Above&Beyond | Canada's Arctic Journal March-April 2014

CANADA’S ARCTIC JOURNAL

MARCH/APRIL 2014 • $ 5.95

Global Arctic Awards Paddling Victoria Island Adventure in the far North

Celebrating the Canadian Arctic Expedition Retracing the route

Preparing for the Arctic Winter Games

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RANKIN INLET cq6Oi6 (Kangiqliniq)

Rankin Inlet, or Kangiqliniq (“deep bay/inlet� in Inuktitut), is one of the largest communities in Nunavut. It is the business and transportation hub of the Kivalliq region and the gateway to Nunavut from Central and Western Canada. Due to the large volume of traffic through the area, as well as a history of regional government, mining and exploration, Rankin Inlet has developed a strong taskforce of entrepreneurs. Freight expediters, equipment suppliers and outfitters provide tourists and businesses in the area with a wide variety of services.

The Iqalugaarjuup Nunanga Territorial Historic Park is a favourite spot for hiking, fishing and bird watching. Archaeological sites, such as the European whaler shipwreck near Marble Island and the Thule site in the Ijiraliq River area offer an historical perspective. Come take a Walking Tour and you will see where an ancient past borders on a vibrant present.

The community includes various recreational facilities such as a hockey arena, curling arena, baseball diamond, recreational volleyball, basketball, soccer, badminton and hockey, an outdoor beach volleyball court and soccer field, an 18-hole golf course, and playgrounds. A variety of events are planned throughout the year such as arts and crafts shows, square dances, bingo, Pakalluk Time (town festival), Avataq Hockey Tournament, Christmas activities and many more.

With the welcoming attitude of the people, mining development, hotel construction, and opening of the Wellness Facility in 2013, Rankin Inlet is a great place to live, visit, work or start a business. Rankin Inlet is a growing community with great potential.

867-645-2895

info@rankininlet.ca

www.rankininlet.ca

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Brock Friesen / XÇ4 K‰n8

2014 Arctic Winter Games Arctic Winter Games is an exciting time for many northerners as the best athletes the Arctic has to offer congregate for a test of strength, skill and the human spirit. As a company that prides itself in supporting a broad range of sporting events in northern communities, First Air congratulates Team Nunavik, Team Nunavut and Team NWT for making it to the 2014 Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks, Alaska.

We understand the importance of developing strong and healthy communities, and investing in our youth is certainly one of the best ways to make it happen. Each year, First Air contributes over $40 million into Canada’s northern economy, much of which goes towards enhancing the lives and well-being of our fellow northerners.

As the Arctic Winter Games play on, it is highly rewarding to know that at First Air, we have played a part in the success and growth of our young athletes and their communities.

17th Annual Nunavut Mining Symposium This April will see the 17th Annual Nunavut Mining Symposium take place in Iqaluit, Nunavut. It’s a venue where industry, community members, regulatory bodies and governments gather to do business, offer trade shows and talks. We look forward to participating in this important sector of northern development.

With our Boeing 767 Super Freighter, twin Hercules aircraft and a versatile fleet of passenger/cargo aircraft, First Air is always ready to take on any job that is required to keep the northern economy moving. These types of investments that we have made within our company support a diverse range of industries, and we recognize the success of industries in the North also mean successful and viable communities.

I have been with First Air for 1 year now, and I have seen why this airline has been in business for nearly 70 years.

In anything that we do and support across the north, whether it’s the mining sector, the film industry or sporting events, it is always about the people. You have made First Air successful. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you on board First Air, The Airline of the North.

Brock Friesen First Air President & CEO

Jobie Tukkiapik / JW bexW4

2014ᒥ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᒥ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᖓᑦ

ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᒥ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᕆᕙᒃᑕᖓᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᒋᔭᐅᓪᓚᕆᒃᐸᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᒥᓱᓄᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᖑᔪᓂᑦ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᒍ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᑦ ᐊᔪᖖᒋᓛᖏᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑑᑉ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᒐᔅᓴᕆᑎᑉᐸᒻᒪᒋᑦ ᑲᑎᖖᒐᓂᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒋᐊᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᓇᓪᓕᐊᑦ ᓴᖖᒋᓛᖑᖕᒪᖔᑦ, ᐊᔪᖖᒋᓛᖑᖕᒪᖔᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓅᑉ ᐆᒪᓂᕆᔭᖓᑕ. ᑲᒻᐸᓂᐅᓪᓗᑕ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒻᒪᖖᒃᐸᒃᑐᑕᓗ ᐊᒥᓱᐃᖑᔪᓄᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᓂ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᓯᓂᖃᖅᐸᓐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ, ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒍᔾᔨᕗᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᑦ ᓄᓇᕕᖕᒥᑦ, ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᑦ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᑦ ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕐᒥᑦ ᐅᐸᒍᑎᔪᓐᓇᓚᐅᕐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ 2014ᒥ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᒥ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᕕᐅᕐᐸᐃᖕᒃᔅ, ᐊᓛᔅᑲᒥ. ᑐᑭᓯᐅᒪᑦᑎᐊᕋᑦᑕ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓯᓯᒪᓕᕆᐊᖃᕐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᓴᖖᒋᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒪᑭᑕᑦᑎᐊᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒪᒃᑯᒃᑐᑦᑕ ᓯᕗᓂᒃᓴᕆᓂᐊᖅᑕᐃᓐᓄᑦ ᐸᕐᓇᐅᑎᔅᓴᖃᓕᖅᑎᑦᑎᓇᔭᕐᓂᖅᐳᑦ ᓇᓗᓇᖖᒋᓚᖅ ᐊᖅᑯᑎᒋᔭᐅᓕᕈᓐᓇᕋᔭᕐᒪᑕ ᑕᒪᒃᑯᐊ ᓴᖅᑭᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᓕᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ. ᐅᑭᐅᑕᒫᑦ, ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᖁᑎᔅᓴᓂᒃ ᐅᖓᑖᓄᑦ $40-ᒥᓕᐊᓐᑖᓚᓄᑦ ᑐᓂᓯᓯᒪᖃᑕᐅᕙᒻᒪᑕ ᑲᓇᑕᐅᑉ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᖓᓂ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᓕᐅᓕᕋᓱᐊᕈᑎᔅᓴᓂᒃ, ᐊᖏᓂᖅᐸᐅᔪᓪᓗ ᑖᒃᑯᓇᖖᒐᑦ ᑐᕌᖓᑎᑕᐅᕙᑦᑐᑎᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᖃᑎᑦᑕ ᐃᓅᓯᖏᓄᑦ ᐱᐅᓯᒋᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᔾᔪᑎᔅᓴᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓄᐃᖖᒋᑦᑎᐊᖅᐹᓪᓕᕈᑎᔅᓴᖏᓄᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᓂ.

ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᒥ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ, ᐊᖏᔪᒻᒪᕆᒻᒥᒃ ᐊᒃᑐᐃᓂᖃᖅᓯᒪᓕᕐᐳᖅ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓪᓗᑕᓗ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑎᒍᑦ, ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᓚᐅᕐᓂᑦᑎᓐᓄᑦ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᑦᑎᐊᕐᓂᖃᓕᖅᑎᑕᐅᓂᖏᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᕈᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᓂᖏᓄᑦ ᒪᒃᑯᒃᑐᖁᑎᑦᑕ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᖅᑎᒻᒪᕆᐅᔫᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᖏᑦᑕ.

17-ᒋᓪᓗᓂᐅᒃ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᐅᔭᕋᖕᓂᐊᕐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᖃᕐᓂᖅ

ᐊᐃᐱᕆᐅᓕᖅᐸᑦ 17-ᒋᔭᖓᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᑕᒫᑦ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᐅᔭᕋᖕᓂᐊᕐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᖃᓛᕐᒪᑕ ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ. ᑲᑎᒪᕕᒡᔪᐊᕐᓂᖃᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᓴᓇᕝᕕᐅᔪᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᓕᖃᖅᑐᐃᑦ, ᒪᓕᒐᓕᐅᖅᑎᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑎᒥᖁᑎᒋᔭᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᒐᕙᒪᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᑲᑎᓐᓂᖃᖅᐸᒻᒪᑕ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᑎᒃ, ᑕᑯᔭᑦᓴᖃᖅᑎᑦᑎᕙᒃᑐᑎᒃᓗ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᖃᓪᓚᐅᓯᖃᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᕙᒃᑐᑎᒃ. ᓂᕆᐅᓐᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᐳᒍᑦ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᖃᑕᐅᒋᐊᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᓕᕆᓂᐅᔪᓄᑦ.

ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖃᖅᑐᑕ ᓱᐴᔫᓕᒃ 767 ᐊᖏᔪᒻᒪᕆᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐊᒃᔭᖅᑐᐃᔾᔪᑎᒥᒃ, ᖃᖓᑕᓲᕐᔪᐊᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᓯᔾᔨᖅᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑑᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᕆᔭᐅᕙᑦᑐᓂᒃ ᓂᐅᕐᕈᔪᓄᑦ/ ᐊᒃᔭᖅᑐᒐᔅᓴᓕᓐᓄᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖃᖅᑐᑕ, ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᑎᒍᑦ ᐸᕐᓇᒃᓯᒪᐃᓐᓇᖅᐸᒃᑐᒍᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᑦᑐᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᕈᓐᓇᓕᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᑕ ᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᐅᑎᑕᐅᔭᕆᐊᓕᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᖑᒻᒪᑎᓂᐊᕐᓂᕈᑦᑎᒍ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᓕᐅᕋᓱᐊᕈᑎᒋᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᕆᓕᖅᐸᓪᓕᐊᔭᖏᓂᒃ. ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇᐃᑦᑐᑎᒍᑦ ᕿᑐᕐᒋᐅᖅᑎᑉᐸᓪᓕᐊᕙᑦᑕᑦᑎᓐᓂᑦ ᑲᒻᐸᓂᒋᔭᑦᑕ ᐃᓗᐊᓂ ᐃᑲᔪᕈᑎᐅᓕᖅᐸᒻᒪᑕ ᐊᔾᔨᒌᖖᒋᐅᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᓴᓇᕝᕕᐅᔪᓄᑦ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᔾᔨᕈᓱᒃᑐᑕ ᓴᓇᕝᕕᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᓂ ᑐᑭᖃᕐᒥᒻᒪᑕ ᓄᓇᓕᒋᔭᐅᔪᐃᑦ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᑎᒍᑦ ᐊᔪᖖᒋᓐᓂᖃᓕᕐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ.

ᐊᑕᐅᓯᕐᒥᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᕐᒥ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᓐᓂ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᐅᓯᒪᓕᖅᐳᖓ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑐᑭᓯᐅᒪᓕᖅᑐᖓ ᖃᓄᕐᓕ ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᒃᑯᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖃᑦᑕᖅᑎᐅᓯᒪᓕᕐᒪᖔᑕ 70-ᑲᓴᐅᓕᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᓄᑦ. ᓱᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᐸᒃᑎᓪᓗᑕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᓯᓂᖃᖅᐸᒃᑎᓪᓗᑕ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᓕᒫᒥ, ᐅᔭᕋᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᓕᕆᔨᐅᒃᐸᑕ, ᑕᕐᕆᔭᒐᑦᓴᓕᐅᖅᑎᐅᒃᐸᑕ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐱᖖᒍᐊᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᑎᑦᑎᓂᐊᖅᐸᑕ, ᐱᔾᔪᑎᖃᐃᓐᓇᖅᐸᒃᑐᒍᑦ ᐃᓄᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᐃᓕᑦᓯ ᐃᓅᔪᓯ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊᒃᑯᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᑦᑎᐊᖅᑎᑦᑎᓯᒪᔫᒐᑦᓯ. ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᖅᐸᑦᓯ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓂᕆᐅᒋᓂᐊᖅᐸᑦᓯ ᑕᑯᔪᒫᕋᑦᑎᒋ5 ᐃᑭᒋᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᑎᑦ ᕘᔅᑦ ᐃᐊ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖓᓄᑦ, ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖓᑦ.

ᐸᕌᒃ ᕗᕇᓴᓐ ᕘᔅᑎᐊᒃᑯᓐᓄᑦ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᖅ & ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᔨᒻᒪᕆᒃ

President, Makivik Corporation & Chairman, First Air xzJ6√6, mr=F4 fxS‰nzk5 x7m w4y?sb6, {5 wsf8k5 Président, Société Makivik et président du conseil, First Air

Jeux d’hiver de l’Arctique 2014 Les Jeux d’hiver de l’Arctique sont un moment palpitant pour de nombreux résidents du Nord; en effet, les meilleurs athlètes de l’Arctique se réunissent pour mettre leurs forces, leurs habiletés et leur courage à l’épreuve. Comme entreprise qui se targue d’appuyer une vaste gamme d’activités sportives dans les communautés du Nord, First Air félicite l’Équipe Nunavik, l’Équipe Nunavut et l’Équipe T.N.-O. de leur participation aux Jeux d’hiver de l’Arctique 2014 à Fairbanks, en Alaska.

Nous comprenons l’importance d’établir des collectivités fortes et saines. Investir dans la jeunesse est certainement l’un des meilleurs moyens d’atteindre cet objectif. Chaque année, First Air contribue plus de 40 millions de dollars à l’économie du nord canadien, dont une grande partie sert à améliorer la vie et le bien-être de nos concitoyens dans cette partie du pays.

