐᐃᑎᑕᐅᖃᑦᑕᕐᓯᒪᑲᐅᑎᒋᓂᐊᓕᕐᒥᒻᒪᑕ, ᐅᐊᓕᓂᕐᒥᐅᓄᑦ. ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖃᑎᖃᓕᓚᐅᕐᒥᔪᒍᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᑯᐊᐸᒋᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥᐅᑦ ᓂᕆᔭᒃᓴᖃᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᕙᓐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒧᑦ ᒪᒃᑯᒃᑐᖏᑕ ᓄᓇᓕᐅᔪᓂ ᓯᓚᒥ ᐹᐱᑭᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᓐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᕗᓕᒫᒥ ᐊᐅᔭᐅᑎᓪᓗᒍ.

ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᑦ ᐊᒥᓲᖖᒋᑦᑐᒋᑦ ᑕᐃᒐᑦᑎᒍ ᐆᒃᑐᕋᐅᑎᒋᔪᓐᓇᖅᑕᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᖃᓄᖅ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐸᐅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᐸᓐᓂᕆᔭᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᖃᐅᑕᒫᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᕆᕙᒃᑕᑦᑎᓐᓂᑦ. ᐊᒥᓱᒃᑲᓐᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᓕᐅᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᖅᑕᖃᓕᕐᓂᐊᕐᒥᔪᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓕᑦᓯᓐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᓯᒪᓕᕈᒪᓂᐊᖅᐳᒍᑦ!

ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖁᑎᖓᓐᓂᒃ ᓂᕈᐊᖅᖠᓯᒪᓚᐅᕋᕕᑦ ᐃᑭᒪᒋᐊᒃᓴᕐᓂᒃ ᐅᓪᓗᒥ. ᐃᓱᒪᒐᓗᐊᖅᐳᒍᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓐᓂᕆᔭᐃᑦ ᓈᒻᒪᑦᑎᐊᖅᑑᓚᐅᕐᓂᖓᑕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᕿᓚᒥᐅᔪᖅ ᑕᑯᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᒫᕐᒥᒐᑦᑎᒋᑦ.

ᐸᕌᒃ ᕗᕇᓴᓐ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᖅ & ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᔨᒻᒪᕆᒃ

ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᐅᑉ ᐅᔾᔨᕆᔭᐅᑎᑕᐅᓂᖓ |

Employee Spotlight | Iqqanaijaqtiup Ujjirijautitauninga

ᕆᒃ ᑐᕌᕕᔅ | Rick Travis

ᕆᒃ ᑐᕌᕕᔅ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᑖᕆᔭᐅᓚᐅᕐᐳᖅ ᐊᓪᓚᕕᒡᔪᐊᖃᕐᕕᖓᓐᓂ ᑲᓈᑕ, ᐋᓐᑎᐊᕆᐅᒥ, ᐃᓱᒪᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᓕᕆᕝᕕᖓᓂ ᔪᓚᐃ 2018-ᒥ. ᑲᒪᔨᓪᓚᑦᑖᕆᔭᐅᕗᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐅᑯᓄᖓ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᖅᓯᔨᓕᕆᔨᖏᓄᑦ, ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᒥ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᖅᑎᐅᔪᑦ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᕐᕕᒃᓴᖏᓄᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓱᐃᔨᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐱᓗᐊᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᖃᕐᕕᒋᔭᐅᓪᓚᑦᑕᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᓐᓂ. ᒫᓐᓇᐅᔪᖅ ᐃᓕᑕᕆᔭᐅᔾᔪᑎᑖᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᖅᓯᔨᓕᕆᔨᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓚᐃᓴᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᐅᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒥᓄᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᒥᐊᕆᑲᒥᐅᓂ ᐃᓚᖃᖅᑐᒋᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᕐᓚᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᓄᓇᕐᔪᐊᕆᔭᐅᔪᓂ ᓯᓚᖅᔪᐊᓕᒫᒥ.

ᐱᕈᖅᓴᑎᓪᓗᒍ, ᐃᓚᒋᔭᖏᑦ ᓄᒃᑎᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᓕᒫᒥ, ᐃᓚᖃᖅᑐᒋᑦ ᐋᓐᑎᐊᕆᐅ, ᐃᐊᓪᐴᑕ ᐳᕌᕕᓐᓯᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕐᒧᑦ, ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕌᓂᒃᓯᒪᐅᑎᖃᓕᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑳᐱᓛᓄ ᓯᓚᑦᑐᖅᓴᖅᕕᖓᓂ.

ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᓯᓐᑦᕈᓪ ᒪᐅᓐᑎᓐ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᖏᓐᓂ, ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᕆᐊᕐᖓᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᓚᐃᓴᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᖅᓯᔨᓕᕆᔨᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑐᐃᓂᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᑕᒪᒃᑭᓐᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓂᕆᔭᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᑕᐅᕙᒌᖅᓯᒪᕙᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᐃᐊᕐ ᑲᓇᑕ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖏᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓵᑕᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᕆᔭᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᐅᐊᓕᓂᕐᒥᐅᑦ ᐳᕌᕕᓐᓯᒋᔭᖏᓐᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᕕᒃᑐᖅᓯᒪᓂᕆᔭᖏᓐᓂ. ᕆᒃ ᑕᐃᒪᓗ ᓄᒃᑎᓕᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᓯᑲᐃᐸᓛᓐ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᔪᓐᓇᐅᑎᖃᖅᑐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᖅᓯᔨᓕᕆᔨᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᑲᓃᑎᐊᓐ ᓄᐊᔅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᐊᕐ ᓄᐊᔅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᖏᓐᓄᑦ. ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᕆᔭᖏᑦ ᐃᓚᖃᓚᐅᖅᐳᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᖃᖅᑎᑕᓂᖏᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᓕᕆᔨᓄᑦ ᓱᐴᔫᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓱᐴᔫᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᒃᔭᖅᑐᐃᓂᖃᖅᐸᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᓯᓚᕐᔪᐊᕐᒥᐅᓕᒫᓄᑦ.

ᕼᐋᒃᐃᐊᕐ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᖏᓐᓂ, ᐃᓱᒪᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᕐᓂᓕᕆᔨᐅᓪᓗᓂ, ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᕐᐳᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᖃᕐᕕᒻᒥᓐᓂᒃ ᒪᓕᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᖏᒡᓕᕙᓪᓕᐊᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᖃᓕᕐᓂᕐᒥᓐᓄᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᐅᑉ ᐅᐊᖕᓇᖓᓂᕐᒥᐅᓕᒫᓄᑦ, ᑕᒪᒃᑭᓐᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᕝᕕᒃᓴᖃᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓵᑕᒃᑯᑎᒍᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ.

ᑕᐃᒪᖖᒐᓂᑦ 2005-ᒥᑦ, ᕆᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒥᓂ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔨᒻᒪᕆᒋᔭᐅᓯᒪᓕᕐᐳ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑐᕌᖓᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᕆᐅᕐᔪᐊᑉ ᐊᑭᐊᓂᕐᒥᐅᓂ, ᐋᕝᕆᑲᒥ, ᓴᐃᓇᒥ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑲᕆᐱᐊᓐᒥ. ᑕᒪᓐᓇ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒥᓂ ᐃᓚᖃᓚᐅᕐᒪ ᐱᕈᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᓪᓕᐊᓯᒪᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᓕᕆᔾᔪᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐱᒋᐊᕐᖓᕐᕕᒋᔭᖏᓐᓂ ᐃᓚᖏᓂ ᐱᔭᕆᑐᔪᒻᒪᕆᐅᕙᒃᑲᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᒃᓴᖃᕐᕕᐅᔪᑦ ᐋᖅᑮᒋᐊᖅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᐱᑕᖃᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖃᖅᐸᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᓈᒻᒪᒋᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂ ᒪᓕᒐᖁᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐋᖅᑭᐅᒪᕙᒌᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ. ᐅᖃᓪᓚᐅᓯᖃᖃᑎᒌᒃᐸᓐᓂᖅᑎᒍᑦ ᒪᓕᒐᓕᐅᖅᑎᐅᕙᒃᑐᓂᒃ, ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᒋᔭᒥᓂᒃ ᕿᓚᒥᐅᔪᖅ ᐋᖅᑭᐅᒪᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᕐᐳᖅ ᓄᑖᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᖃᕐᕕᐅᓕᖅᑐᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᑕᕆᐅᕐᔪᐊᑉ ᐊᑭᐊᓂᕐᒥᐅᓂ.

ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓕᕐᓂᐊᓵᖅᑐᓂ, ᕆᒃ ᓯᓚᓕᕆᔨᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑲᒻᐸᓂᒋᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᐅᒪᓕᕈᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑎᖏᓐᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔮᖃᓚᐅᕐᐳᖅ, ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑎᒋᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐋᕝᕆᑲᒥᐅᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᕆᐅᕐᔪᐊᑉ ᐊᑭᐊᓂᕐᒥᐅᓂ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᕐᕕᒋᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᓄᑕᐅᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔾᔪᑎᒋᔭᒥᓐᓂ ᐊᑐᕐᓂᖃᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᒋᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᕆᕙᒃᑕᒥᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓂᒃ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓄᑦ ᖁᑦᑎᖕᓂᖅᐸᐅᔪᑎᒍᑦ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᖅᑎᐅᓂᒥᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᓯᒪᐃᓐᓇᕋᓱᓐᓂᖏᓐᓂ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᒃᐱᕐᓇᑦᑎᐊᖅᑑᓂᕆᔭᒥᓐᓂᒃ ᓂᕆᐅᒋᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᑦ ᓯᓚᕐᔪᐊᕐᒥᐅᓕᒫᓂ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕋᕐᕕᒋᔭᒥᓐᓂᑦ.

ᕆᒃ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᔪᓐᓇᕐᐳᖅ ᐱᔭᕆᑐᔫᕙᒃᑐᑎᒃ ᖃᐅᑕᒫᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᓂᐅᕙᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐸᕐᓇᐅᑎᓕᐅᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᓯᕗᓂᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᒥ ᐱᓕᕆᕝᕕᐅᓕᕈᓐᓇᕋᔭᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᖏᓂ.

ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃ.ᔭᕐᓇᐅᖖᒋᓕᕌᖓᑦ, ᕆᒃ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᔭᖃᓲᖑᕗᖅ ᐸᐃᓯᑰᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᕙᓐᓂᕐᒥᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒨᑐᕐᓴᐃᑯᓪᑯᑦ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᐅᔭᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᕙᓐᓂᕐᒥᓂᒃ. ᐃᓱᒪᓕᐅᖅᓯᒪᒻᒥᔪᖅ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᐊᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᒪᓕᒃᓗᓂ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᐅᖅᓯᒪᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᒥᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᖓᑕᖃᑦᑕᕈᒫᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᒥᓂᒃ ᑕᐃᒫᒃ ᐱᕙᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᒐᒥ.

Rick Travis joined First Air at the head office in Kanata, Ontario, as Director Operations Control Centre in July 2018. He is directly responsible for a team that includes Flight Dispatchers, Duty Managers, and Crew Schedulers who are the nerve centre of First Air. Currently he holds Flight Dispatcher certificates and licenses in Canada and the United States as well as a few other countries around the world.

While he was growing up, his family relocated across Canada, including Ontario, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. After graduating from high school in the Northwest Territories, he completed the Business Management program at Capilano College.

At Central Mountain Air, he started his career as a licensed flight dispatcher supporting both scheduled flying for Air Canada and charter operations in the western provinces and territories. Rick then moved to Skyplan as a contract flight dispatcher for Canadian North and Air North. This also involved him with business jets and jet transport operations around the world.

At Hawkair, as Chief Dispatcher, he was part of the team to move their Operations Control Centre to comply with the requirements to meet their expanding operations across Western Canada, with both scheduled and charter flight operations.

Since 2005, Rick has worked as an airline start-up consultant for projects in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. This required building the teams and systems from the ground up in some challenging environments that required adapting to the local regulations and infrastructures. Through dialogue with regulators, he enabled his teams to quickly set up new airline operations overseas.

Prior to joining First Air, Rick was with The Weather Company’s aviation solutions division, where he assisted their African and Middle Eastern clients in upgrading their Operations Control Systems to more efficiently manage their flight operations while maintaining the high standard of service and reliability that are expected from their international clients.

Rick thrives on balancing the challenges of daily flight operations and preparing for future opportunities for First Air. Outside of work, Rick enjoys mountain biking and adventure motorcycling. He is also planning to build a kit airplane and return to recreational flying.

From the Flight Deck Training, Training, Training An airline doesn’t train a pilot from scratch. We take someone who already has some basic qualifications and we make them an expert on the airplane type they will fly. Before starting at First Air, a pilot will have already been flying for several years and will have built up a fairly robust base of skills. We take those base skills and hone them over the course of several months.

The first step in training a new pilot is a three-week classroom course that covers everything from Company policies and procedures to detailed technical training about the type of aircraft they will fly. (To answer a question that one of my non-pilot friends once asked — yes, we do actually know what all of the various buttons and switches do.)

Once the classroom training is complete, the new pilot undergoes two to three weeks of training in a flight simulator that is an exact duplicate of the real aircraft. The parts that are used to build the simulator are the same parts that are used on the aircraft.

The computers that control the simulator duplicate the handling characteristics that are felt when flying the actual airplane — even following any possible system malfunction.

The screens that replace the windows also ensure that the view is the same out of the simulator as it is in the real world.

The simulator training is really a study of Murphy’s Law – whatever can go wrong, will.

The simulator training is designed to ensure the pilot can respond to any system failure that could conceivably occur. Following the completion of the simulator training there is about a month of on-the-job training where the pilot is evaluated while responding to day-to-day changes during regular operations.

© Mark Taylor

It’s only once all of that training is complete that the pilot is then qualified as a Captain or First Officer. All that training; however, is specific to the aircraft type the pilot will fly.

If the pilot wants to change the aircraft type they fly, for example an ATR pilot who wants to fly a B737 or vice versa, they have to undergo all that training all over again for the new aircraft type.

Of course, it doesn’t end there. That process is just the initial training that a pilot would complete when starting on a specific aircraft.

Airline pilots also undergo regular refresher training to ensure their skills remain sharp.

Every year we return to the classroom for a few days of training to review all of the procedures and technical knowledge as well as updates on any changes in procedures or advances in technology. Likewise, every six months we return to the simulator for three days of refresher training to ensure we

maintain a high level of proficiency to respond to any possible malfunction.

As you can see, there is lots of training that is required to create an airline pilot and ensure their skills stay sharp. One of my friends often jokes when he hears that I am heading back for another training session and asks me how much more training I will need before I finally figure out how to do my job!

The reality is that it doesn’t take superhuman skills to be an airline pilot, but it does take consistent training and practice to ensure that our skills are sharp and that we maintain the highest possible standards.

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

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2018 | 05 YOURS TO KEEP

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September | October 2018 Volume 30, No. 5

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26 Features

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Subarctic Lichens

“Into the Wildflowers,” a learning vacation hosted by the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, welcomes participants for a taste of botany in the field. — Text and photos by Karin Murray-Bergquist

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Homage to a Naval Arctic Explorer

The rule when you visit historic sites is to take nothing but photographs. Geologist Peter Croal followed the rule. He took nothing when he visited Beechey Island in September 2017, but he left something. — Season Osborne

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Amongst the Big Walls of Baffin

The land below me was so rugged and surreal it took my breath away. Granite pinnacles pierced the sky, steep walled fiords and hanging glaciers lapped at the ocean with their icy tongues.

— Text and photos by Mike Beedell

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Inuit Guardians

Kogvik and her classmates will journey out “on-theland” soon enough, combining their new skills with tried-and-true local knowledge to protect two of the most important shipwrecks in Canada.

— Parks Canada

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23 31

09 Destination Focus

13 Living Above&Beyond 21 Resources

35 Profile From Sourdoughs to Cheechakos — Alan G. Luke

39 Science Making Sea-ice Travel Safer — Kelley Power

43 Health From-the-Land Food Ambassadors Program — Kim Rapati 46 Culture Blending Two Cultures — Nick Newbery 48 Bookshelf

50 Inuit Forum — Natan Obed National Inuit Leader & President, ITK 7

70.4764° N, 68.6013° W

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

CLYDE RIVER Located on the eastern coast of Baffin Island,

Clyde River, Nunavut, has become known for both

preservation of Inuit culture and the majestic cliffs of the many fiords and mountains in the area.

There is a special magic in the air around Clyde

River. Its Inuktitut name, Kangiqtugaapik, meaning

‘nice little inlet,’ belies its stunning beauty and its importance to Inuit for nearly 2,000 years. Here is

© Laura Adams

Essential experiences include:

• Immersing yourself in stunning scenery and wildlife with expert local guides who will share a millennium of accumulated history

• Scaling world-famous climbing cliffs for the very experienced mountain climbers • Experiencing ancient Inuit culture and visiting local elders at the Piqqusilirivvik

• Experiencing the world’s most northern helicopter skiing as you explore the Arctic

where Inuit and Norse Vikings had first contact around 1000 AD, long before the British explorers and

the whalers arrived. Here you will find a mystical

beauty in a wonderful, abundant land. You can travel with local guides deep in the fiords and soak in the

majesty of the peaks.

Inuit Cultural School

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Cordillera range of Baffin Island - the most dramatic mountains in the Arctic

icefields with tumbling glaciers, deep fjords and the world’s tallest sheer granite walls. See polar bears and other Arctic wildlife, discover Clyde River’s vibrant

Inuit culture, and enjoy gourmet meals prepared by a private chef. To discover more about what to expect, visit www.weberarctic.com/adventures/details/ heli-ski-baffin-island-7-days

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Where several ecosystems intersect, Churchill contains small communities of plants that emerge in microcosms of larger systems.

Subarctic Lichens

Seeking the tiny in the immense Text and photos by Karin Murray-Bergquist

The starkness of the horizon is deceptive. The treeless landscape contains plants grown in the lushest southern gardens, at one hundredth of the size. Tiny purple azaleas carpet the ground as “Into the Wildflowers,” a learning vacation hosted by the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, welcomes participants for a taste of botany in the field.

Standing on History Rates of decay are slower in the subarctic, and so are rates of growth — evident on our visit to Fort Prince of Wales. The map lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum) on its walls grows at the staggeringly slow rate of half a hair per year. These lichens have been here since the Fort’s construction began in 1731. Elegant starburst, another local species, is so slow-growing that it is used in lichonometry — determining the age of rock faces using the lichens growing on them.

Because of the slow growth rates, lichens are an especially delicate group. Crustose lichens, such as map lichen and elegant starburst, do not extend far beyond the surface on which they grow. However, inky black rock tripe, a foliose form, curls upwards from the face of the rock, leaving brittle edges at risk of being trampled.

The plants have been shaped by their physical environment, but their roles in human history have affected them as well, providing a wealth of common names in many languages and a place in northern cuisine. Cloudberries, Labrador tea, and members of the rose family have medicinal and culinary uses. Woody plants such as scrub birch provide firewood on the tundra, and mosses have been traditionally used by the Dene in diaper bags for infants. These snatches of botanical history, however limited, highlight the variety and complexity of the area, its position at the convergence of cultures, ecosystems, and communities.

Collection Challenges Searching the sands for a variety of northern bluebell felt risky in the shadow of the rocks. No one wanted to surprise a bear. Knowing they were around made us see the Top: Map lichen grows at a rate of half a hair per year — and despite the name, it should not be used to navigate. Bottom: The region’s plants are adapted to rocky terrain, forming communities that include mosses and lichens.

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landscape in a different way: bending down to look at a tiny, delicate plant specimen, it was easy to lose track of our surroundings. The role of bear guards was crucial, both at the coast and in the boreal forest, looking for delicate northern orchids. In some cases, these were too rare to pick, and it was necessary to identify them in the field, take photos and notes, and leave them alone.

In the evenings, we focused on the details, using the plant key — an elegantly straightforward method of identifying species based on a series of questions.

Sometimes a hand lens was necessary, and sometimes even this didn’t help much. But with expert guidance, it wasn’t long before even subtle differences started coming to light. Grasses and sedges proved to be the hardest to identify, though they are easily distinguished from each other by the rhyme “sedges have edges.” Grasses are usually round-stemmed. This identification process often relied on the smallest parts of the plant, so care in collecting specimens meant more accurate results.

Plant Names 2017 was a unique year for the program: Dr. Karen Johnson was about to retire, after leading for 20 years, and Jackie Krindle was preparing to step into the position. Having two experienced instructors on an already small course was a stroke of fortune, allowing for many opportunities for questions or one-on-one instruction. Karen and Jackie used the plants’ scientific names, explaining that in the vernacular, regional variations and occasionally misattributions mean that their common names can vary.

