Tusaayaksat – Jul/Aug 2007

What’s happening with the review of the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project?

Mackenzie Gas Project Updates

In May the Joint Review Panel received updates on the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project from Imperial Resources Ventures Limited. These updates describe the latest project adjustments and refinements, and include an assessment of the biophysical and socio-economic impacts affected by these changes.

As a result of these updates the Panel initiated a sixth round of Information Requests, to provide groups and individuals with the opportunity to clarify their understanding of the new information provided in the project updates. The Panel also scheduled hearings in Inuvik in July to hear evidence on these updates. The Joint Review Panel hearings are expected to conclude in Inuvik this fall.

Regulatory Coordination and Preparedness

After the Joint Review Panel has completed its environmental review, and if the National Energy Board were to grant approval for the Mackenzie Gas Project to proceed, the project would require many authorizations from federal, territorial and northern board regulatory agencies like the Inuvialuit Land Administration. Examples of these are water licenses, land use permits, leases, quarrying permits, and access permits.

In preparation for the next phase of the project review, regulatory authorities have been identifying opportunities to avoid duplication and maximize efficiencies. A Regulatory Steering Committee, chaired by the Northern Gas Project Secretariat, works with the various regulators to harmonize process associated with the Mackenzie Gas Project Review.

Where can I get more information?

Phone toll-free: 1–866–372-8600

Internet: www.ngps.nt.ca

Email: info@ngps.nt.ca

Panel members examine on-screenpresentations and exhibits during the hearings. (Photo M A. Elie NGPS : )

Chair and Chief Executive Of icer of the Inuvialuit RegionalCorporation NellieCournoyeaspoketo the Joint Review Panel in Inuvik Feb13,2007. (PhotobyBrian Chambers,NGPS)

Annabelle Lovely and Mom attended apublichearing in Yellowknife.(Photo by r ) B ian Chambers, NGPS

The Northern Gas Project Secretariat assists the public to understand and participate during the environmental assessment and regulatory review of the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project

Aboriginal Day celebrations in Tuktoyaktuk: Community members of all ages enjoyed a game of Napaatchak at Kitti Hall.

(L-R) Front row: Marjorie Ovayuak, Danny Loreen, David Nasogaluak and Debbie Raddi. Back

Clorese

Sorry! In the last issue, on Pg 30 - 31, photo caption should have read: Kayla Felix drum dancing, Emmanuel Adams catching up with other elders, and Sandy Adams on the harpoon!

On the Cover: Ashtyn McLeod from Fort McPherson, taking a picture of herself in front of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum. She was on a boat tour that takes her down the Spree River. On that day, students on this trip enjoyed taking in the historic and modern architecture of Berlin.

Publisher

Topsy Cockney

Inuivaluit Communications Society, Executive Director

Editor/Reporter

Creative Dir.

Zoe Ho

Translation

Renie Arey Contributors

Ashtyn McLeod

Karen Kitekudlak

Albert Elias

Johanna Skibsrud

Adriana Bacheschi

Photography

Zoe Ho

David Stewart

Design, Illustration, Layout & Typography

Zoe Ho

Proofreading

Christopher Harbord

ICS Board of Directors President

Foster Arey, Aklavik

Vice-President

Joanne Eldridge, Sachs Harbour

Secretary-Treasurer

Sarah Rogers, Inuvik

Directors

Stan Ruben, Paulatuk

Joseph Sr. Kitikudlak, Ulukhaktok

Joanne Eldridge, Sachs Harbour

Jimmy Komeak, Tuktoyaktuk

Printing

Quality Color

row:

Nogasak, Kane Raddi, Dorothy Loreen, Jana Wolki, Tessa Dillon,Chantal Gruben, Angela Sayers, and Becky Steen.

Napaatchak

Drummers and Dancers Honor Billy Day on Inuvialuit Day

Itis the 23rd year since the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) on June 5th, 1984, and some of the main signatories are still able to attend the anniversary celebrations. Billy Day, winner of the National Aboriginal Achievement award in 2006, is one of them. Billy is recognized for his lifelong work as a protector of Inuvialuit culture and the environment. His involvement in the advancement of aboriginal rights began as early as the negotiation of the IFA and continues today.