Pendant les Jeux d’hiver de l’Arctique, nous sommes heureux de savoir que First Air concourt à assurer le succès et le perfectionnement de nos jeunes athlètes et de leurs collectivités.

17e Symposium annuel sur l’exploitation minière au Nunavut Au mois d’avril, le 17e Symposium annuel sur l'exploitation minière au Nunavut aura lieu à Iqaluit. À cette occasion, le milieu industriel, les collectivités, les organismes de contrôle et les gouvernements se réuniront pour faire des affaires, ainsi qu’organiser des expositions commerciales et des conférences. Nous avons hâte de participer à cette importante rencontre consacrée au développement du Nord.

Avec son supercargo Boeing 767, son Twin Hercules et sa flotte à usages multiples d’aéronefs passagers/fret, First Air est prêt à entreprendre toute tâche pour le bon fonctionnement de l’économie du Nord. Ces investissements de la part de notre entreprise appuient diverses industries.

Par ailleurs, nous reconnaissons que le succès des industries dans le Nord se traduit par des collectivités solides et viables.

Je fais partie de First Air depuis un an et j’ai constaté pourquoi cette compagnie aérienne fonctionne depuis près de 70 ans. Dans tout ce que nous faisons et avec l’appui que nous offrons au Nord, qu’il s’agisse du secteur minier, de l’industrie cinématographique ou d’activités sportives, tout est centré sur les personnes. Vous avez participé à la réussite de First Air. Je vous en remercie et j’espère pouvoir vous rencontrer à bord de First Air, la Ligne aérienne du Nord.

Brock Friesen Président-directeur général de First Air

ᐱᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᑦᑕᕗᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑐᐃᓃᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ ᕘᔅᑎᐊ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᕐᒥᒃ ᖃᖓᑕᓲᓕᕆᔨᒻᒪᕆᐅᑎᒃᑲᕕᐅᒃ.

We value your support and thank you for making First Air The Airline of the North.

Nous apprécions votre soutien et vous remercions de votre appui à First Air la ligne aérienne du Nord.

Congratulations Team Nunavik, Team Nunavut and Team NWT at the 2014 Arctic Winter Games!

First Air is proud to support sports in your community

Call our group & conference bookings desk at 1 877 328 8669 and let us put your team First.

Like us!

/firstair

Visit firstair.ca to learn more about Group Travel

TABLE OF CONTENTS

17

Global Arctic Awards

Publisher & Editor Tom Koelbel Contributing Editor Teevi Mackay Advertising Doris Ohlmann (Ottawa) 613-257-4999 Circulation Patt Hunter Design Robert Hoselton, Beat Studios email: editor@arcticjournal.ca Toll Free: 1 • 877 • 2ARCTIC Volume 26, No. 2

March/April 2014

CANADA’S ARCTIC JOURNAL

MARCH/APRIL 2014 • $ 5.95

33 Paddling Victoria Island Seeking adventure in the far North The Nanook and the Kuujjua Rivers are among the most northerly navigable rivers in North America. They are located on Victoria Island, which lies north of the continent in the Amundsen Gulf. Victoria Island is Canada’s second largest island and is one of over 36,000 islands known as the Arctic Archipelago. The Nanook and Kuujjua rivers flow through a landscape defined as the High Arctic – entirely tundra. This treeless region is also called the barrenlands, but it is hardly barren. Life occurs at a different scale than more southerly latitudes. — Jim Gallagher and Brian Johnston

41 Celebrating the

Canadian Arctic Expedition

Global Arctic Awards Paddling Victoria Island Adventure in the far North

The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (CAE) is worth celebrating. It was a Canadian journey into the then mysterious Arctic, whose findings built southern Canada’s and the world’s foundation of Arctic knowledge. A small group of us set out last summer to retrace part of the route of the CAE in the western Arctic, starting at Sachs Harbour, and then sailing up the west coast of Banks Island.

— Text and photos by David R. Gray

Celebrating the Canadian Arctic Expedition Retracing the route

Preparing for the Arctic Winter Games

PM40050872

Team Nunavik-Québec

o

Featured on

www.arcticjournal.ca

UPI HONOURABLE MENTION, 2013 GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION © ALEKSEY SULOEV, RUSSIA / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

Cover Price $5.95 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada 6 issues $30.00

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Read online:

arcticjournal.ca Celebrating our 26th year as the popular In-flight magazine for First Air, The Airline of the North.

March/April 2014

9 above&beyond Message 11 NORTHERN YOUTH Arctic Inspired

by Teevi Mackay 24 LIVING ABOVE & BEYOND 29 RESOURCES

48 SCIENCE Frozen Ancestry

by David Smith

57 INUIT FORUM Polls Apart

by Terry Audla

50 SPORT Arctic Winter Games

by Isabelle Dubois

58 EXOTICA A Picture Perfect Day

by Dionys Moser

55 NORTHERN BOOKSHELF

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

above & beyond

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8

arcticjournal.ca

March/April 2014

above&beyond message

The Arctic: A Global Affair

T

he 2014 Winter Olympics, recently concluded, proved to

best Arctic-inspired photographs submitted to the 2013 Global

the world once again that regardless of our many social

Arctic Awards by photographers from around the world.

and political differences, it is possible to set these aside and

Organized, hosted and curated by Russia, the 2013 Global

to move beyond national pride, so that we might globally rally

Arctic Awards were juried by a prestigious international group

around a shared ethos that focuses on strength of character,

of photographers and sponsored by: the Photographic

determination, sportsmanship and friendship.

Society of America (PSA), Federation Internationale de L’Art

So too, the circumpolar Arctic regions, from an artistic

Photographique (FIAP), United Photographers International

perspective, continue to inspire, to move and shape thought,

(UPI) and the Royal Photographic Society. April 2014 winning

evoke emotion, and transport human creativity beyond the

submissions will be featured in a major exhibit in Moscow.

barriers of competing territorial or national ambitions.

A 168-page compilation album in book format featuring

In this issue, on our cover, on our Exotica page, and

the work of 80 international photography finalists and winners

throughout the photo feature that follows, we are privileged

from the previous year’s 2012 Global Arctic Awards is available

to bring readers a jaw-dropping sampling of just a few of the

for purchase by emailing: globalarcticawards@mail.ru

March/April 2014

above & beyond

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arcticjournal.ca

March/April 2014

T

he second Arctic Inspiration Prize ceremony took place in Halifax in December at the Annual ArcticNet Scientific Meeting.

The ceremony began with an extraordinary performance organized by the National Arts Centre as a spin-off from Ottawa’s successful Northern Scene festival last spring.

Sylvia Cloutier and Beatrice Deer — both originally from Nunavik — began the ceremonial performance with throat singing while the uniquely talented Nelson Tagoona of Baker Lake chimed in with his personally invented throat boxing (mix of throat singing and beat boxing).

ᑐ

ᒡᓕᐊᓂ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᓇᓪᓕᐅᓂᕐᓯᐅᕐᓂᖅ ᕼᐊᓕᐹᒃᔅᒦᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᑏᓰᒻᕙᒥ ᐊᕐᕌᒍᑕᒫᕐᓯᐅᒻᒥᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᑐᑭᓯᓂᐊᖃᑎᒌᑦ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑎᕐᔪᐊᖏᑕ ᑲᑎᒪᓂᖓᓂ. ᓇᓪᓕᐅᓂᕐᓯᐅᕐᓂᖅ ᐱᒋᐊᕈᑎᖃᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᐸᐃᕐᓇᖅᑐᑦ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᑎᑦᓯᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᓴᖅᑭᔮᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᒐᑦᓴᓕᕆᕕᒡᔪᐊᒃᑯᑦ ᑕᐃᑲᓐᖔᕐᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐋᑐᕚᒥ ᐱᕚᓪᓕᕈᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒦᓐᖔᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᑎᑦᓯᓂᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐅᐱᕐᖔᖑᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ. ᓯᐅᕕᐊ ᑯᓗᕐᑎ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐲᑐᕆᔅ ᑎᐊ - ᑕᒪᒃᑮᒃ ᓄᓇᕕᖕᒦᖔᕐᓯᒪᔫᒃ — ᓇᓪᓕᐅᓂᕐᓯᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᒋᐊᕈᑕᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ ᑲᑕᔾᔭᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᐊᔪᓐᖏᑐᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᖅᑕᐅᖅ ᐱᒃᑯᓇᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᓂ ᓂᐅᓴᓐ ᑕᒍᕐᓈᖅ ᖃᒪᓂ’ᑐᐊᕐᒥᐅᑕᖅ ᐃᓚᒍᑦᓯᐅᑎᑎᑦᓯᓪᓗᓂ ᓇᖕᒥᓂᖅ ᐋᖅᑭᓱᕐ-

NORTHERN YOUTH

T

ugliani Ukiuqtaqtumi aulajjattausimanirmut saalaksausiaqtunut nalliunirsiurniq Halifax-miilauqtuq Tisipirimi arraagutamaaqsiummik ukiuqtaqtumi tukisiniaqatigiit Qallunaat qaujisaqtirjuangita katimaningani.

Nalliuniqsiurniq pigiarutiqalauqtuq tapairnaqtut takunnatitsillutik saqqijaaqtitaujut Kanatami takunnagatsalirivigjuakkut taikanngaarsimajut Ottawa-mi pivaallirutaulauqtumik ukiuqtaqtumiinngaaqtunik takunnatitsiniulauqtunik upirngaangulauqtuq.

Sylvia Cloutier ammalu Beatrice Deer — tamakkiik Nunavingmiingaarsimajuuk — nalliu-

Arctic Inspired

© VINCENT L’HÉRAULT

ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ

He literally grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. Leela Gilday of the Northwest Territories wowed the audience with her extraordinary singing and guitar playing. Alongside her were two upbeat drummers who set the stage for the laureates to receive their welldeserved prizes.

I felt a great sense of Northern pride during this performance. Throughout the ceremony, this feeling only grew.

On the Arctic Inspiration Prize’s website, the generous donors of the Prize, Sima Sharifi and Arnold Witzig, say, “The purpose of the Prize is to recognize excellence and encourage teamwork among diverse groups in order to use or expand Arctic knowledge and bring it into action for the decisive benefit of the Canadian Arctic, its inhabitants and therefore for Canada as a whole.”

Impressively Inuit, Northerners and Southerners are taking on incredible Northern projects and are being recognized and financially supported through this prize. As they work towards bettering the North today, they are simultaneously working towards improving and developing the North’s future.

March/April 2014

Ukiuqtaqtumi Aulajjattausimajuq by / unikkaaqtanga Teevi Mackay / ᑎᑎᕋᖅᑐᖅ ᑏᕙᐃ ᒪᑲᐃ

ᓯᒪᔭᕐᒥᓂᒃ ᖃᕆᓴᐅᔭᒃᑯᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᓱᕐᓯᒪᔭᒥᓂᒃ ᑲᑕᔾᔭᖅᑐᓪᓗ ᐊᓇᐅᑦᓴᒐᕐᕙᓗᓪᓗ ᐊᑕᐅᑦᓯᑰᖅᑎᑦᑐᓂᒋᑦ (ᐅᐊᕈᑕᕇᑦ ᑲᑕᔾᔭᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᓇᐅᑦᓴᒐᕐᕙᓗᓪᓗ). ᓂᐸᐃᑦᑑᑎᑦᓯᓕᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᕝᕙᓃᑦᑐᓕᒫᓂᒃ ᑕᐸᐃᕐᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ. ᓖᓚ ᒋᐅᑕᐃ ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᒥᐅᑕᖅ ᐱᒃᑯᒋᔭᐅᓪᓚᕆᓚᐅᕐᒥᔪᖅ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᖅᑐᓄᑦ ᓂᐱᑦᓯᐊᕚᓗᒻᒥᓄᑦ ᕿᒥᖃᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐃᓐᖏᓕᕐᒪᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑯᒃᑭᑦᑕᐹᖅᑐᓂ. ᐊᓇᐅᑦᓴᒐᖅᑎᒋᔭᖏᒃ ᒪᕐᕉᒃ ᑐᓐᓂᖅᑯᓯᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᑐᓂᐅᔭᐅᖃᑦᑕᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᓇᐅᑦᓴᒐᕐᕙᓗᑦᑎᑦᓯᖃᑦᑕᓚᐅᖅᑑᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓴᕆᔭᐅᔪᑦ ᑐᓂᖅᑯᓯᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᓕᕋᐃᒻᒪᑕ ᐱᔭᕆᐊᖃᓪᓚᑖᖅᑕᒥᓂᒃ. ᐅᐱᒪᓂᕋ ᐃᓗᓐᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᖑᓂᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᑉᐱᒋᓚᐅᖅᑕᕋ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᑕᑯᓐᓇᑎᑦᓯᓂᕐᒥ. ᓇᓪᓕᐅᓂᕐᓯᐅᕐᓂᓕᒫᖏᓐᓂ, ᐃᑉᐱᒋᔭᕋ ᐊᖏᓕᕙᓪᓕᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ. ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐃᑭᐊᖅᑭᔾᔪᑎᖓᓂ, ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᓂᒃ ᑐᓂᓯᓐᖑᐊᑕᕐᓯᓐᓇᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ, ᓰᒪ ᓴᐅᕆᕕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐋᓄᑦ ᐅᐃᑦᔨᒡ, ᐅᖃᓚᐅᖅᑑᒃ, “ᐱᔾᔪᑖ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᕐᓂᐅᑉ ᐃᓕᓴᕆᔭᐅᔾᔪᑎᒃᓴᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᔪᓐᖏᑐᕐᔪᐊᖑᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑲᔪᖏᕐᓴᐃᒋᐊᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᑕᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᑦ ᓇᑭᑐᐃᓐᓇᕋᓗᐊᕐᐸᑕ ᐊᑐᕈᓐᓇᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᖏᓕᕙᓪᓕᐊᑎᑦᓯᓗᑎᓪᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᕆᔭᐅᔪᒥᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᐃᒋᐊᕈᑎᒃᓴᒥᒃ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᕇᖅᑕᒥᖕᓂᒃ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᒃᓴᒥᖕᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᖓᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᐅ, ᐃᓄᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑕᐃᒪᐃᒻᒪᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒧᑦ ᐃᓗᐃᑦᑐᓐᖑᕐᓯᒪᒍᑕᐅᓗᓂ.” ᑕᐸᐃᕐᓇᕈᑖ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ, ᐅᑭᐅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᓂ ᓄᓇᓖᑦ ᑎᒍᓯᕙᓪᓕᐊᒻᒪᑕ ᑕᐸᐃᕐᓇᖅᑐᒻᒪᕆᖕᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓕᓴᕆᔭᐅᒍᑎᒋᕙᑦᑐᒋᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᑎᒍᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑕᐅᔾᔪᑎᓂᒃ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᕐᓂᒃᑯᑦ. ᐱᓕᕆᕙᓪᓕᐊᓂᕐ-