Botanical language thrives on clarity and precision to avoid misidentifications. Latin names are favoured in botanical gardens around the world, and in Karen’s own book, Wildflowers of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Region.

But most people know the plants by their common names. Sometimes these combine several species into one, split a single species based on minor differences, or identify relations that turn out to be superficial. There can be multiple names for a plant, even in the same region, or they can vary based on geography. High altitudes and high latitudes share plants but alter the names appropriately: mountain avens in the Hudson Bay lowlands become Arctic avens.

Plant names range from the descriptive to the whimsical. The tender purple orchid-like flowers, with a distinctive curving shape, are called elephants’ heads Top left: The search for a specific bluebell led the group to Fort Prince of Wales.

Bottom left: The beaches are covered in kelp at low tide.

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Lapland rosebay resembles tiny rhododendrons.

(Pedicularis groenlandica). These are tricky to find amid the boggy undergrowth, but their shape is unforgettable. Likewise, lichens known as “British soldiers” (Cladonia cristatella) provide tiny points of vivid colour in the rock-scape, their scarlet “coats” standing out against grey and green. Nearby, the delicate fairy candelabras (Androsace septentrionalis, part of the primrose family), minuscule flowers atop branching stems, embody their name.

Going from the vastness of the landscape to the intimacy of the study table, we get to see the plants in micro and macrocosm and viewing the tiniest parts of the plants is like a journey into an unknown realm. The names are a helpful guide to the territory. Collecting, identifying, and dissecting the specimens is a lesson in attention to detail, an exercise in the powers of observation — and in the excitement of seeking something tiny in the immense.

Members of the primrose family are recognizable by their notched petals.

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Comedy is coming to the Arctic!

It’s a proven fact that laughter makes us happier and more cheerful. So, the Alterna Savings Crack Up Comedy Festival, Ottawa’s premier charity Comedy event in support of mental health, held its first comedy competition in Iqaluit in March this year. The idea first cleared take-off when Dan Valin of First Air proposed that the popular Ottawa festival invite comics from all over Nunavut to battle it out for two spots at the Crack Up Comedy Festival in Ottawa, appearing alongside some of Canada’s best comics in front of 700 people. Mary Walsh, creator and star of This Hour has 22 Minutes, Codco, Matching Hatching, Dispatching and much more, hosted the event. Eight local comics performed to a sold-out crowd and two winners from the competition moved on to perform at the finale of the Crack Up Comedy Festival in Ottawa two weeks later.

Fast forward to October 2018 for the launch of the three-day First Air Arctic Comedy Festival.

The event will support local comics and the proceeds and donations will also support the Nunavut Kamatsiaqtut Help Line. Since the Kamatsiaqtut Help Line began taking calls in January of 1990, it has been committed to “Helping People Help Themselves.” Top-tier Canadian comics such as Mary Walsh, Colin Mochrie, Howie Miller, Ryan McMahon, Don Kelly, and comedy legend Patrick McKenna have expressed interest in performing at the festival.

A big part of the festival will be bringing experienced comics to Nunavut where locals and Indigenous comics will have opportunities to perform side-by-side with them and take part in writing and performing workshops. The

LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

L to R: Angnakuluk Friesen, Wade Thorhaug, Bibi Bilodeau, Aaron Watson, Bugsy, Peter Autut, and Samasuni Fortin from the first comedy competition in Iqaluit in March 2018. © Shawn MacDonell

festival will feature an Indigenous Comedy Show, a stop in Pangnirtung, visits to elementary and high schools, a variety of Themed Shows and finishing big with a VIP reception and Festival Gala Finale at the Frobisher Inn in Iqaluit.

First Air is keen to promote and build the festival with a future possibility of expanding coverage to the Northwest Territories. Other generous supporters include The Frobisher Inn, Arctic Coop, C&K, with more to come. Iqaluit promises to be one funny place come October.

Join in and celebrate humour and its link to

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positive thinking and good health. Tickets will be available through the comedy website soon so visit: www.ArcticComedyFestival.ca for all the details, line-up, and early-bird discounts.

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L to R: Lisa Koperqualuk, new ICC Canada vice-president and Monica Ell-Kanayuk, new ICC president. © Makivik Corporation

ICC Canada names new officers

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Canada’s branch of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) has a new president, Monica Ell-Kanayuk from Iqaluit, Nunavut. She was elected to the position July 15 during the group’s annual general meeting, this year held in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. The new ICC Canada vicepresident, Lisa Koperqualuk of Nunavik, Quebec, was also named.

In Nunavut’s previous legislative assembly, Ell-Kanayuk was deputy premier while serving as minister of economic development and transportation. She was previously director of economic development for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and worked for many years for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation.

That ICC assembly is held every four years and brings together ICC member states of Canada, the U.S., Russia and Greenland. For the next four years, Alaska is taking Canada’s place as chair of the international Inuit council that advocates for Inuit input in Arctic affairs. The council works on issues relevant to Inuit like education, wildlife management and economic development.

The ICC closed its 2018 general assembly July 20 with a renewed commitment to unity and action on the international stage, continuing work to advance distinct human rights, food security, health and wellness, sustainable development, and the environment.

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Paddlers join for 20th anniversary event

LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

A world class wilderness event, the Yukon River Quest (YRQ) celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with a record number of teams entering the race, which began June 27 in Whitehorse, Yukon. Fifteen countries were represented: Australia, Belgium, Canada (nine provinces/ territories), Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States (17 states).

Except for two mandatory rest stops totaling 10 hours, adventure and marathon paddlers race non-stop over the 715 kilometres (444 miles) to Dawson City. Held annually in the North during the last week of June (around the summer solstice), it is a true “Race to the Midnight Sun” where many of the world’s best paddlers gather.

A record 103 teams started the race and 76 teams finished. Teams were beset with several challenges this year: another low river year, especially in the first 350 kilometres; head winds on the first half of Lake Laberge; and thunderstorms with lightning in spots from Coffee Creek to Dawson City, including powerful head winds that forced the leaders to shore at one point. As a result, most winning times in various classes were slower this year.

Yukon Wide Adventures, a men’s voyageur team with paddlers from the Yukon, NWT and British Columbia, repeated last year’s win as overall champions (with a few new paddlers switched in) this year in a time of 44 hours, 21 minutes, 53 seconds, beating the VC team Paddlesports Mongrels from the United Kingdom by about 23 minutes. A new record was set in Mixed Tandem Kayak by Team 28 The Kiwis,

Team 1, Yukon Wide Adventures, men’s voyageur team were overall fastest team again in 2018, clocking in at 44 hrs 21 min 53 sec. Thoman de Jager (team captain), Gus Oliveira, Stephen Mooney, Spencer Edelman, Kendall McDonald and Brandon Johnston. © Harry Kern

paddled by Ian Huntsman and Wendy Riach of Christchurch, New Zealand. They finished third overall and their time of 44:57:56 beat the 2005 K2 mixed record of 45:22:09 by Brandon and Heather Nelson of Bellingham, Washington.

Winners received a hand-made canoe pendant from Gold Trail Jewellers of Dawson City, and teams that finished under 55 hours received prize money as well.

The YRQ dominated the Canada Day parade with more than 300 paddlers, support crew members and volunteers marching behind a 20th Anniversary banner that thanked the community of Dawson City. This was the culmination of a week of events organized by the 20th Anniversary Committee that began with a grand Meet & Greet at the SS Klondike in Whitehorse, moved on to a Volunteer Party at Carmacks before racers arrived, and concluded with a huge Race Gallery Tent and the parade

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in Dawson. Thanks to Yukon Government Community Development Fund for helping to make this celebration happen!

At this year’s Awards Banquet, the YRQ introduced the “Great River Club” of 5,000- and 10,000-kilometre paddlers, led by Larry Seethaler of Anchorage, Alaska, and Ingrid Wilcox of Whitehorse, Yukon.

The 21st annual Yukon River Quest will be held June 26 to June 30, 2019. Registration opens November 1, 2018. Register early. Rules and more information will be posted in October on the website.

Link to the 2018 Race Tracker at www.yukon riverquest.com for complete results.

Share your YRQ stories! The Yukon River Quest is still collecting stories for possible inclusion in a 20th anniversary book. E-mail them to info@yukonriverquest.com. All stories will be posted on the website as well.

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Fabric program aids next generation of parkas

LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

By Joy Pecknold

Eight months out of the year, it’s freezing or well below freezing in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, and that makes a parka compulsory. The warmest of winter coats, unsurprisingly, was born in the Arctic, invented by the Inuit indigenous to Northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. For the better part of history, they were measured using hands and fingers, and constructed of layered caribou skins sewn together by dried sinew. One assumes that these days fabric is easier to track down than caribou, but that’s not entirely true on a remote island hamlet of 1,400 people.

Shipping to this part of the world is expensive, which means sewing supplies are both costly and scarce. But on this day, last November, several thousand metres of fabric have arrived at Cape Dorset’s Community Hall. It’s all here for one of outerwear brand Canada Goose’s yearly Resource Centre events, in partnership with First Air, which provide free materials to Inuit sewers so they can make coats for family and friends. Launched in 2009, the idea was born out of the brand’s Baffin Anorak collaboration with Pond Inlet seamstresses Meeka Atagootak and Rebecca Killiktee. While the two were touring Canada Goose’s Toronto factory, they picked up production scraps and asked to bring them home to use — instead, they were sent back with a box of extra fabric, followed by pallets for the rest of their community.

There are a couple hundred women waiting today, and even though the volunteers can’t cut the fabric rolls fast enough, it’s more civilized than a Saturday at Costco. One of the first in line is 23-year-old Sindy Tammy Kenneally. The

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First Air and Canada Goose collaborated for a fabric give-away at the end of July in Pond Inlet this year. Here, (centre, left) First Air Chairman Johnny Adams helps distribute the fabric. © Canada Goose

jacket she’s wearing has patterned bands around the sleeves and hem, and a fluffy fur ruff that looks forest green when it catches the light — she made it herself, as well as the ones her two sisters are wearing. With a greyscale camo body and hot pink trim, her older sister Crystal’s is a modern take on the traditional amauti, a pullover coat with a back pouch underneath the hood to carry and keep a baby warm. Mostly self-taught, Kenneally made her first parka at 14, and has since made 15 or so. “I think what inspires my design,” she says, “is how different my style is from the people of Cape Dorset.”