The IFA provides the Inuvialuit with financial compensation and ownership of 91,000 square kilometres of land including 13,000 square kilometers with subsurface rights to oil, gas and minerals. Through the IFA, the government of Canada also recognizes the need to preserve Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within a changing northern society; to enable Inuvialuit to be equal and meaningful participants in the northern and national economy; and to protect and preserve the Arctic wildlife, environment and biological productivity.

The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers danced an impromptu tribute for Billy, who true to Inuvialuit culture, maintained his modesty and a sense of humour. At the end of the dance, Billy stood up from his walker. “You should all smile more, be happy, so everyone can see this is a happy day!” he said.

When asked what Inuvialuit Day means to him, Billy answered, “It means an awful lot to me. I’ve put a lot of work into helping put the Final Agreement into place. But I was only one of the many people who made it happen. It makes my heart beat a little stronger to see the drum dancers honour me like this!”

Besides performances, there was also a barbeque held outside the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. Elder Alice Hunter said, “It was a beautiful day, we had good weather, and everybody was eating!” There was good joy. Susan Peffer also enjoyed the festivities; “It’s great to see everybody gather, visiting with each other and sharing stories, especially with friends and relatives we haven’t seen in a long time.”

Elder Billy Day was present at the Inuvialuit Day celebrations outside the IRC building. The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers showed their appreciation of his dedication to the advancement of Inuvialuit, by doing a tribute dance just for him.

Patrick Gruben drum dancing

Duane Smith and Richard Binder cooking

Marsha Day and child.

Our lovely elders sharing tea and stories

Tuktoyaktuk Summer Fun: Community Update

Lena Kotokak said the month of June was a very busy and festive one in Tuktoyaktuk. “On June 5th, we celebrated the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA). We held a community barbeque with the support of organizations and community members. Lots of people attended. The two main stores in town were closed for the day, and we invited performers to come and sing. Erwin Elias, David Noksana, Roy Cockney and Frank Panaktalok were some of the performers. ‘Big Man’ (Robert Gruben, Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation Chair) and Lucy Cockney made the opening speech. We wanted to promote the signing of the IFA, so we held a quiz to test the knowledge of participants about the IFA. Prizes were donated from TCC, IRC and Gruben’s Transport, they were nice prizes.”

“On June 18th, we had a TCC AGM, followed by the IRC Corporate Tour. On the 21st, we had Aboriginal Day celebrations at Kitti Hall. We

received donations from various governmental and local organizations, amongst them Canadian North and the Tuktoyaktuk Elders’ Committee, and were able to provide some trips to Edmonton as prizes for participants. The events were enjoyed by all.”

“On July 3rd, TCC had an open house in the afternoon. We had newsletters and minutes from our meetings available to show all who attend.”

The JRP (Joint Review Panel) was also in Tuktoyaktuk on the 20th for a public hearing. Many citizens in Tuktoyaktuk, elders, adults and youth spoke about their concerns and recommendations. Persis Gruben, an elder, gave a presentation in Siglitun, It was poignant when she said, 'If I go to a white man’s backyard and take something, I believe I will be in jail right now.' She encourages those listening to find a balance between development and preserving the land.

Eddie Dillon made a plea at the hearing for normal Canadian living conditions. He said during his presentation, “We just want paved roads and running water, like any other Canadian should have. If you do not let us have that, we wonder if you are really Canadian.”

Photo by Debbie Raddi

Photos clockwise:

1.Lucy Cockney and Lennie Emaghok (TCC board members).

2. Elder Gordon Agnaviak 3. Erwin Elias, Roy Cockney

Photos clockwise

1. Drum dancers Effie Gruben and Tianna EliasKuptana

2. Mikkayla Jacobson, Florence and Tiarra Nasogaluak

3. Josephine Nasogaluak drum dancing

4. Frank Umoak drum dancing

Congratulations Moose Kerr High School Graduates for 2007!!!

Beneath a large model of the Eiffel Tower, we find a group of relieved graduates. “I’m so glad it’s done,” said Julia Elanik. “It wasn’t easy,” agreed Jayneta Pascal, “But we kept our head high.”

“It’s worth it in the end,” said Charmane Elanik. Like everything good about Aklavik, this Eiffel tower is the effort of the students and their supportive community. It is as high as the roof of the school’s assembly hall, and was put together in a week. The rest of the preparations were going on since Aklavik’s jamboree in March.