niqsiunirmut pigiarutaullutik katajjanikkut ajunngitummariujuqtauq pikkunatsiaqtuni Nelson Tagoona Qamani’tuarmiutaq ilagutsiutititsilluni nangminiq aaqqisursimajarminik qarisaujakkut aaqqisursimajaminik katajjaqtullu anautsagarvalullu atautsikuuqtittunigit (uarutariit katajjaqtut ammalu anautsagarvalullu). Nipaittuutitsililauqtuq tavvaniittulimaanik tapairsimajunik. Leela Gilday Nunatsiarmiutaq pikkugijaullarilaurmijuq takunnaqtunut nipitsiavaalumminut qimiqatsiaqtunik inngilirmat ammalu kukittapaaqtuni. Anautsagaqtigijangik marruuk tunniqqusiaqtitaulauqtut tuniujauqattatillugit anautsagarvaluttitsiqattalauqtuunnik ilisarijaujut tuniqqusiaqtitauliraimmata pijariaqallataaqtaminik.

Upimanira ilunnik ukiuqtaqtumiunguninnik ippigilauqtara tavvani takunnatitsinirmi. Nalliunirsiurnilimaanginni, ippigijara angilivalliatuinnalauqtuq.

Ukiuqtaqtumi aulajjattausimajut saalaksausiaqtut ikiaqqijjutingani, saalaksausianik tunisinnguatarsinnalauqtut, Sima Sharifi ammalu Arnold Witzig, uqalauqtuuk, “Pijjutaa saalaksausiarniup ilisarijaujjutiksanginnik ajunngiturjuanguninginnik ammalu kajungirsaigiakkanniru-

above & beyond

11

NORTHERN YOUTH

One of the Arctic Inspiration Prize laureates, the Amaujaq Centre: (L-R) Heather Ochalski, Nikki Eegeesiak, Natan Obed, Mary Simon, Jodie Lane, Terry Audla, Peter Geikie, Lorraine Brook and Katherine Trumper.

I was thrilled that I knew at least a few if not all the people from each of the three awarded teams.

All three shared the one million dollar prize.

Education Mobilizing parents is one of the 10 priorities of the First Canadians, Canadians First: The

ᒥᑎᒍᑦ ᐱᕚᓪᓕᕈᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒧᑦ ᐅᓪᓗᒥ, ᐊᑕᐅᑦᓯᒃᑯᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖃᖅᑐᑦ ᐱᕚᓪᓕᖁᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᑦᓯᐊᕐᓗᑎᓪᓗ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑑᑉ ᓯᕗᓂᒃᓴᖓᓄᑦ. ᑕᐸᓇᐃᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ ᐅᕙᓐᓄᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓚᐅᕋᒃᑭᑦ ᐃᓚᖏᑦ ᐃᓘᓐᓇᑎᐅᓐᖏᑉᐸᑦ ᐊᑐᓂᑦ ᐱᖓᓱᓂᒃ ᑐᓐᓂᖅᑯᓯᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᑦ. ᐱᖓᓱᑦ ᑖᒃᑯᐊ ᑐᓂᔭᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᑦ $1 ᒥᓕᔭᓂᒃ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᐱᔪᐃᓐᓇᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᑎᒃ.

taulluni piliriqatigiinnirmik katujjiqatigiit nakituinnaraluarpata aturunnaqullugit angilivalliatitsilutilluunniit ukiuqtaqtumi qaujimanirijaujumik ammalu aulajjaigiarutiksamik qaujimajariiqtamingnik ikajuutiksamingnik Kanataup Ukiuqtaqtungani, Kanatmiunik ammalu taimaimmat Kanatamut iluittunngursimagutauluni.”

Tapairnarutaa Inuit, Ukiutaqtumiut ammalu Qallunaani nunaliit tigusivalliammata tapairnaqtummaringnik ukiuqtaqtumi pilirianik ammalu ilisarijaugutigivattugit ammalu kiinaujatigut ikajuqtaujjutinik saalaksausiarnikkut. Pilirivallianirmitigut pivaallirutiksanik ukiuqtaqtumut ullumi, atautsikkut piliriaqaqtut pivaalliqullugit pivalliatsiarlutillu ukiuqtaqtuup sivuniksanganut.

Tapanailauqtut uvannut qaujimalaurakkit ilangit iluunnatiunngippat atunit pingasunik tunniqqusiaqtut piliriqatigiit. Pingasut taakkua tunijaulauqtut $1 milijanik saalaksausiaqtitaujut pijuinnauniaqtutik.

© JOHN SHERLOCK/ARCTIC NET (3)

Ilinniarniq

Acclaimed drum-dancer, David Serkoak, set the stage for the performers.

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arcticjournal.ca

Kajungirsaigutiit angajuqqaarijaujunik qiturngalingnik ilagijaa sivullipaujjaujarialiit qulit Kanatamiungugianngarsimajut, sivulliujjaugialiit Kanatamiut: Kanatami tukimuagutiksaq Inuit ilinniarninganut Amaujaq tukisigiarvingmi Inuit ilinniarninganut. Amaujaq Ilinniarnilirivvik pilirivigijaujuq Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Kanatami Inuit Katujjiqatigiingit. Mary Simon sivuliqtuq

March/April 2014

National Strategy on Inuit Education of The Amaujaq Centre for Inuit Education. The Amaujaq Centre is housed within Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization. Mary Simon is its team leader and Chair of the National Committee on Inuit Education.

The Amaujaq Centre won one of three Arctic Inspiration Prizes to implement the national parental mobilization initiative, which aims to engage parents as partners in education.

“The goal of our national campaign is to work with regional partners to give parents the resources they need to get their children to school all day, every day, well rested and ready to learn,” said Mary Simon.

I believe strongly in the work that the Amaujaq Centre is doing for young Inuit in Northern communities. As I have just graduated from the very intensive journalism program at Carleton University, I know first hand the benefits of earning an education.

Housing A proper, adequate and healthy home is fundamental to the well being of any individual. It is a universal need. This is why I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the project SakKijânginnatuk Nunalik: Healthy Homes in Thriving Nunatsiavut Communities.

This housing project is founded on the importance of access to culturally suitable and environmentally adapted housing — as this is one of the most important issues that face

ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖅ

NORTHERN YOUTH

ᑲᔪᖏᕐᓴᐃᒍᑏᑦ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᕆᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᓕᖕᓂᒃ ᐃᓚᒋᔮ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᐸᐅᔾᔭᐅᔭᕆᐊᓖᑦ ᖁᓕᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥᐅᖑᒋᐊᓐᖓᕐᓯᒪᔪᑦ, ᓯᕗᓪᓕᐅᔾᔭᐅᒋᐊᓖᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥᐅᑦ: ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᑐᑭᒧᐊᒍᑎᒃᓴᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓄᑦ ᐊᒪᐅᔭᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᒋᐊᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓄᑦ. ᐊᒪᐅᔭᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᒋᐊᕐᕕᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᕕᒋᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑕᐱᕇᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ, ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᖏᑦ. ᒥᐊᔨ ᓴᐃᒪᓐ ᓯᕗᓕᖅᑐᖅ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᒃᓯᕙᐅᑕᕆᔭᐅᓪᓗᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᕋᓛᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓄᑦ. ᐊᒪᐅᔭᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᒋᐊᕐᕕᒃ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᐃᓚᖓᓂᒃ ᐱᖓᓱᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐊᑐᓕᖅᑎᑦᓯᒍᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᓕᖕᓄᑦ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᕆᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᑲᔪᖏᕐᓴᐃᑲᓐᓂᕈᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ, ᑐᕌᒐᖃᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐱᖃᓯᐅᔾᔨᓯᒪᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᓕᖕᓂᒃ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᕆᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑕᐅᒍᑎᒃᓴᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᓂᕐᒧᑦ. “ᑐᕌᒐᕆᔭᕗᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐊᔪᐃᓐᓇᕆᐊᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᑎᑦᑎᒍᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᖃᕐᓗᑕ ᐊᕕᑦᑐᕐᓯᒪᓂᕐᓂ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᖃᑎᒌᓂᒃ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᓕᖕᓄᑦ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᕆᔭᐅᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐊᑐᕆᐊᓕᖕᓂᒃ ᕿᑐᕐᖓᖏᑕ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖏᓐᓇᕈᑎᒃᓴᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐅᓪᓗᓕᒫᖅ, ᖃᐅᑕᒫᑦ, ᑕᖃᐃᕐᓯᕐᓯᒪᑦᓯᐊᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᐅᒪᑦᓯᐊᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐃᓕᒍᒪᓂᕐᒥᒃ,” ᐅᖃᓚᐅᖅᑐᖅ ᒥᐊᔨ ᓴᐃᒪᓐ. ᐅᑉᐱᕆᒻᒪᕆᑦᑕᕋ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᖅ ᐊᒪᐅᔭᖅ ᑐᑭᓯᒋᐊᕐᕕᖕᒥ ᒪᒃᑯᑦᑐᓅᖓᔪᓄᑦ ᐃᓄᖕᓄᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᓄᓇᓕᖕᓄᑦ. ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕌᓂᕋᑖᓚᐅᕐᓂᓐᓄᑦ ᐱᔭᕐᓂᖏᑦᑐᒻᒪᕆᐅᔪᒥᒃ ᐊᑯᓂᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᒍ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᓕᐅᖃᑦᑕᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᑳᕈᑕᓐ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᖓᓂ, ᐊᑐᕐᓯᒪᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓪᓗᒍ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᖃᕐᓂᖓ ᑎᒍᓯᓂᖅ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᒃᑯᑦ.

piliriqatigiinik ammalu iksivautarijaulluni Kanatami Katimajiralaat Inuit Ilinniarninganut.

Amaujaq Ilinniarnilirivvik saalaksausialauqtuq ilanganik pingasut ukiuqtaqtumi aulajjattausimajunut saalaksausiaksanik atuliqtitsigutiksanik Kanatami qiturngalingnut angajuqqaarijaujunut kajungirsaikannirutiksanik, turaagaqaqtunik piqasiujjisimanirmik qiturngalingnik angajuqqaarijaujunik piliriqataugutiksanginnik ilinnianirmut.

“Turaagarijavut Kanatami ajuinnariakkannirutittigut piliriqatiqarluta avittursimanirni katujjiqatigiinik qiturngalingnut angajuqqaarijaujunut ikajuutiksanik aturialingnik qiturngangita ilinnianginnarutiksanginnut ullulimaaq, qautamaat, taqairsirsimatsiarlutik ammalu atuinnaumatsiarlutik iligumanirmik,” uqalauqtuq Mary Simon.

Uppirimmarittara piliriangujuq amaujaq tukisigiarvingmi makkuttunuungajunut Inungnut ukiuqtaqtumi nunalingnut. Ilinniaraanirataalaurninnut pijarningittummariujumik akuniunngittuq ilinniaqtugu unikkaaliuqattanirmik Carleton Silattuqsarvigjuarmit, atuqsimanikkut qaujimallugu ikajuutiqarninga tigusiniq ilinniarnikkut.

ᐋᖅᑭᑦᓯᒪᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ, ᓈᖕᒪᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓄᐃᓐᓇᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᖅ ᑐᓐᖓᕕᐅᒋᐊᓕᒃ ᖃᓄᐃᓐᖏᓯᐊᕈᑎᒃᓴᖓᓄᑦ ᑭᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᐅᑉ. ᓯᓚᕐᔪᐊᓕᒫᒥ ᐱᑕᖃᕆᐊᓕᒃ. ᑕᐃᒪᐃᒻᒪᑦ ᖁᐊᕐᓵᓚ-

Igluliriniq

ᐃᒡᓗᓕᕆᓂᖅ

Aaqqitsimatsiaqtuq, naammasiaqtuq ammalu qanuinnangittuq angirraq tunngaviugialik qanuinngisiarutiksanganut kinatuinnaup. Silarjuali-

Arctic Inspiration Prize gala performers: (L-R) Inuapik Cloutier with his mom, Sylvia Cloutier, Beatrice Deer, David Serkoak, Nelson Tagoona, Leela Gilday, Walter Landry, Joseph Nayally and Heather Moore.