A parka’s design was once a signpost of sorts, a visual signifier of which community its wearer was from. That has since changed, but the coat that 62-year-old Ida Ayalik McWilliam has on stands out — and that’s because she is from the west. Hers is a Mother Hubbard, so called for its long-pleated hem, with wolverine fur

cuffs and a fanned wolf fur ruff referred to as a sunburst. The most modern detail is a multicoloured lace overlay, which she proudly declares she scored for $5 a metre.

There are other amautis in the crowd, a few of which are the handiwork of 64-year-old Ragee Killiktee. Complete with the traditional longer tail in back — a design feature for keeping a mother’s behind warm whilst sitting — the amauti is Killiktee’s specialty. “Too many years,” she says when asked how long she’s been making them, followed by “I don’t count,” to the question of how many, yet she’s precise with how long it takes to make one: “Twenty-two days.” The black one Linda Jaw is wearing has a pointed hood, typical to South Baffin Island women, that is big enough to cover baby and mother’s head. It is trimmed in fur, as are the ends of the pale blue braided cords that cinch up the hood and tie around the waist, and they

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happen to match a stripe appliqué that mirrors the rounded hemline. Jaw is hoping Killiktee will make her another one in different colours from the fabric she gets today.

Qupirrualuk Padluq, 71, made her own parka, and will make three or four for her children and grandchildren from her haul, which she totes out in a garbage bag as the event wraps up.

The materials are gone in less than an hour, save for some thick batting. That will go to a nearby school for pattern-making practice, so another generation will carry on the skills required to craft a parka.

This article first appeared in MONTECRISTO Magazine, reprinted here with permission. First Air and Canada Goose also collaborated for a fabric give-away at the end of July in Pond Inlet this year.

Shrimp market remains strong

Safety Training for the Shrimp Trawler Course. © Jerry Fewer, Instructor, NFMTC

In July, Makivik released the results from their 2017-2018 fishing year, announcing that prices for northern shrimp remain strong, they are increasing their market in Europe, and continuing to develop the China market where Northern shrimp is very popular.

Makivik received $7.2 million in royalties from its fishing partner Newfound Resources Ltd. for the 2017-2018 fishing year. Newfound Resources Ltd., in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Makivik have been working together as partners for over 15 years.

In April, Makivik hosted its second four-week Offshore Shrimp Training Program in Salluit, Nunavik. The course is run by the Nunavut Fisheries Marine Training Consortium (NFMTC) in conjunction with the Marine Institute of Memorial University in St. John’s. It enables successful candidates to work on the offshore trawlers operated by Newfound Resources Ltd.

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New wildlife area to come to the Dehcho © DHoffmannPhotography / fotolia.com

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The Dehcho First Nations will sign papers this fall with federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to finalize the agreement, which will establish Edéhzhíe as a National Wildlife Area under the Canada Wildlife Act. It has already been designated as a protected area under Dehcho law at the 2018 Annual Dehcho Assembly.

The Edéhzhíe Protected Area of 14,200 km² of boreal forest and wetlands is in the Dehcho region of the Northwest Territories. Edéhzhíe has great ecological and cultural significance to the communities of Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, Behchokǫ̀, Jean Marie River, Whatì and Wrigley.

The Horn Plateau, a prominent landform in Edéhzhíe, contains the source waters of the Willowlake, Horn and Rabbitskin Rivers.

Traditional knowledge identifies the Horn Plateau as a place that could be relied upon during times of food scarcity in the Mackenzie Valley. Mills Lake and the lower Horn River areas are important harvesting areas for surrounding communities.

Edéhzhíe hosts numerous cultural sites, trails and harvesting areas, and has traditionally been used for hunting, fishing, trapping and other activities. Mills Lake is a key northern wetland on the Central and Mississippi continental flyways for migratory birds.

Traditional harvesting, such as hunting, fishing and berry picking will not be affected by the new protections in the area. A management plan will determine how non-Indigenous people will be able to use the National Wildlife Area.

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LIVING ABOVE&BEYOND

Inuit art finds new home The Municipality of Cape Dorset and West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative are opening the Kenojuak Cultural Centre this September. This state-ofthe-art community facility, visitor destination and exhibition space is also the new home to the renowned Kinngait Studios — the venerable institution responsible for the drawings, prints and sculpture that have defined excellence in Inuit art since the 1950s.

Two special events are planned for the official opening in Cape Dorset, Nunavut: A Community Gathering: September 5 from 1 to 6 pm; and A Dignitary and Supporter Reception: September 8 from noon to 5 pm.

The exhibitions will showcase never-beforeseen works of art from the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative archives and permanent collection.

They are co-curated by the Centre’s Manager Louisa Parr and William Huffman from the Cooperative.

The first exhibit is “Kenojuak Ashevak: The Work of a Lifetime”. It is the largest survey of Kenojuak Ashevak’s creative output ever presented in Canada’s Arctic. In addition to works of art, the Cape Dorset community has been invited to contribute personal objects, musings and anecdotes, which illustrate the significant role that Ashevak has played in the region. A series of public talks and screenings will accompany the exhibition.

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The Main gallery/Exhibition area of the new Kenojuak Cultural Centre, showing drawings and carvings from the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperatives permanent collections. © Louisa Parr

The second exhibit, “Age of Stone: A History of Cape Dorset Carving” examines the cultural significance of carving in Cape Dorset — from its ancient roots to the present. This exhibition mines the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative permanent collection and will feature rare sculptural works by Kenojuak Ashevak. Complementing the exhibition is a series of demonstrations and workshops conducted by local sculptors.

Visit kenojuakcentre.ca.

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RESOURCES

NUNAVIK

New software aids REE project

Commerce Resources Corp. has announced

that Université Laval has produced a mixed rare earth oxide concentrate using material from

the Ashram Rare Earth Deposit. The test work is part of a larger program being completed in

collaboration with Laval to process material

from the Ashram Rare Earth Deposit, located in northern Quebec.

The primary objective of the test work is

to validate a new software model simulator

developed by Laval for the separation of rare earth elements (REEs) by solvent extraction (SX).

This is a key milestone for the advancement of the Project. This test work has demonstrated again

the versatility of the Ashram Deposit to be processed by different flowsheet approaches.

A targeted commercial benefit of the soft-

securities of Peregrine Diamonds Ltd, owner of the

high quality Chidliak diamond resource located

2019, which will allow Madrid and Boston to

and is located about 120 kilometres northeast of

6,000 tonnes per day at Hope Bay.

The Chidliak resource was discovered in 2008

Iqaluit on Baffin Island. A total of 74 kimberlite

pipes have been identified at Chidliak, including

the CH-6 and CH-7 pipes, which are the current focus of Peregrine’s Chidliak Phase One Diamond

Development program. The program has a total

Inferred Mineral Resource over 22 million carats.

Peregrine’s recent Preliminary Economic Assess-

ment for Chidliak shows high quality in the CH-6

deposit especially. An estimated grade of 2.41

carats per tonne and a diamond valuation of

$151 U.S. per carat make CH-6 one of the most

attractive undeveloped diamond resources in Canada.

Gold projects receive go ahead

associated with piloting the SX separation

recommended to the Minister of Crown-

process for REEs.

NUNAVUT

De Beers in process of buying diamond mine

De Beers Canada has entered into an agree-

ment to acquire 100 per cent of the outstanding

Certificates later in 2018 and Water Licences in

in Nunavut.

ware model simulator is as a planning tool for

process piloting to help reduce delays and costs

TMAC is expecting to receive new Project

The Nunavut Impact Review Board has

Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs that TMAC Resources Inc.’s proposed MadridBoston Project proceed. The Madrid-Boston

Project proposes the construction and commercial mining at three separate gold deposits

at Hope Bay; Madrid North, Madrid South and

Boston.

proceed into production and process up to

Water licence approval expands project

Agnico Eagle Mines’ Amaruq project continues

to expand with the newly approved water

licence in July to start construction at its Whale Tail gold deposit.

In the second quarter of 2018, the company

drilled 22,342 metres in 51 drill holes at the Amaruq project. The company plans to build

about 1.2 kilometres of underground ramping

for further exploration in 2018, at a cost of approximately $21 million.

Whale Tail is an open-pit gold deposit,

50 kilometres northwest of Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank mine, near Baker Lake. Production

at Whale Tail is expected to begin in the fall of

2019.

YUKON

Drill program confirms silver

Alexco Resource Corp. has announced initial

results from its ongoing 2018 drilling program at the high-grade Bermingham deposit in the Keno

Hill Silver District. Twenty-six holes have been drilled from surface and underground. Signifi-

cant silver-rich intercepts have been obtained

confirming the vein model interpretation and

continuity of significant high-grade silver values at this location.

Alexco has also received a positive Decision

Document in July by the Yukon Government

for the development and production at the Bermingham deposit. The Company has submit-

ted a water license renewal application to the Yukon Water Board for processing and milling ore from the mine.

Advancement of Alexco’s Flame & Moth

decline and ramp development continues as well.

Peregrine Chidliak Camp at CH-6, March 2013.

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©Peregrine Diamond’s Ltd.

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Homage to a Naval Arctic Explorer The Labrador Monument on Beechey Island

By Season Osborne

The rule when you visit historic sites is to take nothing but photographs. Geologist Peter Croal followed the rule. He took nothing when he visited Beechey Island in September 2017, but he left something—a canister of messages for his father.

B

eechey Island, in the High Central Arctic, is a historic site. Sir John Franklin’s Northwest Passage expedition overwintered there in 1845–46, and, after 1850, it became the base camp for Franklin search parties. In 1854, an octagonal wooden pillar was erected on the gravelly terrace above the beach as a cenotaph to honour the men who died in the search.

About 20 paces to the right of the Franklin Cenotaph, the crew of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Labrador built their own monument, or cairn. Unlike Franklin’s ships, Labrador successfully transited the Northwest Passage in 1954 — the monument commemorates the event. The five-foot pyramid, constructed of wooden slats, is a smaller version of the navigational beacons built by Labrador’s crew and set up along the Arctic’s coastlines.

The navigational beacon at the abandoned RCMP post at Dundas Harbour was set up by the crew of the Labrador to help guide ships into the bay. © S. Osborne

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Lt.-Cmdr. James (Big Jim) Croal received a personal commendation from the U.S. Secretary of the Navy for his excellent service and support to the Canadian and American navies operating in the Arctic. © Peter Croal

A jumbled collection of sealed metal tubes, or canisters, each with notes rolled up inside, has been left by tourists and mariners in the bottom of the cairn. Croal knew he would be visiting Beechey Island as a geologist aboard an Adventure Canada Arctic cruise.

“It was my fifth time going to Beechey. I just decided to put something there. It’s not unusual to leave canisters,” says Croal.