With twinkling lights draped around it, it is as beautiful as the four happy girls in their graduation dresses. There are twelve graduates from Aklavik this year, a high number compared to yearly averages in small communities.

Parents, siblings, friends and relatives were all tears and smiles as the graduates walked down the aisle and were awarded their grade twelve diplomas. Velma Illasiak, principal of Moose Kerr School is proud of the students and reminded them that she would like to see them with a college diploma the next time. The rest of the dignitaries who spoke to the graduates reiterated this theme. Nellie Cournoyea, CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation encourage students to find strength in their roots and the stories of their ancestors.

Some leaders and elders shared poignant stories about education, most regretting not having the same oppourtunities when they were young. Winnie Elanik, great grandmother of two graduates Julia and Charmane Elanik said,

(L-R) Front Row: Jayneta Pascal, Julia Elanik, Patricia Gordon, Cora Lee Simpson, Ashton Semple, Rhonda John, and Lou Ann Koe. Back Row: Amanda Irish, Alex Gordon, Wills Storr, Chris Semple, and Charmane Elanik.

Julia Elanik receiving an award from Carol Arey of ACC.

Susie Thompson congratulates Jayneta!

Aklavik’s graduates set to go far!

“I am so proud of my great grand daughters. Me, I’ve never been in school but for four months. I didn’t learn much because I attended mission school in the 1930s. But with all my children and grandchildren, I made sure to see them through grade twelve. I am so glad all the teachers helped me get them there.”

There was a lot of joking about alarm clocks and graduation, about how students could sleep in and not use one for awhile. “We’ll dust them off when we go to college,” said Charmaine. Jayneta plans to go Grant McEwan College in Edmonton next year.

“I want to get my Bachelors in Education and become a teacher at Moose Kerr.” Fellow graduate Amanda Irish is excited about specializing in business management. The students all thanked their principal for “always coming up with ideas to keep us coming back to school.”

“She’s a good friend and good principal,” says Jayneta.

Dennis Parsons, superintendent of education in the Beaufort-Delta observed that graduation numbers are going up, having doubled in the last three years. “I believe that communities are realizing today’s society needs new skill sets, and that support from friends, parents, families, the community, organizations and government is helping them get there.”

Aklavik chose the theme of the Eiffel Tower for their graduation, to reflect their belief that no matter how high your dream is.

Amanda Irish walks with George Irish to her convocation.

Alex and Patricia Gordon took many pictures with grandmother Annie B. Gordon and their cousin Ritchie Storr!

The Pascal family celebrates [(L-R) Janelle, Olive, Jessi O, Jayneta, Rosie, Eugene and Jonathan]!

Winnie Elanik is proud to see her great grand daughters graduate!

Paulatuk graduates forge new path

Jerri Thrasher tells us about being one of the three graduates from Angik School this year!

How do you feel to be a graduate?

Jerri: I feel a sense of freedom, to be able to pursue many of the goals I’ve set for myself. I’ve found out that I am not limited, this small taste of success has gotten me motivated to achieve at a higher level.

How old are you?

Jerri: I turn 18 in August.

How many years have you been in school?

Jerri: Thirteen years including daycare! Before I began grade school, my mother was going to university, and had me reading and writing at a very young age. I walked her down the aisle at her convocation from the University of Sasketchewan. It was her turn to walk with me to get my diploma this time. It was amazing.

Was it worth it?

Jerri: Oh for sure, education is always worth it. It’s key.

What was hard?

Jerri: Waking up in the mornings! Haha, believe me, my mother has tried everything to get me up in the morning. I definitely thank her for that.

What was fun?

Jerri: I’d have to say, school trips! The traveling we did for sports and conferences all over. It gave me the opportunity to further my understanding of politics and aviation.

Where are you going next?

Jerri: I’m off to college for a year or so, but I have my heart set on university, to study political science. I also want to minor in fine arts, and then after that, I will get into aviation.

How would you describe deciding to stay the course and get through at least high school?

Jerri: There was no way I would have given up on my high school diploma. I did not allow myself to quit, although sometimes I’d struggle to keep on track. It all turned out in the end. My sister Lanita and my mother would encourage me even as things seemed to fall apart. They supported me so I could finish.