March/April 2014

above & beyond

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© JOHN SHERLOCK/ARCTIC NET (2)

NORTHERN YOUTH

Leela Gilday with Walter Landry and Joseph Nayally.

Northerners across Canada. Specifically, this initiative will focus on Northern Labrador as this region, like many others in the North, is facing a major housing crisis.

The SakKijânginnatuk Nunalik project draws on local Inuit knowledge as well as literature reviews, professional assessments with the Nunatsiavut Government team members, the Nunatsiavut Joint Management Committee, the Nain Research Centre and Memorial University for its plan to move towards a new way of developing sustainable, needed housing.

The housing problem in Canada’s North has been going on for some time now and it’s refreshing to see an initiative that is taking pragmatic steps to address this dire, and vital present need. I believe that this initiative can serve as an example to other Northern regions.

ᐅᕐᑐᖓ ᖃᐅᔨᒐᒪ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᓴᒃᑭᔮᖏᓐᓇᑐᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᒃ: ᐊᖏᕐᕋᑦᓯᐊᕙᐅᔪᑦ ᖃᓄᐃᓐᓇᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᒻᒪᕆᓐᓂ ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ ᓄᓇᓕᖏᓐᓂ. ᑖᓐᓇ ᐃᒡᓗᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅ ᓴᖅᑭᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐱᖕᒪᕆᐅᓂᖓᓄᑦ ᐊᑐᐃᓐᓇᖃᕐᓂᖅ ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᒃᑯᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᑦᓯᒪᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᕙᑎᒧᑦ ᓈᖕᒪᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐃᓪᓗᖃᕐᓂᖅ - ᑕᓐᓇ ᐃᓚᒋᒻᒪᒍ ᐊᑲᐅᓐᖏᓪᓕᐅᕈᑕᐅᓂᕐᐸᐅᔪᑦ ᓵᓐᖓᔭᐅᒋᐊᖃᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥᐅᓄᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᓕᒫᒥ. ᐱᓗᐊᖅᑐᒥ, ᐱᒋᐊᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᒧᑦ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᓂᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᓛᐸᑐᐊᕆᐅᑉ ᐅᐊᖕᓈᓂ ᓄᓇᓕᖕᓄᑦ ᑕᒫᓂᒥᐅᑦ, ᑕᐃᒪᐃᒻᒪᑕ ᐅᓄᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᓯᖏᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ, ᐃᓪᓗᑭᑦᓴᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᖁᐊᕐᓵᓇᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐊᑐᕐᒪᑕ. ᓴᒃᑭᔮᖏᓐᓇᑐᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᓂᖓ ᑎᒍᓯᓯᒪᓂᓕᒃ ᓄᓇᓖᑦ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑎᑎᕋᕐᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᕿᒥᕐᕈᓇᖃᑦᑕᓂᒃᑯᑦ, ᐊᔪᓐᖏᑐᕐᔪᐊᓄᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕈᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ ᒐᕙᒪᖏᑕ ᓯᕗᓕᖅᑎᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᖃᑎᒌᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᕋᓛᑦ, ᓇᐃᓂᒥ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕐᕕᒡᔪᐊᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᖅᑐᓕᕆᕝᕕᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᖅ ᐸᕐᓇᐅᑎᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᓯᕗᒧᐊᒍᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᓄᑖᑎᒍᑦ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔾᔪᑎᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᖃᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᓂᐊᖅᑐᓄᑦ, ᐱᑕᖃᕆᐊᓕᖕᓄᑦ ᐃᓪᓗᓄᑦ. ᐃᓪᓗᑭᑦᓴᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᑲᐃᓪᓕᐅᕈᑎ ᑲᓇᑕᐅᑉ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᖓᓂ ᐊᑯᓂᐅᓕᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᐃᒪᐃᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᓂᕐᓵᕐᔫᒥᓇᖅᑐᖅ ᑕᑯᒋᐊᒃᓴᖅ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᔪᒥᒃ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᒻᒪᕆᒍᑕᐅᔪᒥᒃ ᐋᖅᑭᒍᑎᒃᓴᐅᔪᒧᑦ ᐊᓯᖅᑯᕝᕕᖃᓐᖏᑦᑐᓂᒃ ᐊᑐᖅᑕᐅᒋᐊᓕᖕᓂᒃ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᓪᓗᒥᐅᔪᖅ ᐱᑕᖃᒻᒪᕆᒋᐊᓕᖕᒥᒃ. ᐅᑉᐱᕈᓱᑦᑐᖓ ᑖᓐᓇ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐱᔨᑦᓯᕈᑕᐅᓂᐊᕐᓂᖓᓂᒃ ᐊᔾᔨᐅᔪᖁᑎᒋᔭᐅᓗᓂ ᐃᔾᔪᐊᕋᑦᓴᑦᓯᐊᖑᓗᓂ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᕕᑦᑐᕐᓯᒪᓂᕐᓄᑦ.

ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᖃᑎᒌᓐᖏᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐃᑳᕈᑏᑦ

Nelson Tagoona performs with throat-singers Beatrice Deer and Sylvia Cloutier. Her son, Inuapik nestles in the amauti made by Deer.

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arcticjournal.ca

ᐅᐱᒋᑦᓯᐊᓚᐅᕐᒥᔭᕋ ᑕᑯᒋᐊᖓ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᖅ ᐃᑳᕐᕕᒃ: ᐊᐳᖅᑕᕐᕕᖕᓂᒃ ᐃᑳᕈᑎᓄᑦ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ ᐱᖓᔪᐊᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑐᓐᓂᖅᑯᓯᐊᕐᒪᑕ. ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᖃᑕᐅᔪᑦ ᑕᕝᕙᓂ ᓄᓇᓖᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ — ᕼᐊᒻᓚᐃᑦ, ᐅᑭ-

maami pitaqarialik. Taimaimmat quaqsaalauqtunga qaujigama pilirianginnik Sakqijaanginnatuk Nunalik: Angirratsiavaujut Qanuinnangittut Pivalliajummarinni Nunatsiavut Nunalinginni.

Taanna iglulirinirmut piliriaq saqqiqtausimajuq pingmariuninganut atuinnaqarniq iliqqusikkut aaqqitsimajaujunik ammalu avatimut naangmatsiaqtumik illuqarniq — tanna ilagimmagu akaunngilliurutaunirpaujut saanngajaugiaqaqattaqtut ukiuqtaqtumiunut Kanatalimaami.

Piluaqtumi, pigiaqtitausimajumut kamagijauniaqtuq Laapatuariup Uangnaani nunalingnut tamaanimiut, taimaimmata unuqtut asingit ukiuqtaqtumi, illukitsanirmut quarsaanaqtumik aturmata.

Sakkijaanginnatuk nunalik pilirianguninga tigusisimanilik nunaliit Inuit qaujimaninginnik ammalu titirarsimajunik qimirrunaqattanikkut, ajunngiturjuanut qaujisarutausimajunik Nunatsiavut Gavamangita sivuliqtinginnik, Nunatsiavut aulatsijiuqatigiit katimajiralaat, Nainimi qaujisarvigjuaq ammalu iqqanaqtulirivvik ilinniavigjuaq parnautinginnut sivumuagutiksanik nutaatigut pivalliajjutiksanik atuqtauqattarunnaniaqtunut, pitaqarialingnut illunut.

Illukitsanirmut akailliuruti Kanataup ukiuqtaqtungani akuniuliqtuq taimaisimajuq ammalu anirsaarjuuminaqtuq takugiaksaq aulajjattaujumik pivalliammarigutaujumik aaqqigutiksaujumut asiqquvviqanngittunik atuqtaugialingnik, ammalu ullumiujuq pitaqammarigialingmik.

Uppirusuttunga taanna aulajjattausimajuq pijitsirutauniarninganik ajjiujuqutigijauluni ijjuaratsatsianguluni asinginnut ukiuqtaqtumi avittursimanirnut.

Iliqqusiqatigiinngitunik Katitiriniq Upigitsialaurmijara takugianga piliriangujuq ikaarvik: apuqtarvingnik ikaarutinut saalaksausiaqtuq pingajuat ukiuqtaqtumi aulajjattausimajunik tunniqqusiarmata. piliriqatigiiqataujut tavvani nunaliit ukiuqtaqtumi — haamalait, ukiuqtaqtumi kasuumagutiit ARCTIConnexion, Vancouver-mi imarmiutanik takujagaqarvik asinginlu takujagaqarviit imarmiutanik ammalu uumajunik takujagaqarviit.

Parnaut ikaarvik piliriangujumut saqqiiniq ikaarutiksanginnik Inuit ukiuqtaqtumi nunaliit ammalu Qallunaat qaujisaqtirjuangit kamagijaqarpattut pilirianik ukiuqtaqtuup nunalinginni.

Taiguusingagut naliqqutsisimatsiaqtuq, Ikaarvik taakkununngangajuq tunngavilluatarijaujunik piliriamut: ippigusutsianirmut, pinasuaqatigiinnirmut ammalu uqaqasijaaqatigiinnirmut March/April 2014

Cross-Cultural Bridges I was also very pleased to see the project Ikaarvik: From Barriers to Bridges win the third Arctic Inspiration Prize. The team members include Northern community members — hamlets, ARCTIConnexion, the Vancouver Aquarium and other aquariums and zoos.

The plan of the Ikaarvik project is to create a bridge between Inuit in Northern communities and scientists who undertake projects within Northern communities. Living up to its name, Ikaarvik means ‘bridge’ and is reflective of the baseline principles of the project: a place where respect, sharing and exchange are revered and where human capacity is developed.

As part of Ikaarvik, Inuit youth will have the opportunity to travel to Southern institutions, such as universities, to learn more about the culture of the South. Southern institutions and its members will discover and learn from Inuit knowledge and Inuit will learn more about how scientists can better help them with assessing Northern environmental issues.

This Ikaarvik project, I believe, is unique in its own right. Personally I have not seen this type of project undertaken before. I believe that this project carries some degree of difficulty because part of it is bringing two different cultures together, aiming to have both teach one another, while creating a working, synergetic relationship. Its task is not easy but I do know that those involved in this project are dedicated, which makes all the difference in making it possible.

All in all, the Arctic Inspiration Prize sets the stage for change in the North. From speaking to the coordinators of this prize, I know that they would like more applicants. It is quite new, but its beginning is already remarkable.