Leaving a message in the Labrador cairn was a fitting gesture. Croal’s father had built it. James Croal was ice expert aboard Labrador in 1954 and 1955.

The HUP-3 twin rotor helicopter carried the assembled navigational beacons from the ship to the shore. © DND Image LAB-1024, courtesy Don MacNeil Collection

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Known as Big Jim, the 6’2”, 27-year-old enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943, and served on a destroyer in the North Atlantic. In 1946, he participated in Operation Muskox, an 81-day military exercise that travelled from Churchill to Edmonton via the sub Arctic. It was a dangerous operation, carried out in -35˚F conditions with no basic maps, no satellite communications, but using a lot of Inuit knowledge to make the trek. Big Jim learned valuable lessons about Arctic survival on the mission.

“He was one of those quiet, big, capable guys, who didn’t blow his own horn,” Croal says of his father.

After Operation Muskox, Big Jim was stationed in Churchill to learn about permafrost and work with U.S. military. He also got to know the local Inuit community, which helped expand his knowledge about living in the Arctic. His skills caught the attention of his superiors.

“It was his ability to ‘read’ ice that got him on board Labrador. He was the Arctic expert in terms of survival. He would go ashore with the men as the Arctic survivalist,” says naval historian Lieut. (N) Jason Delaney. “The captain, Owen Robertson, wanted Croal on the mission so badly he made him gunnery officer — an odd job on a ship that had no main armaments.”

Labrador was the first heavy icebreaker built for the Royal Canadian Navy to explore Canada’s Arctic waters for sovereignty purposes. Although it was designed as a warship, its main role was as an Arctic research vessel.

On July 23, 1954, HMCS Labrador left Halifax on its maiden voyage to rendezvous with two American icebreakers off Melville Island in the High Western Arctic. After surveying in the Beaufort Sea with the American ships, Labrador continued south, passed through the Panama Canal, and returned to Halifax on November 21, 1954, making history as the first warship to transit the Northwest Passage and circumnavigate North America in a single year.

Labrador carried a team of scientists who collected valuable hydrographic, oceanographic, and scientific data about the High Arctic. Croal says it was ground-breaking to have a Canadian warship working so closely with civilians and the science community.

The ship was also the first icebreaker and naval vessel to carry helicopters.

“Helicopters were indispensable for ship’s operations,” says Don MacNeil, whose father, Lieut. (P) John A. MacNeil, was a helicopter pilot and officer-in-charge of Photo of HMCS Labrador taken from one of its helicopters. © Courtesy of Lieut. (N) Jason Delaney

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Big Jim Croal (centre) learned much from the Inuit and travelled easily with them. © Peter Croal

Labrador’s air detachment in 1956. “The Arctic waters today are not fully mapped by modern hydrographic standards. But the large parts of it that are mapped were done

by Labrador... For the remainder of it, ships still use British Admiralty charts from the 1900s.”

In addition to mapping, Labrador erected navigational beacons on points of land to aid ships. In 1954, it carried 25 beacons. These were large (20 foot high), prefabricated, wooden structures that were brought ashore by the ship’s landing craft and then assembled. Eventually, the 800 pound beacons were built on the ship’s flight deck, and then delivered ashore by the large HUP-3 twin rotor helicopter. Big Jim was part of the team that assembled the beacons, and determined where they would be erected.

“The ship’s history is astounding. It was a 24-7 operation, and never ran aground or hit a rock,” says MacNeil.

Big Jim’s ice navigation skills had a lot to do with that. Delaney mentioned one story that has reached legendary status. While transiting Foxe Basin in 1955, Big Jim, who was on watch, ordered the ship stopped. When Capt. Robertson came on the bridge to find out why, Jim said, “I don’t like the look of that ice.” An ice reconnaissance party went out to investigate, and a massive rock structure was found 12 feet below the surface. Labrador had been headed directly for it, but Big Jim’s astute assessment of the ice prevented a catastrophe.

“Croal spotted the ice, the way it was formed on the surface, and said ‘I don’t like it.’ To this day that is in the charts, in government publications, as Croal Shoal,” says Delaney.

Between 1955 and 1957, Labrador’s principal role was to establish a route for the cargo vessels carrying materials to construct the 40 Distant Early Warning, or DEW line, stations across the Arctic. Labrador was transferred to the Department of Transport in 1959. It was taken out of service in 1987, then sold for scrap and dismantled in 1989.

However, Labrador contributed more to Canadian Arctic science, hydrography, and oceanography in its four years as a naval vessel than any other ship in the 20th century.

Big Jim played a significant role in the first missions’ success. Sadly, Lt.-Cmdr. James Croal passed away in 1985 at age 68.

Not surprising then that Croal wanted to mark his father’s role in maritime history at the most famous historic site in the Arctic.

“I asked immediate family, ‘If Dad were alive and you wanted to write a letter to him, write that letter.’ And they did,” says Croal. “I read these letters — all so lovely and loving. ‘We miss you, and you were such a great guy.’”

However, leaving a note in a cairn is a more bureaucratic affair than it was 100 years ago. Just as you can’t take anything from a national historic site, like Beechey, you also can’t leave anything without permission from Parks Canada. So, Croal applied and received a permit to leave his canister of letters in the Labrador Monument.

“I never got the chance to travel with my dad in the Arctic, but the dedication of the canister with our family's thoughts was a way to connect with him in spirit,” says Croal.

The moment when he deposited the canister in the Labrador monument was not as private as Croal had imagined. By the time Ocean Endeavour landed at Beechey, his story had reached the passengers. On September 2, 2017, Croal made a moving speech about his father and the significance of Labrador before an audience of strangers.

Everyone present felt privileged to witness the occasion, knowing Croal’s canister was now part of the history of Beechey Island.

Season Osborne has a passion for Arctic history and is the author of In the Shadow of the Pole: An Early History of Arctic Expeditions, 1871-1912. She lives and writes in Ottawa, Ontario.

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Peter stands in front of the Labrador Monument on Beechey Island holding his canister of letters. The Labrador’s coat of arms is attached to the peak of the monument, with crests of two other Canadian defence vessels, Cormorant and Shawinigan, nailed on lower slats. © Michelle Valberg

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An avalanche rockets down a thousand metre slope on the side of Polar Sun Spire and explodes, scattering debris two kilometres across the sea-ice.

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Self-propelled Journeys Amongst the Big Walls of Baffin

Text and photos by Mike Beedell

A Mongolian sage once said, “it is far better to experience a place just once than hear about it a thousand times”.

This has been my mantra for the last 40 years as I have had the privilege of exploring many edges of the planet.

I have remained fascinated and obsessed with wild and remote places, whether standing at the North Pole or summiting Mt. Logan, Canada’s highest peak, or lying on an ice pan in Antarctica and capturing the Cheshire grin of a leopard seal who has just wolfed down a cute, enchanting penguin.

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Benedicte Sagnieres of Montreal, Quebec, skis along the toe of the Broad Peak Glacier while the massive pillar of the Turret looms out of the ice four kilometres away.

uch is to be learned from the people and unique creatures of these remote places living together intimately in a predator/prey relationship. Their special adaptations, knowledge and skills are sculpted by the environments they inhabit.

Although I love moving through undulating desert sands and steamy jungles, listening to the cacophony of sounds that pulse from the dense undergrowth, I am most often drawn to polar environments. I yearn to witness precipitous fiord walls that humble me and make my neck ache from looking up in awe for too long. I am filled with wonder by bold mountains proudly greeting the frozen ocean and by titanic icebergs that elicit baritone groans as they shrug and slough-off multi-ton chunks of skin. To spend time amongst these ice goliaths is inspiring, like sentient beings they seem to be waiting impatiently for the sea-ice to melt so they can set sail on epic journeys.

As a photographer, guide and passionate skier, the Arctic spring draws me North annually. For it is a time to revel in the perpetual light and ski in idyllic temperatures!

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In Kangiqtugaapik, (Clyde River) Amos Oqallak shows his wonderful whalebone carving of a polar bear cub riding the back of a snow goose. The author admired his fantastical creation so much that he bought it immediately.

I first saw the Big Walls of Baffin 36 years ago when flying with Bradley Air to north Baffin. This area is 120 kms west of Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River) as the falcon flies. I was on my way to Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) to photograph the region for my first book, The Magnetic North. I was perched up front in a jumper seat with the pilots in a Hawker Siddeley 748. As we broke out of the cloud cover heading up island, the most magnificent landscapes appeared. I was left gawking with my face pressed against the glass and shutter clicking. The land below me was so rugged and surreal it took my breath away.

Granite pinnacles pierced the sky, steep walled fiords and hanging glaciers lapped at the ocean with their icy tongues.

In other places, massive piles of moraine looked like gigantic abandoned mining projects. Everything below me beckoned

to be explored and felt. I was visually overwhelmed, and I remember wishing I had a parachute to jump out of the aircraft and immerse myself in the landscape eight thousand feet below.

Twenty years later I finally set foot in this landscape on a summer ship journey up the coast of North East Baffin. Over the last decade I have returned many times on ski journeys into the heart of this region known as Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti (Sam Ford Fiord).

Skiing and pulling a sled a few kilometres per hour is one of the most rewarding ways to travel on sea-ice and glaciers.

Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen expressed his love for travel on skis “you are one with the skis and nature. This is something that develops not only the body but the soul as well and it has a deeper meaning for people than most of us perceive”.

My good friend and colleague, Laura Adams, a mountain guide, ski professional and inspiring impressionist painter, told me that she returned a thousand times in her mind to this region as she worked on her big, bold canvasses back home in Nelson, British Columbia. She has captured the unique quality of ephemeral Arctic-light setting the landscape aglow with her beautiful oil painting shared in this story.

When I view her oil painting, I am immediately transported to one of my favourite places in the world. The memory is of idyllic May days spent camping on the ice with friends near the toe of the Broad Peak tidewater glacier and the base of Polar Sun Spire.

We feel humbled here for we are but tiny specs of humanity, surrounded by colossal glacial forces and immense geological creations that have taken millions of years to form.

A camp at Tingijattut looks east towards Qulliqtaliujaq Mountain, Walker Citadels and Polar Sun Peak (right to left). This peninsula stretches for 18 kilometres.

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Left: Spires of the Broad Group, 48” x 36”, Sam Ford Fiord Baffin Island by Laura Adams - Luminate.ca

A hiker looks at fascinating air bubbles trapped in six feet of fresh water ice near the Walker Citadels.

Esau Palituq and his sled dogs are dwarfed by a receding glacier flowing off the ice cap on the western flank of Beluga Mountain.

A team of skiers rests for a snack in Walker Arm (Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti).