Is it hard for youth to stay on track to graduate?

Jerri: In a small town of 400, where the distractions seemed to be high, and there are all these social barriers and pressures… I’d say it’s hard for youth. You just have to push yourself forward, no matter what may exist to stop you. I’m looking forward to seeing more graduates come out of our school. This year we forged a path, and I hope it will go on for years to come.

Our ceremony went beautifully, everyone helped to prepare. Tracey, Craig and I all worked together with the decorating. The staff prepared the dinner. It was amazing. Craig, Tracey and I, would also like to thank all the dignitaries for attending, and a special thanks to Nellie Cournoyea, the parents and the community for their support.

Photo by Phillipe Morin

Paulatuk’s three graduates for 2007: (L-R) Tracey Wolki, Craig Ruben and Jerrita Thrasher pose during their graduation ceremony.

Inuvik - Samuel Hearne Secondary

Kyle Donovan, Kenzie

Justin Pascal,Isaac Lennie, Justin

Gerald Noksana, Kelly McLeod, Gregory Elias. >> Middle Row: Russell Smith, Alison Francis, Mabel Thrasher, Nicole Lindsay, Jodie Maring, Sasha Blake, Natasha Savoie-Esagok, NoelCockney. >>

Caitlin Klengenberg, Troy Wolki, Keith McDonald, Jessica McLeod, Kristen Robert, Marjorie Greenland, Janet Firth. Missing From

Relieved graduates throw their hats into the air!

Photo by Terry Halifax

Photos courtesy of Noella Cockney

Back Row: David Terry,

MacDonald,

Firth,

Front Row:

Photo: Katherine Burke, Alyssa Carpenter, Aaron Manuel.

Noella Cockney and her son, Noel.

2007 graduates (left to right) Vincent Alonak, Eric Kagyut, Trevor Okheena, Gloria Omingmak, Rachel Banksland, Michelle Kitekudlak, Susie Memogana, and Celine Joss prepare to have some graduation cake. (Absent from this picture: Kathy Inuktalik, Carl Inuktalik, Cora Joss.)

Bottom Left: Balloons are dropped on the crowd during the high point of Ulukhaktok's graduation.

Bottom Right: Cake fight: Trevor Okheena and Eric Kagyut suffer the consequences of the cake fight they started during grad celebrations

Ulukhaktok - Helen Kalvak School

Photos courtesy of Mark LeBourdais/ Helen Kalvak school

Inuvik - Aurora College

NRTP Access Graduates: Kyle Kuptana, Maryjane MacDonald, Joel MacAllister, Andrew Esau, Jennifer Thrasher, Lisa Cardinal and Doris Rogers

Nursing Access Donna Lynn Baskins-Rogers, Marjorie Baetz, Agnes Francis, Jody Snowshoe, Jolene Lennie, Yvonne Elias and Bessie Rogers

Malcolm Gorill Photos

Congratulations to all Beaufort-Delta graduates!!!

Inuvik - Aurora College Inuvik Learning Center

Trades Access Graduates(L-R)ProgramMatthew

Harrison, Beula Irish, Crystal Koe, Lee Ruben, Mikel Binder, Colin Day. 2nd Row: Rick Lindsay, Eddie Okheena, Lawrence Blake, Charlie Allen, and Niel Flynn!

Trades Access Program - Diavik Bursary winner Eddie Okheena!

Mary Okheena accepting the award for Academic Excellence.

ATCO Scholarship winners: Jolene Lennie, Agnes Francis and Bruce Ruben.

Malcolm Gorill Photos

Sachs Harbour - Inualthuyak School

Alexis Carpenter and Cassidie Kudlak at their first graduation !

Manny Kudlak photo

Delta Camps Then and Now

It’s a beautiful summer evening in the Delta and the ICS crew is on its way to interview elders at Elijah and Mabel Allen’s bush camp. It will be a three-hour boat ride, gliding and bumping down to Kipnik channel on a 90 horse kicker, but it feels refreshing to be traveling on the thawed Mackenzie River, which until recently was a cold and unforgiving ice road. Our hearts are soaring with the eagles, ducks, Canadian geese and seagulls that cross the blue sky in flocks. It is definitely the end of winter! Spring is in full view. Green shrubbery and trees lines our route, and the sun glints off the water in golden sparkles. “Look, a muskrat!” says Renie Arey, my elder colleague. The little creature swims with incredible speed, given its small body, and its fur is slick from the water. It is a marvel to observe nature up close. Animals do not seem afraid of us, and are going about their business as usual even while we drive the boat with its loud motor alongside them.