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ᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᑲᓲᒪᒍᑏᑦ ARCTIConnexion, ᕚᓐᑯᕚᒥ ᐃᒪᕐᒥᐅᑕᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓗ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕖᑦ ᐃᒪᕐᒥᐅᑕᓂᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐆᒪᔪᓂᒃ ᑕᑯᔭᒐᖃᕐᕖᑦ. ᐸᕐᓇᐅᑦ ᐃᑳᕐᕕᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᒧᑦ ᓴᖅᑮᓂᖅ ᐃᑳᕈᑎᒃᓴᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᓄᓇᓖᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑎᕐᔪᐊᖏᑦ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᖃᕐᐸᑦᑐᑦ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᓂᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑑᑉ ᓄᓇᓕᖏᓐᓂ. ᑕᐃᒎᓯᖓᒍᑦ ᓇᓕᖅᑯᑦᓯᓯᒪᑦᓯᐊᖅᑐᖅ, ᐃᑳᕐᕕᒃ ᑐᑭᓕᒃ ‘ᐃᑳᕈᑦ’ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑖᒃᑯᓄᓐᖓᖓᔪᖅ ᑐᓐᖓᕕᓪᓗᐊᑕᕆᔭᐅᔪᓂᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒧᑦ: ᐃᑉᐱᒍᓱᑦᓯᐊᓂᕐᒧᑦ, ᐱᓇᓱᐊᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᖃᖃᓯᔮᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑕᕝᕙᓃᑦᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᒪᑭᑉᐸᓪᓕᐊᒍᑎᒃᓴᖏᓐᓄᑦ. ᐃᓚᒋᓪᓗᓂᐅᒃ ᐃᑳᕐᕕᒃ, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᒪᒃᑯᑦᑐᑦ ᓇᕈᓇᖃᑦᑕᕈᓐᓇᓂᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᓂ ᑐᑭᓯᓂᐊᕐᕕᖕᓄᑦ, ᓱᕐᓗ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕕᒡᔪᐊᓄᑦ, ᐃᓕᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᑎᒃᓴᒥᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ. ᖃᓪᓗᓈᓃᑦᑐᑦ ᑐᑭᓯᓂᐊᕐᕖᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓚᒋᔭᐅᔪᖁᑎᖏᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓂᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓕᒃᑲᓂᕐᓗᑎᒃ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᑕᐃᒫᑦᑕᐅᖅ ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᒥᒻᒪᑕ ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑎᕐᔪᐊᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᖃᓄᖅ ᐃᑲᔫᑎᖃᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᓐᓇᕐᒪᖔᑕ ᐃᖕᒥᖕᓄᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑑᑉ ᐊᕙᑖᓅᖓᔪᓂᒃ. ᐃᑳᕐᕕᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖑᔪᖅ, ᐅᑉᐱᕆᔭᒃᑯᑦ, ᐊᔾᔨᐅᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᓇᖕᒥᓂᖅ ᐱᔪᓐᓇᕐᕕᒋᔭᒥᒍᑦ. ᓇᖕᒥᓂᕐᓕ ᐅᕙᖓ ᑕᑯᓚᐅᕐᓯᒪᓐᖏᑦᑐᖓ ᑕᐃᒪᐃᑦᑐᒥᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒥᒃ ᑲᒪᒋᔭᐅᔪᒥᒃ. ᐅᑉᐱᕆᓪᓗᒍ ᑖᓐᓇ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᖅ ᑎᒍᒥᐊᕐᓂᖃᕐᒪᑦ ᐱᔭᕆᐊᑭᑦᑑᖏᑦᑐᓂᒃ ᐱᔭᒃᓴᓂᒃ ᐊᑦᓱᕈᕐᓇᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐱᔾᔪᑎᒋᓪᓗᒍ ᐃᓚᖓᒍᑦ ᑎᒍᓯᓇᓱᐊᕐᓂᐅᖕᒪᑦ ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᖃᑎᒌᓐᖏᑑᓐᓄᑦ ᒪᕐᕉᓐᓄᑦ ᑲᑎᑉᐸᓪᓕᐊᓇᓱᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᑐᕌᒐᓕᒃ ᑕᒪᒃᑮᒃ ᑐᑭᓯᒃᑲᓐᓂᕋᓱᐊᕈᑎᒃᓴᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐃᖕᒥᖕᓄᑦ, ᓴᖅᑮᓯᒪᓯᓐᓈᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᓂᓕᖕᒥᒃ, ᑕᐸᖓᐃᑦᑐᒥᒃ ᐱᓕᕆᖃᑎᒌᓐᓂᒃᑯᑦ. ᐱᓕᕆᐊᒃᓴᖅ ᐱᔭᕆᐊᑭᑦᑑᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔪᖓ ᑖᑦᓱᒥᖓ ᐱᓕᕆᔪᑦ ᐊᖏᕐᓯᒪᓂᒃᑯᑦ ᑐᓂᓯᒪᑦᓯᐊᕐᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ, ᑕᐃᒪᐃᒻᒪᑦ ᐊᔪᕐᓇᖏᑦᑎᑕᐅᑦᓯᐊᓂᐊᕐᒥᔪᖅ ᑲᔪᓯᑎᑕᐅᑦᓯᐊᕐᓗᓂ ᐱᕚᓪᓕᕈᑕᐅᓗᓂ. ᐃᓘᓐᓈᒍᑦ, ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐊᐅᓚᔾᔭᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒍᑕᐅᕗᑦ ᐊᓯᔾᔩᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐅᑭᐅᖅᑕᖅᑐᒥ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᑎᑦᓯᓂᕐᒥᒃ. ᐅᖃᖃᑎᒋᓪᓗᒋᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᑦᓯᔨᐅᔪᑦ ᓵᓚᒃᓴᐅᓯᐊᒃᓴᒥᒃ ᑖᑦᓱᒥᖓ, ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔪᖓ ᑐᒃᓯᕋᐅᓯᐊᖃᑦᑕᖅᑐᓂᒃ ᐱᒃᑲᓐᓂᕈᒪᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ. ᓄᑖᒻᒪᕆᐅᖕᒪᑦ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᐱᒋᐊᕐᓂᖓ ᐱᒃᑯᓇᑦᓴᐅᑎᒋᔪᖅ.

NORTHERN YOUTH tavvaniittut ammalu Inuit makippalliagutiksanginnut.

Ilagilluniuk ikaarvik, Inuit makkuttut narunaqattarunnaniaqtut Qallunaani tukisiniarvingnut, suurlu ilinniavigjuanut, ilikkannirutiksaminik iliqqusinginnik Qallunaat. Qallunaaniittut tukisiniarviit ammalu ilagijaujuqutingit qaujiniaqtut ammalu ilikkanirlutik Inuit qaujimaninginnik taimaattauq Inuit ilinniamimmata Qallunaat qaujisaqtirjuanginnik qanuq ikajuutiqakkannirunnarmangaata ingmingnut qaujisarnirmik ukiuqtaqtuup avataanuungajunik.

Ikaarvik piliriangujuq, uppirijakkut, ajjiungittuq nangminiq pijunnarvigijamigut. Nangminirli uvanga takulaursimanngittunga taimaittumik piliriamik kamagijaujumik. Uppirillugu taanna piliriaq tigumiarniqarmat pijariakittuungittunik pijaksanik atsururnaqtunik pijjutigillugu ilangagut tigusinasuarniungmat iliqqusiqatigiinngituunnut marruunnut katippallianasuarninginnik, turaagalik tamakkiik tukisikkannirasuarutiksanginnik ingmingnut, saqqiisimasinnaat aulanilingmik, tapangaittumik piliriqatigiinnikkut. Piliriaksaq pijariakittuungittuq kisiani qaujimajunga taatsuminga pilirijut angirsimanikkut tunisimatsiarninginnik, taimaimmat ajurnangittitautsianiarmijuq kajusititautsiarluni pivaallirutauluni.

Iluunnaagut, ukiuqtaqtumi aulajjattausimajunut saalaksausiat aaqqigutauvut asijjiinirmik ukiuqtaqtumi pivalliatitsinirmik. Uqaqatigillugit aulatsijiujut saalaksausiaksamik taatsuminga, qaujimajunga tuksirausiaqattaqtunik pikkannirumaninginnik. Nutaammariungmat, kisiani pigiarninga pikkunatsautigijuq.

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2 0 1 3

G L O B A L

A R C T I C

A W A R D S

International Photography Competition

FIAP Arctic and Northern Wildlife: 1st Place FIAP Special Medal — Roy Mangersnes (Norway)

March/April 2014

© ROY MANGERSNES / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

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FIAP Arctic and Northern Wildlife: 2nd FIAP Special Medal — Chris Gale (Canada)

© CHRIS GALE / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

Miscellaneous Jury Selections: UPI Gold — Carsten Egevang (Denmark) chosen by Sergey Gorshkov (Russia) © CARSTEN EGEVANG / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

FIAP Arctic and Northern Wildlife: 3rd FIAP Special Medal — Leonie Scholtz (South Africa) © LEONIE SCHOLTZ / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

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March/April 2014

Miscellaneous Jury Selections: UPI Gold — David Allemand (France) chosen by Bryan Alexander (UK) © DAVID ALLEMAND / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

UPI Honourable Mention: Michelle Valberg (Canada) © MICHELLE VALBERG / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

PSA Travel Ethnography: PSA Gold medal — Mikhail Cheremkin (Russia) March/April 2014

© MIKHAIL CHEREMKIN / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

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March/April 2014

Miscellaneous Jury Selections: UPI Gold — Paul Zizka (Canada) chosen by Tom Savage (USA) © PAUL ZIZKA / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

PSA Travel Ethnography: PSA Silver medal — Andrey Shapran (Russia-Latvia) © ANDREY SHAPRAN / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

March/April 2014

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UPI Honourable Mention: Erez Marom (Israel)

© EREZ MARON / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

UPI Honourable Mention: Christian Bothner (Germany) © CHRISTIAN BOTHNER / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

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March/April 2014

above & beyond

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© STANTEC ARCHITECTURE LTD.

LIVING ABOVE & BEYOND

Artist’s rendering of the Iqaluit Aquatic Centre.

Iqaluit new Aquatic Centre approved City council has approved the design and

mechanical systems above the second floor.

development permit for a state-of-the-art

A curved roof will be aligned with prevailing

aquatic centre in Iqaluit. The new facility will

winds, and windows positioned to maximize

include a six-lane, 25-metre pool with diving

sunlight.

board, leisure pool with spiral water slide,

The project is expected to cost $30.18

whirlpool, saunas, a fitness centre, elders’ room,

million with an extra $1.81 million for con-

a store and concession stand.

struction contingencies and fluctuation in

The design, by Stantec, considers features

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market rates.

best suited to Iqaluit’s Arctic environment. The

Construction, next to the city’s Arnaitok

Aquatic Centre will be supported on piles

Complex, is expected to begin in the spring of

drilled into bedrock with a mezzanine for

2014 with completion expected by May 2016.

March/April 2014

© LEE NARRAWAY, COPYRIGHT STUDENTS ON ICE.

LIVING ABOVE & BEYOND

Kieran Shepherd (kneeling), fossil curator at the Canadian Museum of Nature, leads a workshop for Students on Ice participants at Sunneshine Fiord, on Baffin Island, Nunavut.

Learn about the Arctic to win A new bilingual web site aimed at youth aged 14 to 29, not only helps teach youth about science and the Arctic but offers an opportunity for some of these youth to win a spot on the summer 2014 Students on Ice trip to the Arctic.

ExpeditionArctic.ca includes videos, interactive maps, gorgeous landscapes, colourful photos, and blog posts about Arctic plants, wildlife, people and fossils as well as Arctic

ecosystems, natural history, climate change, and careers in science. By answering a weekly quiz and sharing the site with friends on social media, teens earn points towards a chance to win.

The online project is a partnership between the Canadian Museum of Nature, Students on Ice, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.

Fish quotas in Nunavut have been rising steadily over the last five years and the turbot fisheries received a boost with funding announced by Leona Aglukkaq, Nunavut MP and minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

From the funds, $220,000 will go towards studies and scientific work to determine turbot quota allocations for the turbot fisheries in Qikiqtarjuak and Grise Fiord. $58,000 will help with upgrades to the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium’s marine training simulator at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit, which trains potential fishers to navigate and pilot ocean-going vessels.

And to further assist in maximizing opportunities in the industry, $85,000 will go towards developing a renewed fisheries strategy for Nunavut.

March/April 2014

© CAPTAIN RANDY PITTMAN, NFMTC AND MI

Nunavut’s fisheries receive funding

Student workstation for Bridge Training Simulator.

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LIVING ABOVE & BEYOND

PHOTOS COURTESY HAMLET OF KUGLUKTUK

A new hub for tourism, culture and business for Kugluktuk

Kugluktuk’s new ulu centre will open early this spring with a grand opening and dedication ceremony to follow.

Kugluktuk’s new Heritage Visitor Centre and Museum will be a focal

maps, trail routes, outfitter listings, hunting and fishing regulations, and

point for the development of tourism, culture, and business in the area

historical and cultural information about Kugluktuk.

and a starting point for visitors to the Kugluk territorial park.

Designed in the shape of an ulu, the 355-square-metre building will house offices, a display area for Inuit cultural artifacts and work of local artists that will also be offered for sale. It will also include detailed

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

The cost of the centre was $2.7 million with BHP Billiton covering 70 per cent of the project and the Government of Nunavut and CanNor footing the rest of the bill.

The final design went to Livingstone Architects out of Iqaluit.

Marchands aventuriers

Nous parcourons le Grand Nord depuis 1984 pour vous offrir nos services spécialisés

Adventurers by trade

Covering the Arctic since 1984 to offer you our specialized services

arcticconsultants.ca

Tel: (866) 353-3552 | Fax: (888) 353-1251 | Email: info@arcticconsultants.ca 26

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www.arcticconsultants.ca March/April 2014

© MIKE COUVRETTE

LIVING ABOVE & BEYOND

Hay River wharf.

Improved supports aid NWT fishers The Government of the Northwest Territories has helped the NWT fishing industry rebound with the aid of the NWT Economic Opportunities Strategy. Besides improving incentives and supports for NWT fishers, it includes recommendations for new processing facilities in Hay River and the expansion of export and

domestic markets for fish caught in Great Slave Lake.

As a result, the NWT Fishermen’s Federation has improved efficiencies at the ice packing plant in Hay River. A winter fishery is also being considered in the future.

Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk link to benefit local economy

© GNWT - DOT

The construction contract for the country’s first all-weather road to the Arctic Ocean has been awarded to EGT-Northwind Ltd.The Inuvik

March/April 2014

to Tuktoyaktuk Highway link, which will hook up to the Dempster Highway running through the Yukon, will have an anticipated speed limit of 70 km/h with eight bridges along the route.

The road is expected to deliver many economic benefits and save northerners hundreds of dollars a year in shipping costs. It is anticipated to boost northern tourism by an annual $2.7 million. Local people will get improved access to health care, education and job opportunities. Construction will create the equivalent of 1,000 jobs, with 40 permanent positions.

The project is scheduled to be completed by 2018. To check on the progress, visit http://inuviktotuk.dot.gov.nt.ca. above & beyond

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© HENDRIK JOHN/above&beyond FILES/MARCH/APRIL 2012.

LIVING ABOVE & BEYOND

Pangnirtung Nunavummiut, Cynthia Pitsiulak and Annie Aningmiuq, perform on stage in Hamburg, Germany.

Throat singing recognized as cultural heritage Cultural Organization (UNESCO) “does not end at monuments and collections of objects. It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants”.

Avataq Cultural Institute president Charlie Angark and Makivik Corporation president Jobie Tukkiapik accepted the honour on behalf of all Inuit of Nunavik.

© HEIKO WITTENBORN

For thousands of years Inuit have passed down the knowledge of their elders from generation to generation through throat singing or katajjaniq. At the end of January, Quebec’s Culture and Communications minister, Maka Kotto, recognized throat singing as its first UNESCO example of intangible cultural heritage.

Intangible Cultural Heritage as defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

Conserving the George River caribou herd Despite the fact that not hunting as many caribou will mean less food on the table, the Inuit of southern Labrador have decided not to hunt the George River caribou again this year. The George River herd ranges across the tundra and the boreal forests of eastern Labrador and northern Quebec.

In the early 1990s, this caribou herd population was close to 800,000. Now, there are less 28

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than 30,000. Though the herd numbers have risen and declined in cycles over the years, by limiting the number of caribou kills again this year, the southern Inuit are doing their part to ensure there will be caribou in the future to feed their families.