As I look up at this famous Spire rising 1,300 metres (4,300 feet) above us, I think of the hardy climbers who have spent many days clinging to this face, sleeping in a tent bolted into this granite wall. I also think of those thrill seekers who have died leaping off other summit spires nearby. Wearing batwing suits of ballistic nylon, they hurl themselves off 1,400-metre overhangs and hurtle towards the ice — then pull their parachute — hoping fervently that it will deploy on time!

For the Inuit of Kangiqtugaapik, this region has sustained their ancestors for millennia. In winter and spring, the fiords are ice highways providing access to good fishing lakes rich in char and the rolling hills below the Barnes Ice cap provide excellent caribou hunting. Seals reveal themselves in the spring sunshine and bask on the sea-ice, providing food for Inuit families and Nanuq, the ice bear.

There is a movement to create a new territorial park here and perhaps a designated world biosphere park under UNESCO. Well planned community tourism offers a good wage economy for many local outfitters and the potential for youth to learn new skills and be involved in adventure tourism and related services will grow steadily.

Pangnirtung and Auyuittuq National Parks have received the infrastructure support for many decades. Clyde is deserving of major support with a thriving community and a world-class environment to welcome world travellers.

For me, skis will always offer the ideal mode of travel in a polar environment.

Self-propelled journeys offer a deeper relationship with oneself and the land. Like a Buddhist mantra, the constant repetition and rhythm of prolonged ski-touring gives you a deeper connection to yourself and the place you are moving through. There is great value in sustained exertion, deep breathing of cold, clean air and the tug of your sled gliding efficiently over the snowscape. With fatigue and exhaustion as part of the experience, a contemplative rest is well earned and needed. As I sit down on my sled and drink in the view, there is deep gratitude for these simple joys. The sharing of snacks

and refuelling the body, topped up with delicious 10,000-year-old water melted from glacial ice becomes a treasured moment.

As I move through these geological masterpieces, I feel the genetic memory of my ancestors percolate out of my pores and deep joy surfaces. I am living in the moment and my awareness peaks. There is no other place but the here and now. When living in the moment like this I feel as if my body transforms into a unique musical instrument. My elated, tired and taut muscles are being played by the wind, the snow and the spirit of the place and the music pulses through me.

When I must leave such magical landscapes with my friends and fly back to my other home in the Gatineau hills of Quebec I know I will come back thousands of times with one of my best friends — my vivid memories.

I am reminded of environmental activist Edward Abbey who once said, “may your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.”

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Mike is a photographer, guide & educator who has spent 40 years roaming the remote regions of Canada and the globe. He works extensively with Adventure Canada. www.adventurecanada.com To see more of Mike Beedell’s work, go to www.mikebeedellphoto.ca To see painter Laura Adams work, go to www.Luminate.ca For more information on journeys to the Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti (Sam Ford Fiord) region, go to: www.nunavuttourism.com Outfitter: Levi Palituq at Levi.Palituq@hotmail.com

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Inuit Guardians Protecting Historical Shipwrecks Parks Canada

It’s early June in the Nunavut hamlet of Gjoa Haven, and at a time when many of the town’s 1,300 residents venture out onto the still-frozen sea ice to hunt, Betty Kogvik and a half-dozen other locals are receiving their latest certificates inside the town’s community college, following two weeks of intensive training.

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Aerial shot of HMS Erebus, 2017. © Parks Canada

Erebus base camp, from the water, 2017. © Parks Canada

hey may be missing out on the hunting, but Kogvik and her classmates will journey out “on-the-land” soon enough, combining their new skills with tried-and-true local knowledge to protect two of the most important shipwrecks in Canada, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror: the two vessels famously commanded by Sir John Franklin on his tragic trip through the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage in the mid-1800s.

Following the discovery of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 2014 and 2016, Parks Canada has prioritized working with Inuit to conserve the wrecks and invested in new programs and initiatives allowing Gjoa Haven and Inuit to benefit economically from its proximity to the Franklin vessels.

It is a core goal of the Franklin Interim Advisory Committee to incorporate Inuit Traditional Knowledge into the operations and management of the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site. The Franklin Interim Advisory Committee, or “FIAC,” includes Inuit community members and representatives from Inuit Heritage Trust, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, the Government of Nunavut, the Nattilik Heritage Society, the tourism industry, and the communities of Gjoa Haven and Cambridge Bay. The FIAC advises on the management of the wrecks until an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement is finalized between Parks Canada and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association.

“For our community it’s good, it’s more opportunity for people who have no [summer] jobs,” Kogvik says, during a short break in her training. Kogvik also serves as a Canadian Ranger.

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Right: Guardians receiving nautical training in Gjoa Haven, look over charts with instructor Don Tremblett, June 1. Clockwise L to R: Leonard Kogvik, Raymond Niaqunnuaq, Colin Putuguq Jr., Nelson Ruben, Joseph Aglukkaq, instructor Don Tremblett, Marvin Atqittuq, and Leon Komagat. © Parks Canada – Barbara Okpik Guardians Brandon Qirqqut and Mark Ullikataq clean a fox at dusk during the 2017 Guardian mission to Erebus base camp. © Parks Canada – Thierry Boyer

The Inuit Guardian program was established in 2017 to monitor and protect the ships and has been expanded in 2018 to meet growing demands for research, conservation and tourism in the area. Guardian season begins once the sea ice melts, usually around the end of July, and continues until the next freeze-up.

Guardians spend the open-ice season camped near the two wreck sites, each about 100-kilometres from Gjoa Haven: HMS Terror is to the west of the community in the deep waters of Terror Bay, while HMS Erebus is to the south, nestled between a group of small islands in the Queen Maud Gulf.

Guardian duties at both camps include environmental and ship monitoring. Parks Canada’s Law Enforcement Branch has established a rigorous approach to monitoring both wreck sites in collaboration with numerous partners and has protocols in place to respond to any incidents. The Inuit Guardians are an important part of site monitoring and conservation, and have protocol and ability to report incidents Guardians supplement their base camp supplies with traditional country food. Pictured below, hunter and Guardian Brandon Qirqqut cleans a fresh catch at Erebus base camp in 2017. © Parks Canada – Russ Hepburn

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to the Law Enforcement Branch 24-7. No unauthorized vessels are allowed to approach the wreck sites, and the Guardians will be on hand to implement their monitoring protocol, including notifying vessels that venture too close to the protected waters.

But the Guardians rely on their traditional harvesting skills as well to supplement life at the base camps, including hunting caribou, trapping fox or fishing for Arctic Char.

“Inuit elders have told us that the Guardian program has enormous potential for sharing knowledge between Inuit,” says Tamara Tarasoff, project manager for the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.

Whenever possible, the program will pair young Guardians with older mentors to facilitate the transfer of Inuit Qauijimajatuqangit (Inuit Knowledge) in a practical setting.

Joining Kogvik this year as a Guardian is her husband Sammy. And like many families that have lived for generations in the Gjoa Haven region, the Kogvik’s ties to King William Island, the greater Netsilik area, Sir John Franklin, and HMS Terror run deep.

Sammy was one of many Gjoa Haven residents who had reported seeing a shipwreck in Terror Bay; it was his tip to Franklin researchers in 2016 that ultimately led to the discovery of HMS Terror.

Terror Bay was given its name by later British explorers searching for signs of the Franklin Expedition and in honour of its crew, so the eventual discovery of HMS Terror in Terror Bay was a historical coincidence.

Several years ago, Sammy and a friend travelled by snowmobile across the flat, gravelly landscape of King William Island when they spotted what they believed to be a ship mast sticking out of the ice in Terror Bay. Sammy’s fateful tip was only the latest contribution by Inuit towards understanding what happened to the Franklin Expedition. For over 173 years, Inuit Traditional Knowledge has preserved stories of encounters by Inuit with the Expedition’s crew, and it was this wealth of Inuit knowledge that directly led to discovering the final resting places of both ships.

“I like the land and I want to go back to see everything again,” Sammy says about finding HMS Terror, and the land surrounding Terror Bay. “When I get home [from Guardian camp] I’m going to tell my kids,” he says, “so they understand why I keep going to that area, and they will pass it on to their kids.”

Inuit knowledge is fundamental to the Guardian program, and will shape the program even more in the years to come as participating Guardians contribute to the program.

“Inuit knowledge has been central to the Guardian project from its inception,” Tarasoff says.

“Inuit, through the Franklin Interim Advisory Committee, came up with the idea of the Guardian program, because it would build on Inuit land-based skills and knowledge of the Franklin expedition.”

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Left: Betty Kogvik practices CPR training with instructor Don Tremblett in Gjoa Haven, as part of Guardian training for the upcoming season. © Parks Canada – Barbara Okpik

Guardians at Erebus Base Camp in 2017. L to R: Jimmy Pauloosie Jr., Mark Ullikataq, Brandon Qirqqut, and Raymond Niaqunnuaq. © Parks Canada - Marc-André Bernier

Travelling to the isolated Guardian base camps each year is dependent on local knowledge of weather conditions and access routes. Much of Canada’s Arctic waters have yet to be surveyed with modern technology. Living on the land requires knowledge of water sources, hunting grounds and appropriate shelter and equipment needs.

“It takes a lifetime learning from others and from your own experiences on the land to be able to survive in the demanding Arctic environment, which is something most southerners are normally not equipped to do,” Tarasoff adds.

As Gjoa Haven’s Guardian program grows in the coming years, eventually the Guardians will play a key role in hosting visitors to the wreck site – sharing knowledge and Inuit culture as well as presenting the Franklin story and the compelling story of encounters between Inuit in Nunavut and European explorers.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with Inuit to grow the program for years to come,” Tarasoff says. Parks Canada collaborates with Indigenous communities and organizations in various on-the-ground conservation activities, such as species recovery and habitat restoration, often through the use of traditional knowledge.

“The Franklin Interim Advisory Committee, of which Parks Canada is a member, and the Guardians themselves are delighted with how the Guardian program has evolved. Parks Canada greatly appreciates how the Guardians are assisting with protection of the wreck sites.

“Inuit are proud of how they have been able to make use of their knowledge and skills, and everyone is happy with the economic and cultural benefits this program is bringing to Inuit in Gjoa Haven.”

To learn more about Sir John Franklin’s Expedition, the Inuit Guardian program and other exciting projects at the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site, visit www.pc.gc.ca/en/culture/franklin.

Gjoa Haven Guardians receive their first-aid certificates after completing training courses at the hamlets Arctic College, June 7, 2018. L to R (Back row): Terry Eleehetook, Jonathan Puqiqnak, Dennis Qirqqut, Christopher Kikoak, instructor Don Tremblett, Charlie Tavalok, Mark Ullikatak and Colin Sr. Putuguq.