Elijah’s cabin is perched right on a bank of Kipnik channel. We climb up the shore, Renie bearing two ducks in hand. Jojo Arey, our cameraman, has shot these on the way, and Renie plucks them immediately. “It’s easier this way, if you pluck while they are still fresh,” she says. We quickly butcher, season and set the ducks on the fire, before we settle down for tea. With the twenty-four hour sun of the arctic summer, we have, literally, all day and night to talk about bush camps.

Bush camps used to be a way of life. People made their living off the land. Today they are more of a summer or winter retreat; a place to relax. Elijah and Mabel have boated out from Inuvik to stay for a week. Edward Elanik (Hoppy), Elijah’s friend of many years joins us, and Angasak (Alex Elanik), Elijah’s cousin, is also at Kipnik with us, along with two youth, one of them is his stepson.

Angasak’s log cabin is 50 feet away from Elijah’s. “He invited me to build my cabin next to his,” says Angasak. “In the past people used to live far apart, Elijah and I are ‘relations in the bush.’”

“We used to visit and go for tea,” says Elijah. “In winter, we would take five dogs and travel five, ten, maybe fifteen miles to visit at friends and relatives. We did that every week.”

“Back then we didn’t celebrate long weekends, Father’s Day or Mother’s day,” says Mabel. “We did celebrate the 1st of July and Christmas, New Year’s and Easter by gathering with others.”

“We didn’t have trapper radios back then,” says Elijah. “If somebody wanted to speak to another person, they would get people passing by their camps to take a message to the next camp. If you were sick, there was no medi-vac to fly you back to town. There were a few doctors and nurses in Aklavik, but if someone got sick, we had to send somebody to get the message out.” According to Elijah, trapper radios only began their existence in bush camps about 35 years ago.

“In the old days, we couldn’t relax at bush camp. We had to trap!” Angasak says. “I remember the first time I was at bush camp. We had no machinery then, we used handsaws, we had to walk and get wood. On the shores, we would pick wood at springtime and pile them up for fall. We mixed dry wood with green (fresh) wood to make fires last longer. We hardly had any store bought food, just sugar, rolled oats, and cornmeal for dogs. November 10th is when we go out with our dogs to trap. We fed our dog teams well and gave them fish. We traveled simply taking with us only tea, butter and bread. These days you have to buy everything: food, gas for your skidoo or kicker, fishnets, gunshot and traps. In the past you had to make sure you could hunt or you will go hungry!”

“ We trapped mostly for minks and lynx, and later when the snow piled up on the muskrat push-ups (burrows), we hunted all night long for muskrats. We used to get $6 per lynx and $0.75 for a muskrat skin. We sold them in Aklavik or Inuvik. In the spring, it’s good to find muskrat push ups because that’s where the muskrats are. It was lots of work for my mum, she had to

clean about 50 or 75 muskrats a day. We have to go at night to hunt muskrats, they only come out then, and we can see them swimming. In May and April, we try to dry the muskrats before they get too skinny. We hang them up and save them for dog feed. The bugs can’t get into the meat when its dry. When we go to town to sell the skins, we buy things like coffee and tea.”

Elijah is nostalgic about his childhood at Kipnik. He says, “We had everything. We never saw hard times when we lived on the land. My father was a really good hunter, and my mum was hardworking. I had two brothers. We could live comfortably off ptarmigan, rabbits, muskrats and fish. We didn’t get too many caribou. We’ll get four or five for the winter. My mum knew how to handle the animals, she didn’t waste anything, and she cooked well, she always had lots of wood to burn. It was good as long as we had bannock, and my mum made lots of sourdough. We didn’t have juice, but it was no loss.”