March/April 2014

RESOURCES

Š TERRAX MINERALS INC.

TerraX Minerals drilling project hopes to target more gold

Tom Setterfield, VP Exploration-TerraX Minerals Inc, prospecting an old trench on the Northbelt property.

As part of their Yellowknife City Gold Project,

economical. The company is looking to drill

TerraX Minerals is hoping to begin drilling this

about 30 holes near Homer and Milner Lake

March to further explore for minerals in the

and the Crestaurum mine area. Work will

North Belt property.

begin once necessary permits are secured and

Past exploration work on the property identified deposits of gold and base metals that have a high probability that they may be

the sites will be accessed by ice roads and roads built from previous mining projects.

Developing resources to benefit NWT residents Developed in partnership by the GNWT and NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, the NWT Mineral Development Strategy will help ensure long-term growth of a sustainable mining industry that will create jobs and economic opportunities for the people of the NWT. The NWT Mineral Development Strategy focuses on creating a competitive edge, establishing a new regulatory environment, enhancing aboriginal engagement and capacity, promoting sustainability, and enriching workforce development and public awareness.

Plans will be released in early 2014 that will outline detailed actions the Government of the NWT will undertake to ensure the goals of the Strategy are realized.

March/April 2014

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RESOURCES

Nunavut’s first uranium mine in final approval stage Areva Resources is in the final stages of approval for Nunavut’s first uranium mine, about 80 kilometres west of Baker Lake.

Areva has developed a draft environmental impact statement to demonstrate the soundness of the proposed Kiggavik Project and the ability of the company to implement the project.

Estimated to hold about 51,000 tonnes of uranium, the potential mine would be located at Kiggavik and Sissons sites and include four open-pit mines, an underground mine and a processing mill.

The Kiggavik Project will add more than $1 billion to the local © KIGGAVIK.CA

Nunavut and national economies through royalties and taxes and create over 1300 jobs during its building and operation.

Areva expects to release its Final Environmental Impact Statement this fall.

The Kiggavik site.

Diamond sample recoveries exceed expectations Diamond recovery results at Kennady Diamonds

coarse diamond size distribution as well as the

Kelvin kimberlite are showing promising figures.

potential to host a high grade diamond resource”.

The Kelvin drill program has returned a

The kimberlite was processed at the Geo-

combined sample grade of 5.38 carats per

analytical Laboratories Diamond Services at

tonne. This translates into approximately

the Saskatchewan Research Council.

one commercial size diamond for every nine kilograms of kimberlite.

An expanded drill program, including more than 10,000 metres of delineation and

According to Kennady Diamonds CEO

exploration drilling and the extraction of a

Patrick Evans,“These are amongst the highest

mini-bulk sample of approximately 25 to 30

kimberlite sample grades ever recorded and

tonnes from the Kelvin kimberlite is underway

confirm that the Kelvin kimberlite has both a

and expected to be completed by May.

A sample of Kimberlite from the Kennady North diamond project.

Impact Benefit Agreement Signed De Beers Canada Inc. and Mountain Province Diamonds have announced

life of the mine to ensure training, employment and business oppor-

that De Beers has entered into an Impact Benefit Agreement with the

tunities will benefit the Tłi˛cho˛ people.

Tłi˛cho˛ Government for the proposed Gahcho Kué Mine. The agreement allows De Beers and the Tłi˛cho˛ Government to work together over the

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Gahcho Kué is located 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

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P A D D L I N G

VICTORIA ISLAND SEEKING ADVENTURE IN THE FAR NORTH

By Jim Gallagher and Brian Johnston

Brian Johnston pauses in the bow of the canoe as the Kuujjua River flows past the steep walls of a canyon.

Š JIM GALLAGHER

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© BRIAN JOHNSTON

Jim Gallagher pulls the canoe across a lead in the ice along the Nanook River.

© JIM GALLAGHER

A curious Arctic fox stops to investigate our camp along the Nanook River. The fox has not quite shed its winter coat.

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The Nanook and the Kuujjua Rivers are among the most northerly navigable rivers in North America. They are located on Victoria Island, which lies north of the continent in the Amundsen Gulf. Victoria Island is Canada’s second largest island and is one of over 36,000 islands known as the Arctic Archipelago. The Nanook and Kuujjua rivers flow through a landscape defined as the High Arctic — entirely tundra.

This treeless region is also called the barrenlands, but it is hardly barren. Life occurs at a different scale than more southerly latitudes.

Last summer we canoed the Nanook and Kuujjua in a 17 ft. folding canoe. We came to the idea of completing these rivers through a collective daydreaming with maps in front of us, email exchanges, and reading accounts of others who had completed the rivers before. Looking at maps and envisioning possible trip routes is a great way to pass the winter, waiting for rivers and lakes to thaw. It’s also an essential part of the planning process. We saw a way to paddle the Nanook, arrange a shuttle flight over to the Kuujjua, and then paddle out to the coastal community of Ulukhaktok and a commercial flight home. Completing both rivers in a single summer season would be a ‘first’ as far as we could determine.

Veterans of 26 far north canoe expeditions combined, we had travelled together on other rivers in past years. We were familiar with each other’s skills and personalities. Like

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The Nanook – a river of ice and snow From Cambridge Bay we flew north to the headwaters of the Nanook River.

On the Arctic plains of the frigid Nanook we dragged our canoes across frozen lakes and lowered our hats for protection from the driving snow.

Near the end of the Nanook, we sought out a rustic outpost cabin that we knew was maintained in the area. We

© BRIAN JOHNSTON

many teams, the whole of our team was greater than the sum of the individuals. Our combination of perky optimism and cranky realism balanced the yin and yang of personality traits to get through the challenges of thirty days together in the Arctic wilderness in the same canoe and the same tent. We made good decisions without much deliberation and adapted to the challenges of quickly changing conditions.

We faced the challenge of a short summer season. Ice and shallow water can plague river travellers at this latitude.

We needed to start as early as possible to take advantage of the limited ice-free season, but some ice on the lakes along the route would be likely. We would try to time our departure to follow the pulse of the snowmelt water downstream. Our trip would coincide with higher water levels of the first week of July and hopefully not run out of water as the trip progressed into August.

We had to overcome some logistical challenges preparing for the trip. It all came together when the boxes of gear, food, and a folding canoe shipped ahead of time arrived safely in Cambridge Bay. The floatplane that would carry us to headwaters of the Nanook River arrived from the south the day after we did. The floatplane’s arrival signalled open water and the start of the short summer season on Victoria Island.

Brian Johnston (left) and Jim Gallagher paddled the Nanook and Kuujjua Rivers on Victoria Island for five weeks in the summer of 2013.

were wind-bound in an Arctic gale and our satellite phone had failed us. Luckily, the charter pilot had been following our satellite locator check-in messages. He was experiencing the same poor weather that we were and had not been able to fly. With the date of shuttle flight at hand, we made a white-knuckled paddle through the night and across a lake bouncing with whitecaps to reach the cabin and the flight to the Kuujjua. We arrived cold, wet, and tired, but in a place with good floatplane access.

The Kuujjua River – an Arctic gem On the Kuujjua, we waded and portaged down the shallow headwaters struggling to avoid sinking in the silty river bottom. A veneer of stones covered the soft bottom, giving the appearance of firmness. Had we arrived earlier in the summer perhaps we would have been able to float more and walk less.

© BRIAN JOHNSTON

Dramatic clouds grace the sky above Victoria Island (pictured: Jim Gallagher).

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© BRIAN JOHNSTON

A herd of muskox holds a defensive position as Jim Gallagher stalks them with his camera.

Further downstream, the Kuujjua River’s canyons, vistas, and white water were the highlight of our summer. The rapids and ledges challenged our paddling skills. Our glissade down the river was propelled by crystalline water. The graceful dance of two experienced paddlers moved the canoe through the hazards of class IV rapids. All was good in the end. No one swam in a rapid and, save one broken canoe rib, the canoe carried us well down the river.

Brian Johnston holds up one of the many muskox skulls found along the Kuujjua River.

The Amundsen Gulf – coastal challenges and rare light Beyond the flow of the freshwater rivers, we adjusted to the rhythmic swells of the undulating saltwater of the Amundsen Gulf. We bathed in the warm midnight sun where a little more than a century before wooden sailing ships plied the waters in search of the Northwest Passage.

Our paddle on the Amundsen Gulf was our longest ocean trek ever in an open canoe. One night we paddled through blue light on flat calm seas, eventually camping in the morning next to a gorgeous waterfall on a small river.

Coastal winds also flexed their muscles and we were wind bound for several days. Steep coastal shorelines kept us in the canoe for long stretches at a time. Low-angled light, horizon lines blending into the water, and fog conspired to create mirages and to disorient us. One gets the uncanny feeling that supernatural powers are showing off and entertaining us with the light show.

High Arctic isolation and resilience © JIM GALLAGHER

We met no one else along our route. We were the only people within many miles in any direction. People who might be out on the land would be travellers just like us, returning to their homes in the hamlets along the coast. The signs of those who came before us could be seen — stone tent rings

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© BRIAN JOHNSTON

Blending the modern and the ancient, Arctic char are smoked in a makeshift smoke house made of chipboard.

In the end we made it to Ulukhaktok on time, but not without a struggle against wind, waves, and our own worst fears.

Ulukhaktok proved to be a friendly and welcoming hamlet. This picturesque community is named for the place where slate and copper for ulu knives was once mined by the ancestors of the Inuit people who currently inhabit the area.

© JIM GALLAGHER

or a discarded snowmobile part may lay side-by-side; the ancient and the modern.

We encountered weather that was an exercise in contrasts.

Temperatures ranged from below freezing to desert-like heat blowing up from the mainland to the south. At one point we paddled on the Amundsen Gulf in T-shirts under the midnight sun.

As a small consolation to the cold weather and cold water, we found no black flies on Victoria Island. In fact, compared to southern river trips, this was a welcome reality.

Simple comforts took the edge off the sometimes harsh conditions. Afternoon hot tea and coffee replaced lost liquids and restored some heat to our chilled bodies. Our daily grog ration, topped off with hot lemonade and lime juice softened the day.

The ‘barren’ land sometimes abounded with life. The prairie-like vegetation of the Victoria Island plains was a kaleidoscope of spring flowers.

We encountered numerous herds of muskoxen along the rivers we travelled. On a particularly hot afternoon we saw one old bull actually lay down in the water. With their long shaggy coats, they usually avoid the water.

We saw a few individuals of the diminutive Peary caribou that inhabit the Arctic islands. A single white wolf howled in alarm or curiosity as we plodded along the shallows of the upper Kuujjua. An Arctic fox, not quite shed of his white winter pelage, checked out our camp along the Nanook.

The rivers yielded char and lake trout. Once on salt water we saw ringed seals, and found the bleached bones of a whale, all under the constant watch of a collection of gulls overhead.

A Kuujjua River rapid reveals gleaming turquoise water and creates an ideal spot to rest.

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Jim Gallagher holds a whale vertebra he found on a gravel beach along the Amundsen Gulf.

© BRIAN JOHNSTON

An older couple, Ulukhaktok community elders, invited us to dinner at their house and to use their shower facilities — a relief for us after 30 days on the land. Like many Arctic communities, we saw the old ways of living mixed with a modern lifestyle. Arctic char are still caught and smoked, but the smoker might be constructed of old plywood sheets and the fire fuelled with hickory chips from southern forests. Snowmobiles have replaced dog sleds to pull qamutiit (sleds). Ulukhaktok boasts the furthest north golf course in North America. Just down the road from the golf course, a herd of muskox might be hunted.

Our trek back home was a blur of flights, airports, and hotel rooms. Out the aircraft windows, untracked wilderness of the North gave way to surveyed squares of land and platted towns of the south. We had completed what we had set out to do — to descend two far northern rivers and to paddle a portion of the Amundsen Gulf in our little canoe. For another year, we were reminded how overwhelmingly vast the Arctic is and why we continue to seek new adventures in the far North.

Jim Gallagher (Bemidji, MN) is a retired wildlife biologist and Brian Johnston (Beaconia, MB) is an adult education teacher administrator. Jim and Brian are conspiring to complete further canoeing adventures in coming years.

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The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (CAE) is worth celebrating. It was a Canadian journey into the then mysterious Arctic, whose findings built southern Canada’s and the world’s foundation of Arctic knowledge.

A small group of us set out last summer to retrace part of the route of the CAE in the western Arctic, starting at Sachs Harbour, and then sailing up the west coast of Banks Island.

There we planned to visit several CAE camps to film and document the remaining evidence of their story. Because of warming temperatures, this coast is now more accessible by boat, less protected by ice, and waves are ravaging the old CAE camps, swallowing artefacts and any remaining traces of their history.

Celebrating the

Canadian Arctic Expedition Retracing the western Arctic CAE route Text and Photos by David R. Gray

Boat in the ice, waiting, and waiting, and waiting....

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Sachs Harbour looking west to Cape Kellet and the ice.

Sachs Harbour Elder, the late Geddes Wolki, in 2009.

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However, having raised the dollars needed through generous supporters and donors by crowd-funding, we arrived at Sachs Harbour only to find that the ice still filled the straits and clung to the west coast, making our journey impossible. In fact, Bob Bernard, captain of our expedition sailboat, the Bernard Explorer, having sailed from southern Alaska could not meet us in Sachs Harbour because of ice blocking his traverse of the Northwest Passage.

Before I tell the story of our revised expedition, let me introduce the members of our expedition.