(Front row): Sammy Kogvik and Betty Kogvik. © Parks Canada

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From Sourdoughs to Cheechakos

PROFILE

Regards to the Bard

Robert Service bust in Whitehorse. © Al Luke

Yes, you may recall Sam McGee, Dan McGrew and Lou. No, they are not a lively sixties singing trio, but characters enlivened by the “Bard of the Yukon”. This year is the 60th anniversary of Robert W. Service’s death and the 120th anniversary of the Yukon’s entry into Confederation in 1898.

Service arrived in the Yukon during the postKlondike Gold Rush period. After being employed in Whitehorse for a few years as a bank teller, he was transferred to Dawson City in 1908. He had his first book published the previous year, which was extremely successful. Entitled, Songs of a Sourdough (1907), it contained 34 poems.

A Sourdough is a permanent resident of the Yukon. The poems of his popular book include stories such as: “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” “The Spell of the Yukon” and “The Call of the Wild”. The latter was inspired by his view above the heights of Miles Canyon and the White Horse Rapids for which the capital derived its name.

“Have you gazed on naked grandeur Where there is nothing left to gaze on, Set pieces and drop-curtain scenes galore, Big mountains heaved to heaven, which blinding sunsets blazon, Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar?”

Dawson City Sourdough Joe’s Restaurant and founder’s plaque (inset). © Al Luke

By Alan G. Luke

“This is the law of the Yukon, that only the strong shall thrive; that surely the weak shall perish, and only the fit survive.” — Robert William Service One may discover myriad manifestations of his tales and persona. Several entities are representative of the books and poems he has written. The popular Downtown Hotel, home to the SourToe Cocktail challenge, has the Sourdough Saloon engraved above the main entrance. Down on Front Street, you can also find Sourdough Joe’s restaurant, named after the town-founder, Joseph Ladue. Further along the gravel street strip is a shop named after Service’s second book of verse, Ballads of a Cheechako, in 1909, which encompasses 21 ballads. Essentially, a Cheechako is a Gold Rush newcomer, the antithesis of a Sourdough.

Across from the post office, a building has “The Spell of the Yukon” printed on the side of it with a small sketch of Service beside the excerpt: “…I wanted the gold and I got it Came out with a fortune last fall; Yet somehow life’s not what I thought And somehow the gold isn’t all.”

While conversing with an assortment of Klondike characters, Service compiled a plethora of poems and stories, such as “The Parson’s Son”:

MacBride Museum in Whitehorse and Sam McGee’s cabin (inset). © Al Luke

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“We traded in skins and whiskey, and I’ve often slept under the shade Of that lone birch tree on Bonanza, where the first big find was made.”

Service was honoured by a Canadian postage stamp issued in 1976 featuring his classic poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee”: “There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold.”

Sam McGee was an actual person from Ontario, not Tennessee like is stated in the poem. One may visit his log cabin which was moved from downtown Whitehorse to the courtyard of the MacBride Museum of Yukon History near the waterfront. Also, in the capital you may see the bronze bust of Robert W. Service (1874–1958). In the city you can view a floating museum, the S.S. Klondike, a paddlewheeler indicative of the former mode of traffic on the Yukon River along Robert Service Way. The narrative poem, “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” was indirectly inspired by a story from a local miner witnessing a bar room alter-

Dawson City bakery, named after Robert Service’s book of verse Ballads of a Cheechako. © Al Luke

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PROFILE Dawson City cabin past (inset) and present. © Al Luke

Sam McGee postage stamp. © Al Luke

cation. In Service’s poem, Dangerous Dan (a fictionalized character) and a rough-neck prospector shot and killed one another while the love-interest, Lou, became the beneficiary when she “pinched his poke”. A couple of silent films based on the book were produced.

“I ducked my head and the lights went out, and two guns blazed in the dark; And a woman screamed, and the lights went up, and two men lay stiff and stark.

Pitched on his head, and pumped full of lead, was Dangerous Dan McGrew, While the man from the creeks lay clutched to the breast of the lady that’s known as Lou.”

Service’s first novel, The Trail of ’98 (1910) highlighted the Gold Rush during its peak, the same year North West Mounted Police Superintendent Sam Steele arrived in Dawson City to introduce some law and order into the swelling northern community. The namesake motion picture, starring Delores del Rio, was released by MGM 90 years ago and was critically acclaimed for its realistic storyline and characterizations.

“There were the tents of Dawson, there the scar of the slide; Swiftly we poled o’er the shallows, swiftly leapt o’er the side.

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Fires fringed the mouth of Bonanza; sunset gilded the dome; The test of the trail was over—thank God, thank God, we were Home!”

At Service’s two-room log cabin on 8th Avenue, you can observe the modest abode. During Discovery Days in August each year, the public may experience a costumed guide reciting some of Service’s lilting verse and providing insight into his life in the Yukon. Open door days for his other writers’ block neighbours reveal interesting aspects of the literary titans.

Service only resided in northern Dawson City for a few years (1909–1912) until he caught the adventure bug stating: “the wanderlust has got me…by the belly-aching fire”. His indelible influences reflect the territorial motto: “Larger than Life”. His literary legacy in the Yukon will remain prevalent in perpetuity.

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SCIENCE

SmartICE Operator Jonah Keyookta driving the SmartQAMUTIK in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut. © Dr. Trevor Bell, Founder/Director

MAKING SEA-ICE TRAvEL SAfER

By Kelley Power

SmartICE started as a small research project in coastal Labrador. Today, it is a growing northern social enterprise servicing sites across eastern Inuit Nunangat. With its unique employment of novel technology, social innovation, and Inuit knowledge, SmartICE is helping Inuit find resilience in the face of climate change, while ensuring its business solutions are consistent with societal values and directly benefit communities.

SmartICE’s story begins on the landfast sea-ice that hugs the Arctic coastline more than six months of the year. This ice is integral to the lives and livelihoods of Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat, serving as a vital travel link and harvesting platform.

In the past decade, climate change has seen the character of sea ice deteriorate. It is thinning from below, leaving treacherous conditions undetectable at the surface; it forms later in winter and breaks up earlier in spring; and it is more limited in extent.

Seeing the impacts of climate change on landfast sea-ice and the direct threat it posed to the safety and wellbeing of Inuit living in Nunatsiavut, a community research partnership began in 2013 to develop technology to help reduce the risk of sea-ice travel. And so SmartICE began.

SmartICE focuses on making sea-ice travel safer by providing near real-time information on ice conditions. We use both autonomous sensors (SmartBUOYs), set up anywhere on the ice, and operator-run sensors (SmartQAMUTIKs), towed by a snowmobile along trails, to measure and report ice thickness to the community. Where useful, we also use satellite imagery to make Dr. Trevor Bell and community members with deployed SmartBUOY in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. © Michael Schmidt

travel hazard maps of sea-ice conditions (for example: open water, moving ice, leads and cracks) around communities.

After its successful development and demonstration in two pilot communities (Nain, Nunatsiavut and Pond Inlet, Nunavut), and in response to increasing demand for its services from other communities, SmartICE established a not-for-profit social enterprise. Winning the Arctic Inspiration Prize in 2016 made this

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transformation possible — it was the gamechanger that allowed SmartICE to shift its outlook from a community-university research project to a sea-ice monitoring and information service provider.

A social enterprise is not your typical business model. SmartICE selected it specifically for its social objectives and commitments. Rather than being driven by profit making for shareholders and owners, a social enterprise reinvests any

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SCIENCE

SmartICE Operator on Winter Trail in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. © Michael Schmidt

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surpluses in the business or in the community to maximize positive social change. It is also a business philosophy consistent with Inuit societal values such as caring for the environment (Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq) and community (Pijitsirniq), while being innovative and resourceful (Qanuqtuurniq).

Over the past two years, SmartICE has been gradually expanding to new communities and discussing start-up opportunities with others.

The company’s growth continues to be grounded in its founding principles. Foremost is the aim to augment—not replace—Inuit knowledge of sea ice, while also involving Inuit in all aspects of its operation and decision-making. To this end, each client community convenes a management group comprised of a cross-section of sea-ice users to advise SmartICE operators on when and where to survey and how to share the information.

SmartICE sees itself as a social innovator, creating solutions to challenges, while putting people and communities first. The SmartICE mission is to empower communities to adapt to changing climate while maximizing local benefits.

This includes re-designing the SmartBUOY for assembly by trained Inuit youth in Nunatsiavut and setting up business services so they can be delivered and managed locally by Inuit operators.

Sustainability is a fundamental business objective of SmartICE. Given the intensifying nature of sea-ice change for the foreseeable future, we need to find ways to maintain our services in every community that needs us.

Although some are able to pay, most communities cannot. So, we are approaching commercial clients who rely on safe sea-ice operations for their own profitability—for example, tourism and fisheries—to purchase our services and make the information freely available to nearby communities.

SmartICE welcomes inquiries from communities, companies and organizations interested in its services and social enterprise business model. An overview of its operations is available online at smartice.org.

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H E A LT H

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From-the-Land Food Ambassadors Program helps to restore Northern food systems

Monique Graham picking strawberries. © Aaron Tambour

9 pm sun glows red from a nearby forest fire lending a calm light to the heritage garden site on the banks of the Hay River and Great Slave Lake, an area that has been used for living and food gathering for thousands of years. It’s the perfect cool evening for three young interns who have been working with the land by building a half acre organic vegetable garden. They will be harvesting and selling from this garden as part of the Northern

Market Gardener Internship with the Northern Farm Training Institute (NFTI). This is a part of NFTI’s From-the-Land Food Ambassadors Program, which was the runner-up for the 2018 $1 Million Arctic Inspiration Prize. This contest inspired NFTI to dream bigger and build stronger connections to go forward with this long-term vision!

NFTI was created in 2013 as a tool to help find the answer to ‘how do we restore our

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By Kim Rapati

northern food independence’? Jackie Milne, NFTI’s President and lead instructor is a local Métis mother of three with over 25 years of market garden experience and the recipient of a Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal for her work. She created the NFTI Farm Campus in response to this question as a mixed farm sized to feed 200 people and designed based on regenerative farming methods guided through holistic management. Regenerative

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H E A LT H

Top: Amber Lamalice prepares garden beds.

Bottom: Tamara Graham building beds. © Aaron Tambour (2)

farming creates quality food production by supporting biodiversity and healthy soil that improves the land.