Food was taken very seriously, as it was central to survival. The extreme contrast of winter (-50 degrees) and summer temperatures (25 degrees) meant those living off the land had to adapt constantly. “My parents made sure that our food was kept safe. They carefully prepared our food in the icehouse. They would also hang up their fur clothes there, to make sure the skins don’t go bad in the summer, and could be worn again in the winter.”

“These ice houses are nice coolers”, says Angasak. “They can be four to six feet deep. We had one at Kendall Island.” The cellar like structure dug into the frozen ground, with a low roof, low walls and a small entrance. “People had log houses long ago, they were not made from plywood. We found driftwood and logs near the river. We would cut notches in the logs and wedge them together. We had no nails too. I was taught how to build that way by my parents.”

“We stayed in tents, at the coast when summer came because there were less mosquitoes on the coastline than at the delta. That’s when we can get food by whaling,” says Mabel. The breezy coastal air helps to keep the bugs at bay, and maktak (whale blubber) was valuable energy giving food that stores well into the cold seasons.

“My dad had a schooner called Arctic Bluenose, and he would bring people and even as many as twenty dogs out. We pulled a big canoe behind us to haul gas. At that time, we had a three horse kicker, and it packs a lot of power.”

Traders would come from the south with schooners and use them to barter with the hunters and trappers. “They would ask for a certain amount of fur, and sometimes, it takes years to pay off the lease,” says Elijah.

“It used to take 4 days by schooner to get to Kendall Island,” laughs Angasak. “They were nice, you can get everything there in one shot.”

“If the weather is bad, you just stay in the schooner all day. There’s lots of room. There is a woodstove, it’s comfortable,” Elijah says. “You could sleep in there, cook in here. At that time there were 45 galleon buckets of maktak on the boat. We used it all summer and would not waste anything.”

“And there is a deck on the boat where you can eat,” Mabel says. “Nowadays it’s more rushed. On the boat you can get water and heat your boat easily. It’s easier than staying at a bush camp.”

“You can also get fish easily,” says Angasak. “I miss the schooners sometimes. People would share them. Nobody was proud, they would tell each other what they needed and not fight over anything. At Kendall Island we had tables set outside with tea, butter and food for everybody who came whaling. Men would pull up the whales and the women would cut it up. We hardly wasted anything. We even used the whalebones for dog feed. We used to have to keep quiet; we could not throw rocks and disturb the whales. We notice that these days younger boys come down to the coast with faster boats, and they leave very soon with their pail of maktak. I think it’s because petrol is so expensive now.”

“After we whale, we wait till late August. Our parents were knowledgeable about food. There is lots of mashu (wild roots - a kind of rhubarb) in the fall, and we wash what we gather and put it in uqruq (whale oil). We used whale stomachs as containers. We didn’t have fruit then. We ate rhubarb on the weekend. It was a special treat.”

Page Left: Kevin Allen and Martha Day travel in a speedboat to Kipnik. In the past, Inuvialuit of the delta relied on schooners to get around during summer. There are often many passengers and dogs on board. This page: Top: Inuvialuit in the 1930s, using handmade log cabins as bushcamps. Bottom: Today, at Kipnik, Hoppy, Angasak and Elijah are being interviewed by a camera crew from ICS.

Historical photos courtesy of ICRC Archives, page14, 16, photos by Canon Shepard. This page photo from National Archives of Canada.

In the mid 1950s, the government of Canada decided to establish “East Three” (now Inuvik) as its administrative center in the Western Arctic. People living at bush camps moved to ‘town’ when jobs became available and the fur trade was no longer viable. “It was March 1956,” says Elijah, of his move to East Three. “The price of muskrat skins was down to forty cents, I couldn’t make a living as a trapper anymore. I got a job. I learnt to speak English from Emma Dick. A year later, I was taught to run heavy equipment. Mabel and I got married when I was 23 and she was 20. We wanted to raise kids so I worked all the time. Wages were not too high then, I made around $1.65 an hour, and got a raise to around $1.75 when I started working on heavy equipment. Mabel got one dollar per hour working at the school.”