My own passion for the CAE began when I discovered unknown CAE records at the Canadian Museum of Nature in the 1970s and gradually grew as I travelled to the western Arctic and interviewed the descendants of Expedition members as part of my research for a virtual museum exhibit on the CAE. Having fully explored the relevant archives, it was now time to visit, and document for the first time, some of the actual sites used by the CAE. Captain Bob Bernard of Alaska, great great nephew of Captain Peter Bernard of the CAE schooner, Mary Sachs, grew up hearing stories about the Expedition including the mystery of his great uncle’s disappearance on the north coast of Banks Island in 1917. His interest in searching for Peter’s remains, and the mailbags he was carrying at the time, were the catalyst for our summer expedition.

Paul Krecji, professor at the University of Alaska, joined as crew of Bob’s 40-foot sailboat. Paul’s research interests include the spread of musical traditions across the Arctic and the Arctic exploits of Joe Bernard, Captain Peter’s nephew.

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John and Samantha Lucas retrieve a sunken seal.

Mitzi Dodd, great-great niece of Captain Peter Bernard, had never been to the Arctic, but had researched the Bernard family history, and was especially intrigued by their Arctic adventures.

Mack Macdonald, a good friend and experienced outdoorsman, joined our group as technical support and safety advisor.

In Sachs Harbour, Kyle Wolki and John Lucas Jr. joined our team. They accompanied us to our research site at Mary Sachs Creek, just six kilometres west of the town. The village of Sachs Harbour didn’t exist at the time of the CAE, but grew up near where the schooner Mary Sachs was abandoned.

Mitzi, Kyle, John, Mack and I spent a great deal of time at the old Expedition headquarters site, now simply known as “Mary Sachs.” There we established the locations of the old dwellings and remaining artefacts in preparation for the first detailed map of the site.

Female ptarmigan and Arctic willow catkins, inland on Banks Island.

Flocks of flightless (moulting) Snow Geese, inland.

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The sea ice near Cape Kellet, Banks Island, from the Duckhawk Bluffs.

Roger Kuptana of Sachs Harbour, whose father, William, was on the CAE as a young boy.

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Later John Lucas Sr. and his wife Samantha came onboard as our guides and wildlife monitors. Like almost everyone in the village, their ancestors too were involved with the CAE. They were pleased that someone from the outside knew their background and was excited about their local history.

Samantha’s grandmother was Violet Mamayuak, who was part of the Expedition, and travelled on the schooner Polar Bear to Victoria Island. She married Henry Gonzales, who was the ship's captain, and who seems to have been responsible for wrecking the Mary Sachs.

Roger Kuptana with his wife Jackie run the Polar Grizz Guesthouse where we stayed.

They shared with me stories of his father, William, who was a member of the CAE as a young boy. He was either “traded” or adopted to William and Annie Seymour, who were on the CAE ship, Polar Bear.

We also visited Elders Lena Wolki (Kyle’s nanak or grandmother) and Edith Haogak, sisters, and daughters of Susie Tiktalik, who visited the Expedition camp with her parents in 1915 or 1916. She travelled all over the Island on foot with her family. Edith told us about some of the local people who worked for the CAE. It was especially interesting because I knew these same people from Expedition diaries.

We revisited the Mary Sachs site after a storm and the beach had changed a lot. We found a newly uncovered old engine head from the Mary Sachs almost buried in the sand below the mound where the ship’s wheelhouse had been placed in 1917.

At the same time, the southern part of our expedition, Captain Bob and Paul, were held up by ice just west of Point Barrow, Alaska, for a couple of days, but visited and March/April 2014

photographed the remnants of the CAE house at Collinson Point, where the CAE overwintered in 1913.

With the boat delayed, we planned to head north with John, Samantha, and John Jr. in their 18-foot aluminum outboards. Samantha was appointed the official “Expedition Seamstress” — the same role as her grandmother on the CAE! We left on a clear and calm day, but encountered the same problems that the Mary Sachs ran into 99 years ago in exactly the same place. We got as far as the end of the Cape Kellet sandspit. There the ice had pushed right into the beach and extended out as far as we could see. We landed, climbed the bluffs to look at the distant ice situation, and then reluctantly agreed that there was no chance of getting through at the shoreline or by circling way out to sea.

The crew of the Mary Sachs also climbed the bluffs back in 1914, hoping to find a way through the ice, and then retreated back to establish their camp at Mary Sachs Creek. So we did the same. It was a rewarding day of historical research. We focused on the beach area where we had found the third engine head, and found a part of the same engine, and a cast-iron wood-stove door.

When the Northern CAE Party under George Wilkins had established their camp at Mary Sachs Creek in September 1914, they wanted to head north up the west coast of Banks Island to look for Stefansson and his two companions who crossed the Beaufort Sea ice from Alaska. Wilkins tried to get around Cape Kellet with the Mary Sachs and could not. They tried with a smaller boat and could not, so Peter Bernard devised a wheeled “dog cart" from a dog sled and off they went. Our story is similar.

We couldn’t get around the same Cape with smaller boats so we decided to make the journey overland, but by ATVs.

We travelled north on the high ground inland rather than the coast because of the myriad of rivers, streams, gullies and “swamps” nearer the coast. We saw lots of wildlife: hundreds of Snow Geese; several pairs of Sandhill Cranes; a brownish version of the Whooping Crane whose calls are wonderfully wild and carry great distances; two curious Peary caribou bulls; lots of Snowy Owls hanging around the moulting Snow Geese; a herd of muskoxen, too concerned about the courtship of the herd bull to pay much heed to us; a lone wolf on the horizon; and an Arctic fox that hightailed it as soon as we appeared over the horizon.

The 1967 centennial cairn above Sachs Harbour with parts of the Mary Sachs engines embedded.

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John Lucas Sr. at the site of the old village at Sea Otter Harbour.

We had a fast drive down the sandy banks of the Sea Otter River to our first destination at Sea Otter Harbour.

As we arrived and set up camp, the fog rolled in from the sea. I was able to investigate a small old campsite close by, where old tin cans, bones of seal, fox and polar bear were numerous. The Canadian Arctic Expedition passed this way many times preparing the way for Stefansson's quest for new northern lands.

And then it was on to Meek Point and Terror Island, both named by Captain McClure during the search for Sir John Franklin. Terror Island, named for Franklin's ship, was used by the CAE as a site for caching supplies on their way north in 1917. Storkersen, Stefansson’s able assistant and travelling companion, had established his “Half-Way Station” here in the winter of 1914-1915.

We did a quick survey of the historic camping site at North Star Harbour before going to a small cabin for a late meal. We drove north up to the high ground where we could overlook Storkerson Bay, named by Stefansson. From there we could see Terror Island shining in the sun and

encircled by ice, and Storkerson Bay completely ice-choked. I spotted a pile of rocks that looked man-made, realizing that this pile could have been one of the meat caches made by men of the CAE. While we were on our northern exploration, Bob and Paul on the Bernard Explorer were photographing sites where the CAE travelled on the mainland, including Cape Bathurst and the Smoking Hills near the Horton River.

After our return from the north, we visited Blue Fox Harbour, not occupied or named at the time of the CAE. The Expedition men would have passed this point many times on their way north and may have camped here. This was where Fred Wolki constructed a building with materials salvaged from the wreck of the Mary Sachs. Fred was a young member of the CAE's last ice trip in 1918 when Storkersen headed out from Alaska to drift on the moving ice for several months. We found the place where we think Fred built his “house.” Up to the 1950s people used Blue Fox extensively, so there is a lot of fairly recent “stuff ” on the ground. One unusual item was a broken gramophone record, lying amongst the tin cans, fox bones and polar bear jaws.

On a low hill above the site we found Fred’s grave with the original wooden marker and a relatively new marble headstone placed there by his family. We discovered later that while we were visiting Fred's grave, Bob and Paul were visiting Pipsuk’s grave in Alaska. He was the last member of the CAE to die, drowned while tending a fish net in 1918. He and Fred were both working for the CAE at the same time in 1918.

Back in Sachs Harbour and on our last day, a polar bear showed up on the beach right below town. It was escorted into the sea and encouraged to leave town. I could still see the bear from the hotel window when I called my 94-year-old mother to wish her a Happy Birthday. She was the major contributor to our 2013 Canadian Arctic Expedition and is still excited to be an Arctic Expedition sponsor. She asked if we would return to continue the journey. I said we just might.

David Gray is an independent researcher, writer, and filmmaker, specializing in Arctic subjects, including Arctic parks, mammals, and history, especially the story of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-1918.

David Gray in the foundation of a CAE hut, beside an engine head from the Mary Sachs.

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SCIENCE

Frozen ancestry Solving evolutionary puzzles S

ometimes explorers find great treasures buried in the snow. The comic book adventurer Tintin, for instance, would often stumble upon large stores of precious jewels and gems beneath Arctic sea ice. But some of the most important and exciting finds are arguably the remains of ancient creatures frozen in time. Mammoths, giant bears, sabre-toothed cats, nine-ft beavers, 20-ft sloths, prehistoric buffalo, Arctic horses, early migrating humans, all of these and more have been recovered from polar regions.

These biological puzzle pieces, in addition to being the ultimate museum specimens, are

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crucial for understanding biodiversity and evolution.

Unearthing a magnificent beast from ice, snow, or permafrost is a rare and remarkable event. It gives researchers a window into another era. But, until recently, the view through that window has been relatively narrow — limited to comparative studies of things like bone and body structure and stomach content. Today, however, with the advent of new technologies, researchers are able to obtain unprecedented amounts of information from these age-old carcasses, and use it to unravel the origin and history of life on Earth.

Major advances in genetic sequencing techniques have made it fast, easy, and cheap to sequence huge quantities of DNA from just about any unspoiled cell or tissue of an organ-

ism. The beauty about species trapped within ice and snow is that they can be very well preserved, allowing scientists to isolate intact DNA from their cells for sequencing. In particularly with old samples, where little or no soft tissue remains, researchers have to dig deep into the bone or fossil to find quality DNA. This is precisely how an international team of scientists, including members from the University of Alberta, sequenced the genome of an approximately 700,000-year-old Arctic horse, which once roamed the dry, grassy tundra.

About 10 years ago in an old Yukon mine south of Dawson City, Canadian researchers struck gold when they discovered the fossilized bone of an ancient horse within the permafrost. Luckily, the frozen soils had preserved enough of the horse’s DNA to allow the scientists

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© LUCA.VIOLA(IT) / FOTOLIA.COM (2)

SCIENCE

to piece together its genome. The results, which were published last summer in the journal Nature, allowed the scientists to understand the relationships among different horse lineages, including the Mongolian Przewalski’s horse — the only remaining group of wild horses. The research team calculated that the last common ancestor of zebras, donkeys, and present-day horses, including the Przewalski’s horse, lived about four to 4.5-million years ago, which is twice as old as previously believed.

The study was also a remarkable feat for genetics as it represents the oldest genome ever sequenced, and provides a glimpse of what is to come from future studies. It likely won’t be long until scientists are digging up fossils and pumping out genomes on a regular basis.

In fact, shortly after the publication of the horse genome, a group of mainly European biologists sequenced DNA from the bone of a 300,000-year-old cave bear excavated from a site in the Atapuerca Mountains in Spain.

Although the cave bear sample is not nearly as old as the Yukon horse fossil, the accomplishment of sequencing some of its DNA was made more impressive by the fact that the bear was not collected from ice or snow. This, as the authors write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “demonstrates that DNA can survive for hundreds of thousands of years outside of permafrost and opens the March/April 2014

prospect of making more samples from this time period accessible to genetic studies.”

Recently, the genes from an ancient polar bear may have helped solve an enduring and controversial mystery: does the Yeti or “Abominable Snowman” exist? And if yes, what is it? It all began when renowned Oxford biologist and genome guru Bryan Sykes got his hands on two supposed samples of Yeti hair — one collected in the mountains of northern India by a French mountaineer 40 years ago and another found in Bhutan about a decade ago. Professor Sykes and his colleagues sequenced genes from the two Yeti samples and then compared them to a massive DNA database to search for similarities to other known species. The results of their analyses are profound: the Yeti — wait for it — might be a big old bear. Indeed, the genes from the supposed Yeti hairs were very similar to those sequenced from the jawbone of an approximately 100,000-year-old polar bear found in the Norwegian Arctic in 2004. Sykes, who described some of his findings in the TV documentary Bigfoot Files, which aired on the National Geographic Channel last November, believes that the Yeti hairs may belong to an unidentified bear species presently living in the Himalayas.

Far from the Himalayas, at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, sits the 24,000-year-old skeleton of a four-year-old

boy. Archaeologists discovered the young lad’s remains almost a century ago at an Upper Palaeolithic burial ground in southcentral Siberia, close to Lake Baikal, and this past year researchers used state-of-the-art techniques to assemble the boy’s genome. It’s the oldest genome ever sequenced from a modern human, and has provided a new take on the ancestry of First Nations in North America, whose relatives travelled to the New World from Siberia in the last Ice Age. Some regions of the youth’s genome showed similarities to the genes of western Eurasians whereas other parts were similar to those of First Nations people. This research, described in the journal Nature (2013), suggests that First Nation’s genetic history is more complex than formerly thought, coming from a mixture of different sources, including an ancient population that is related to currentday Europeans. We’ll likely learn a lot more about human ancestry and migration as more Palaeolithic human remains are recovered from hidden graves and frozen soils.

You never know what you might find beneath your boots — maybe the world’s oldest elk specimen, just waiting to have its DNA deciphered.

David Smith David Smith is an assistant professor in the biology department at Western University. above & beyond

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SPORT

The Arctic Winter Games are not only about proficiency in sport.