When people think about food insecurity in the North, the climate is blamed. In fact, we can feed ourselves from the land! Northerners know this well; it’s still in our culture and our most recent history. We need authentic training and support from experienced harvesters and farmers, for both wild and domestic food systems, that empowers our communities. This is what led to the vision for the From-the-Land Food Ambassadors Program. The goal is to incubate teachers who are empowered to restore and improve their community food system by equipping them with the infrastructure, tools and confidence to produce food, both wild harvest and farming.

This year, three ambitious women from the K’atl’odeeche First Nation (KFN), who are excited about rebuilding the historic garden site in the Old Village of the Hay River Dene Reserve, are being trained.

It is time for the people who love the land to become the leaders in teaching how to restore our food system. With global knowledge of regenerative farming techniques, we can create farms integrated with the ecosystem.

Domestic farms can support and nurture the land, allowing us to continue wild harvest.

Supporting local food producers who love the land and can also be teachers can create a lasting impact in our communities.

Kim Rapati is the Operations Manager for the Northern Farm Training Institute.

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The North: Blending two cultures

C U LT U R E

By Nick Newbery

The North is always full of surprises, especially the juxtapositions of southern and northern practices and technology. All reflect the changing North, not only in the climate but the blending of two cultures with the Inuit’s transition between their on-the-land traditions and the new influences from the South.

Kamiit drying. Kamiit or skin boots are still popular footwear, because they look good, are warm and because you don’t have to take them off when coming indoors! Made from seal or caribou fur, many have sealskin soles to provide some waterproofing. Others, made completely from sealskin with the fur totally removed, are the Inuit version of rubber boots! This Qikiqtarjuaq clothes line reflects a large family, eleven pairs of kamiit hang out to dry! © Nick Newbery/Government of Nunavut (7)

Heads up! Summer is the time for walrus hunting in Nunavut.

Although dangerous, their bulk means each kill can provide a great deal of meat for an Inuit family (and for a dog team). One summer in Qikiqtarjuaq the hunters went on a successful hunt, with the trophies laid out on the beach for all to see.

Golf on the ice. When tundra is not available for the northern golfers they take to the ice. One of Toonik Tyme’s most popular events is the golf competition, requiring only a putter to steer the fluorescent orange or pink balls to the holes in the green-sprayed ice, while jet aircraft coming in to land pass overhead and dog teams lope by loaded with tourists going out on the land.

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C U LT U R E Early fall. With climate change, the predictability of ice break-up or freeze-up is harder by the year. Here, a typical hunting canoe was caught by early fall ice that up-ended it one night and flooded the stern, leaving it going nowhere.

Kayak bike. Toonik Tyme is the annual end-of-winter festival each April in Iqaluit. One of the activities for children is to dress up their bikes. This youngster obviously had Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit Traditional Knowledge) in mind, converting his bicycle to an amphibious one, part bike, part kayak, reflecting the cross-cultural times!

Dear Lord… Each spring the smaller communities have a fishing competition day, often with generous prizes. Qikiqtarjuaq is no exception. Almost the entire community leaves town for one huge picnic at a nearby lake. Families drill holes in the ice and pray for the big catch. Some years ago, Stevie Audlakiak, the then mayor, thought he’d contact his maker to get a little extra help!

Hall Beach taxi. Bombardier not only made the Ski-Doo but produced a taxi-type vehicle from the 1940s through the 1970s which could carry 12 or 18 people, depending on the model. This Bombardier B12 in Hall Beach was still making a twice weekly run to Igloolik and back when this picture was taken with Meeka Kamuka and George Inuksuk standing beside it.

Nick Newbery taught in several communities in Nunavut from 1976-2005. He would like to acknowledge the assistance he received for this article from Bert Rose, northern educator and long-time resident of Nunavut. The photos in this article are from Nick’s Arctic photo collection that can be found at www.newberyphotoarchives.ca and should be viewed from a historical perspective.

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BOOKSHELF

Let’s Move On

Paul Okalik Speaks Out

Paul Okalik, Historical Context by Louis McComber Baraka Books, May 2018

Paul Okalik was raised in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, a community that survived starvation, epidemics, eradication of its spiritual heritage, relocation, schooling in a foreign language, and confrontation with the Canadian justice system.

After 10 years in Ottawa universities, he was called to the Northwest Territories Bar and then elected the first Premier of Nunavut in 1999 and held the position until 2008. Since then, he has held cabinet positions in charge of several ministries including Justice, Culture and Heritage, Qulliq Energy Corporation, Immigration, Labour, Languages, and the Liquor Licensing Board. While Okalik was Premier, Nunavut developed a civil service decentralized over 10 distant communities, built much-needed infrastructures and provided more affordable housing. The Inuit’s long-standing goal of self-government in Nunavut remains to be achieved. It is a work in progress. Let’s Move On is an expression of determination inherited from generations of Inuit, faced with harsh climatic conditions and colonial policies. Louis McComber lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut, from 1993 to 2005 and quickly became captivated by the process of the creation of Nunavut. He was a journalist for the French-language weekly l’Aquilon and the CBC North Boréal Hebdo radio show and wrote a bi-monthly column of political and cultural commentary in Nunatsiaq News. Louis McComber holds an MA in anthropology and has recently lectured in the First Peoples’ program at the University du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Cold Rush

Born to Ice

The Astonishing True Story of the Quest for the Polar North

Martin Breum McGill-Queen’s University Press, July 2018

Paul Nicklen TeNeues Publishing October 2018

The heating Arctic has become a key issue in global politics. While Canada, China, Russia and the United States send submarines and icebreakers to militarize the North Pole, the ice continues to recede, creating new trade routes and opportunities for mining gas and oil. Canada claims sovereignty over the continental shelf and the Arctic Archipelago.

Denmark has declared ownership of the entire European hemisphere of the Arctic.

Russia has claimed more than five hundred square kilometres by planting a flag on the ocean floor underneath the North Pole. In Cold Rush, Arctic expert Martin Breum describes an aggressively militarized Arctic, with researchers encountering Russian submarines, spy-plane pilots flying over aircraft carriers, and the inhabitants of Greenland forced into a new, contentious place in international relations. What is quietly unfolding in the polar north is turning into a great game for territory and resources, set against environmental destruction caused by climate change.

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Paul Nicklen, acclaimed National Geographic photographer and ocean conservationist, compiles his most powerful images of iconic Arctic wildlife and scenery in his new book, Born to Ice. Nicklen’s images, coupled with his inspiring photographic storytelling, blend the ethereal beauty of the icy landscape with a compelling call to action. Selecting his most evocative and thought-provoking imagery, Nicklen takes you deep into a world he loves. In a wise intertwining of art and science, Nicklen’s bold expeditions plunge him into freezing seas to capture it all, from sea to sky, all species and all habitats, including unprecedented, up-close documentation of the lives of leopard seals, whales, walruses, polar bears, elephant seals, penguins, and narwhals. Bathed in polar light, Nicklen’s photography breaks new ground, offering a vivid, timely portrait of two extraordinary, endangered ecosystems.

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INUIT FORUM

Advancing Inuit priorities for Inuktut

© Letia Obed

Inuit want to promote, protect, and speak Inuktut in all aspects of our lives. Whether it is teaching Inuktut as a language of instruction in learning institutions, providing second language learning, or implementing our Indigenous right to access services in our language, we have a long road ahead to keep our language strong and support all those wishing to learn.

Number 14 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action calls on the federal government to enact an Aboriginal languages act. The department of Canadian Heritage responded to this call in June 2017, announcing it would embark on the codevelopment of national First Nations, Inuit, and Metis languages legislation in partnership with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Assembly of First Nations, and Metis Nation.

More than a year later, ITK continues to work on this initiative by ensuring that language priorities and policy positions of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Nunatsiavut Government, and Makivik Corporation are harmonized into national Inuit legislative content, to be brought forward to the federal government for consideration and possible inclusion in the bill.

ITK is pleased that the federal government has prioritized the co-development of national languages legislation during the current legislative session and that it intends to introduce a bill to the House of Commons in early 2019.

This initiative is an opportunity to advance bold and imaginative actions that will help shape the future of Inuktut and its place within Canada.

Our language is the most resilient Indigenous language in North America and is spoken by the majority of our people. Therefore, Inuit priorities when it comes to national legislation reflect practical concerns related to rights, services, and the range of investments and supports required to ensure that Inuktut flourishes in all sectors of society.

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However, our language has for far too long been a secondary consideration for the federal government in Inuit Nunangat, even though English and French mother tongue speakers are minority populations in two of our four regions.

Federal programs and policies tend to reflect discriminatory funding practices that either ignore the practical, everyday linguistic needs of Inuktut speakers in many of our communities or, at best, are not designed to seriously meet those needs. This must change.

For example, consider the fact that the primary federal funding stream available to Inuit in Nunavik is the Aboriginal Languages Initiative, whose one- and two-year language grants are administered by Canadian Heritage for one-off language promotion projects and initiatives. Yet 99 percent of Nunavik Inuit report having the ability to speak Inuktut according to Statistics Canada. Long-term, sustainable sources of funding are needed and legislation can help.

We’re optimistic that national First Nations, Inuit, and Metis languages legislation can be effective and impactful if it is distinctions-based and addresses the unique geographic, political, and cultural context of Inuit. In practical terms, this means that a bill should include a specific Inuktut section that contains the legislative elements necessary to revitalize, maintain, and strengthen Inuktut within Inuit Nunangat as well as for those Inuit who live outside of our homeland.

Inuit are unified nationally in our positions on what national legislation should seek to achieve for Inuit. The ITK Board of Directors passed a resolution in May 2018 that calls on the Government of Canada to enact legislation that fills federal policy gaps that contribute to conditions of linguistic disadvantage and addresses discrimination faced by those for whom Inuktut is a first, only or preferred language. To that end, legislation should recognize Inuktut as an official language within Inuit Nunangat and affirm rights for Inuktut speakers equivalent to those for French and English speakers, including the right to access federal services in the language.

A stop sign in Inuktut and English in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. © CambridgeBayWeather

These broad positions may appear bold to those unfamiliar with Inuit communities and society, yet they are quite moderate given the unique linguistic context of Inuktut and the everyday realities faced by Inuktut speakers who have for generations successfully transmitted our language from one generation to the next within a political context that has often been adverse to our very existence. However, it is clear today that due to language shifts, we are losing fluent speakers of Inuktut faster than they are being replaced by children learning Inuktut as a first language.

If we are serious about revitalizing, maintaining, and strengthening Indigenous languages in this country, and if we are serious about implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, then we must take the bold and imaginative actions required to ensure that resilient languages like Inuktut thrive well into the future. The federal government must play a significant role through enacting and implementing legislation, but we must do all we can, starting in our homes and in our communities, to keep our language strong.

Nakummek,

Natan Obed

National Inuit Leader and President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

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