They develop and nurture close friendships between competitors across northern regions. (L to R): Allison May, Navarana Kleist, Penina Chamberland and Nellie Snowball.

Preparing for the Arctic Winter Games Outlook on Team Nunavik-Québec

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n Nunavik, Quebec, like anywhere else in the Arctic, winter games are serious business.

Indeed, participation in an international sports competition such as the biennial Arctic Winter Games, taking place in Fairbanks, Alaska, this year, is not something taken lightly by any of the nine circumpolar teams enlisted, and Nunavik is no exception.

Already a powerhouse in Arctic Sports (Inuit Games) and Dene Games, this guest contingent, also participating in the Badminton, Table Tennis, Snowshoe and CrossCountry Skiing competitions, undergoes a thorough selection process in the two years leading up to the event.

“It’s a long process that is a reflection of our region’s athletic youth,” explains Nancianne Grey, Director of the Kativik Regional Government’s Recreation Department, responsible for coordinating the preparation and participation of Team Nunavik-Québec, which she will head as Chef de mission.

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Following the Whitehorse 2012 Arctic Winter Games, in preparation for the next games, Nunavik communities were encouraged to hold local tryouts, which took place in the fall of that same year with the support of KRG’s Mission Staff.

Selected athletes were then invited to partake in coastal tryouts taking place in April 2013 in Kangiqsualujjuaq on the Ungava side and in July 2013 in Salluit on the Hudson coast.

“It’s a real privilege to witness first hand all the hard work these young athletes put into their discipline,” says Salluit Mayor Paulusie Saviadjuk.

During that time, Nunavik youth were also invited to submit their musical and/or performing art talents for the chance to be part of Team Nunavik-Québec’s cultural contingent. The Kangiqsujuaq Brazilian Drummers were chosen to represent the region. In October, Cultural Contingent Manager Karin Kettler organized a session for

the group with consultant Sylvia Watt-Cloutier, a fellow professional throat singer and drum dancer, who worked with them to incorporate theatrical acts portraying Inuit seal hunting and ice fishing to the rhythm of their big Brazilian drums in preparation for their performances at the games.

Later, in November, over a hundred young athletes from all around Nunavik gathered in Kuujjuaq for the regional tryouts. In this final round of the selection process, competitors from 11 years old to those over 30 strived for a spot on the team.

Out of over 260 athletes that started out in the local tryouts, only 64 were going to make the cut. Although calibre and performance during the tryouts weighed in the balance of choice, athletes were also evaluated on their overall behaviour and attitude, which also play an important part when it comes to sports.

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SPORT

Mission Staff, Andrew Epoo (in red), referees Ahuya Snowball May's attempt at the Alaskan High Kick.

Nikita Johannes (in blue), who won gold, and Naomi Sala, who took silver, put up a good fight qualifying to represent Team Nunavik-Québec in the Dene Pole Push event. Both are from Kuujjuaq.

their performance, as hard work and dedication tends to pay off. For Ahuya Snowball May, one of the athletes who will represent Nunavik in Arctic Sports, this has proven very valuable.

Having participated in the 2012 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse in the Junior Male category, now 19 years old, this keen young man from Kuujjuaq will be moving on to Alaska in the Open Male category.

Although this step into the big leagues gave him cold feet at first, thanks to members of the team’s mission staff, and family and friends who believed in him, it turned out to be the stimulation he needed to push himself further.

“Unlike some athletes who prefer not to participate in the events that they’re not good at and don’t even bother practicing them, I

try to focus more on my weak points and participate in all of the [Arctic Sports] events,” he explains. “This also gives me a chance to get more overall points.” This strategy sure proved profitable as he came in first place overall in his category during the regional tryouts.

In the Arctic Sports Open Female category, it was Deseray Cumberbatch of Inukjuak who took the gold overall. At 22 years old, she already has a lot of experience under her belt at the Arctic Winter Games, having participated in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 with a lot of medals to show for her efforts. Up until the 2012 edition, she held the record for the Triple Jump event, with a distance of 7.9 metres.

Although she excels at any sport she decides to participate in, jumping is definitely one of Deseray’s strengths. “Because a lot of

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the events in Arctic Sports involve jumps, a big part of my training involves jumping exercises, whether in place or moving forward,” she reveals. “I also stretch all the time,” which also helps to reach that extra inch needed in her two favourite events: the one-foot and two-foot high kicks.

“That’s what the high kicks are all about,” agrees Ahuya, who also caught on to the importance of training for jumps when it comes to Arctic Sports. “I did some research online to find ways of jumping higher and found a plyometric program that basketball players use consisting of workouts that stimulate the muscles to become explosive.”

Responsible for their own training, both Ahuya and Deseray train almost every day. But as Ahuya points out:“it’s important to alternate

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SPORT

Winner of the Junior Male Singles Badminton regional tryouts, Traugott Annanack (in red), shows sportsmanship congratulating Eric Etok, his opponent and friend from their hometown of Kangiqsualujjuaq.

the muscles that you work each day and to take at least one day off a week to give them time to rebuild and rest.”

Both of these athletes stay motivated by training or sharing their results with friends.

While Deseray likes to train with her friend and fellow competitor Sarah Samisack, whom she also plays hockey with in their hometown of Inukjuak, Ahuya keeps in touch with his good friend Ned Adams Gordon from Aupaluk every day. “We follow the same training

© ISABELLE DUBOIS (5)

Close friend Ned Adams Gordon encourages Ahuya Snowball May to keep on going in what’s known as the “pain game” (the AWG Knuckle-Hop Event).

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program, tell each other what we did, how it went, if we broke our personal records, and what we plan to train the next day.” And though they often have to compete against each other, Ahuya and Ned are also each other’s best supporters, encouraging one another every step of the way.

For Deseray, “playing sports is not only a good way to see friends, and make new ones, but it’s also a good way to stay healthy”. Ahuya, who believes in improved performance through

Veteran AWG contender Deseray Cumberbatch puts her jump training to work in the Sledge Jump event at the Nunavik regional tryouts.

a good diet and enough sleep, can also vouch for that.

Come competition day, training will definitely make a difference, but a well-rested body and mind will help stay focused on the target at hand. “Before each attempt, I concentrate on that little seal mark, how I’m gonna kick it, how I’m going to use my legs and my arms to jump higher,” describes Deseray.

“All that runs through my head at the same time before I’m ready to make my approach and jump,” emphasizes Ahuya.

Concentration is key. As Ahuya explains, “you have to lock out every other person in the room looking at you; it’s just you and the seal.”

As in any other discipline, it is important to have good sportsmanship. ”Even though I’m very competitive, I try to be nice with everybody and try not to show off when I win or be a sore loser,” confesses Deseray. Both Ahuya and her also like to encourage others alike and give pointers to anyone who asks, which makes for good team spirit, even if they end up competing against one another in the Arctic Sports individual events.

Dedication and training is also the essence of other sports as well, whether for Dene Games, playing Badminton or Table Tennis, Snowshoeing or Cross-country Skiing. The all-female Cross-Country Ski team that will represent Nunavik at the Midget and Juvenile March/April 2014

SPORT

Kuujjuaq Cross-country Ski Club members, 13-year-old Sarah Angnatuk (leading) and 12-year-old Karina Gordon-Dorais, train for their event in the Arctic Winter Games.

levels in the Alaska 2014 games are also a good example.

As part of the Kuujjuaq Cross-Country Ski Club, a pilot project that is run out of the region’s hub community for the past three winters, “these girls have been training together diligently three times a week since fall, before there was even snow,” pledges their coach Catherine Dumont. “They started out by running short and long distance outside for cardio or on treadmills at the Kuujjuaq

March/April 2014

Forum’s gym, where they also did strength training,” indicates Dumont. “When snow finally came, they even ran with only ski poles, an idea that Suzie Koneak, their local coach came up with while they awaited the right size ski boots to come in, as some of the girls had outgrown theirs since last winter.” Now that their equipment is in, this tight-knit team is back on their skis, “working on their technique, whether the classic stride, double polling or uphill, training for sprints and long distances,”

Sarah Samisack, from Inukjuak, trying out for the One-foot High Kick, one of the most difficult events at the Arctic Winter Games.

explains Dumont, who is very proud of her girls.

Surely, all this dedication and hard work will pay off for Team Nunavik-Québec at the Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks, Alaska, from March 15 to 22. But win or lose, what matters is that they’ll know they’ve all put in their best effort to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Isabelle Dubois

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March/April 2014

NORTHERN BOOKSHELF

Tulugaq: An Oral History of Ravens Kerry McCluskey Inhabit Media Inc. November 2013

Ice and Water: Politics, People and the Arctic Council John English, Allen Lane October 2013 As the Arctic becomes more and more debated in international circles, historian and author John English’s book, Ice and Water: Politics, People and the Arctic Council is a good read for anyone interested in the beginnings of the Arctic Council and its evolution thus far. While exploring the history of the Council, English describes the role of the Council and its importance in addressing the social, political, and environmental issues in the Arctic. Mary Simon is a central character in the book. She was a lead negotiator in the creation of the Arctic Council in the 1990s and has held several key positions in Inuit organizations such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and was Canada’s first ambassador for circumpolar affairs. This book is part of The History of Canada series.

Tulugaq means “raven” in Inuktitut.

Over the last 15 years, author Kerry McCluskey has been discovering that many people in the North have odd stories to tell about ravens.

So, after 100 interviews with aboriginal elders and northerners across the Arctic, Tulugaq: An Oral History of Ravens was born. This collection of brief legends, fables and anecdotes about Arctic ravens encompasses those collected from the communities of Iqaluit, Arctic Bay, Rankin Inlet, Kugluktuk, Inuvik, Whitehorse and Skagway, Alaska. It includes rich full-colour illustrations of the cunning birds engaged in various antics. Visit tulugaq.com to find more intriguing stories and photos.

The First Flock: Certain Rights Based on Aboriginal Heritage (The Charter for Children) Dustin Milligan Illustrated by Meredith Luce The Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 2013 The Charter for Children introduces children to the basic principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Each story is set in a different province or territory and addresses a different right or freedom. In The First Flock, a Canada goose and her family migrate south from the Northwest Territories. However, on their arrival, a flock of crows has taken up roost in the flock’s usual resting place. The geese must find a new place to survive the winter. Find out if the two bird populations can live in harmony or not. Amusing, informative and beautifully illustrated, this book is recommended for ages seven to 11.

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March/April 2014

INUIT FORUM

Polls apart

I

(obviously yes).

Often polls tell us a very specific story determined by the outfit sponsoring the survey. To truly understand the results, you need to look at how the sausage was made, which brings us to the topic of polls designed to influence your thinking on Canada’s seal hunt.

Let’s start with how the questions are asked.

In 2009, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) paid to include eight questions in an Environics Research Group Canadian public opinion survey called Focus Canada.

This was the first question: “As you may know, there is currently a commercial seal hunt in Canada. Over the past four years more than one million seals have been hunted. Almost all of the seals killed were pups under three months of age. Do you support or oppose the commercial hunting of seals off Canada’s Atlantic coast?”

That’s not exactly a neutral question, so it’s not surprising that 54% of respondents (1,091 out of 2,021 people) said they either strongly or somewhat opposed the hunt. Another 37% either strongly or somewhat supported the hunt. Another 8% didn’t know or didn’t answer.

It makes you wonder what kind of response you would get if you actually sought to find out what people thought, rather than prompting knee-jerk reactions.

A survey conducted in January 2014 by Abacus Data on behalf of the Seals and Sealing Network asked 1,998 respondents which of four statements best described their personal opinion about seal hunting in Canada. Only

© ITK

© ITK

t’s hard to read a newspaper without being struck by the results of some new poll telling us which party would form the next government if an election were held today, or asking whether we really need a Family Day long weekend in February

Ready for the hunt: In a poll commissioned by the Fur Institute of Canada, 30% of respondents considered hunters to be the most credible source of information on the hunt.

22% answered “No form of seal hunting is acceptable.”

Some 70% chose to take a wider view of the hunt, with 5% saying that “All forms of seal hunting are acceptable,” 43% saying “All seal hunters should be allowed to hunt seals, but only if seal populations are not endangered and the animals do not suffer,” and 22% said “Only Inuit and other aboriginal groups should be allowed to hunt seals.” A further 7% didn’t know or didn’t answer.

A 2010 survey conducted by TNS Canadian Facts for the Fur Institute of Canada showed that more Canadians (30%) consider seal hunters to be the most credible source of information on the hunt, compared with animal activists (20%) and the government (21%).

It also asked respondents to estimate the 2010 harp seal population by choosing one of four options. Some 29% guessed the population was 50,000 strong. Another 35% answered 2.1 million, 10% said 4.5 million and nearly

20% admitted they just didn’t know. Only 6% of respondents chose the correct number: 6.9 million.

That reminds me of ITK’s own North Poll, conducted in late 2009 by Ipsos Reid, in which 53% of 1,007 respondents indicated (14% strongly, 39% somewhat) that they were “generally unaware of the realities of life for Inuit in the Canadian Arctic”.

Three quarters of respondents (74%) agreed (24% strongly, 50% somewhat) that they would “like to learn more about the Inuit way of life, culture and people”.

The lesson here: follow the numbers, understand the facts. And where the seal hunt is concerned, aim to find the true experts: working, hunting families. Don’t let the polls determine your thinking. Find out how the sausage was made. If you can, ask your own questions, form your own opinions.

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www.itk.ca/atota March/April 2014

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arctic exotica

Š DIONYS MOSER / GLOBAL ARCTIC AWARDS 2013

Nature Sculpts A Picture Perfect Day! 2013 Global Arctic Awards International Photography Competition UPI Honourable Mention: Dionys Moser/Switzerland

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