“When the government started expanding the town in the seventies, the faster kickers appeared on the market,” says Angasak. “I was born in the Delta. I am now 62. Everything really changed when I was in my late 20s. It was strange for me to see so much machinery. At first I didn’t like it. My first time using a skidoo was no fun. We would get stuck. With dogs you never got stuck, you could just say, ‘Go, go.’ We never used to complain about the cold, and it used to be -60 or -70. I remember how noisy it was just to run, with the ‘whoo whoo’ sound of wind in your ears.” One of Angasak’s jobs was to be a bear monitor, providing researchers and natural resource management with information about bears. “I used to hunt them. Their skin is good for bedding when you are traveling. When you get them in the fall they are really fat.”

“In the seventies and eighties, I took young people out on the land. They were unemployed and the government had set up a little budget to provide canoes and kickers. It was good to show them how to cut wood and set up fish nets. Once a participant got mad at me, and came at me with a chisel. I told him I wasn’t afraid of him and he quit. We had to tough it out. When we were young, we had to listen to our parents. We couldn’t answer back. If we did we had to go without supper and were sent to bed right away. These days, kids don’t seem to listen. Maybe the government has been giving away too much, we used to work for what we wanted, and now little kids are always asking for everything.”

Sobriety camps, called starter camps, were also funded by IRC (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation) or social services. People who were trying to quit drinking would go on the land to get away from alcohol.

Angasak takes us by boat to a small channel, where he has set a fish net. “It’s good to set fishnets in the eddies,” he says, “Where the water is more quiet.” There is a huge whitefish in the net, along with two crooked backs and an inconnu. Mabel cleaned the whitefish with her ulu, scraping off the scales, taking out the insides and slicing them into nice portions for frying. Angasak

expertly cut off the head and fins of the fish, neatly extracting the bone, and leaving a clean and scored fish ready for drying. We have a delicious meal of fried fish and roast duck, and relax by the stove in the cabin. We are waiting for Elijah’s son Kevin to arrive after his workday in town. We grow worried when he doesn’t show up at the expected hour, but later a message from the next camp (Valerie and Willie’s) relayed on the trapper radio soothes our fears.

Summer is goose hunting season, and the next day we go out with Kevin, Martha Day, Lawrence and Noel Rogers, as well as Jimmy and Angel Kalinek to the Egg Islands. Our three boats, traveling in a row, make quite the spectacle. It is quiet for the 105 miles it takes to get there. The islands span roughly a four square mile area, and have become a habitat for many geese to lay their eggs. The hunters are able to harvest many geese. Angel and I walk around looking for the tell-tale signs of geese nests on the ground: the clusters of down warming the eggs. We take care to only collect a few eggs from each nest for the elders, leaving behind enough for the geese to have an ample amount of young. Noel notes that there are less geese on this island than the years before, and Lawrence tells us that it is important to harvest male geese and to leave the female geese to lay more eggs. “We didn’t use to hunt at Egg Island,” Elijah tells me when I ask about its history. “It was a protected area. There was a ban by wildlife management against hunting snow geese, because they were an endangered species. Then the geese overpopulated, causing many problems down south. The ban was lifted not too long ago.” Sometimes, for the sake of feeding themselves and their families, hunters would harvest geese despite the ban. “In the past when we hunted geese it was at Kendall Island. Wildlife also tended to stay around Aklavik, we didn’t have to travel as far to hunt.”

“I used to hunt geese on the Mackenzie. In the springtime, before ice break up, we would go with dogs, sit somewhere for a couple of days and shoot geese,” says Angasak. The hunt at Egg Island was efficient: once the hunters have enough geese, they plucked some of them and load up the boat to leave.

Inside Elijah’s cabin, there is a binder called ‘Kipnik News.’ It is full of thank you letters from visitors all over the world. They are all glad to have experienced their hosts’ hospitality, and to have learned, in different seasons, about various aspects of the Delta bush life.

In the 1990s, Elijah was working as a janitor at the local elementary school when he was inspired to run a side business serving travelers and professionals passing through the north.

“We had bird watchers, teachers, scientists, doctors and nurses, even six lawyers come up at one time,” says Elijah. “A lot of them come with interpreters. We take them for walks and tell them stories about how we used to live. They took lots of pictures, and we made them souvenirs out of pieces of wood and things like that.”

Inuvialuit had a tradition of gathering outdoors at bushcamp, to share a meal or tea.

Canon Shepard photo, ICRC archives.

Elijah says prayers to express thanks before a dinner of fried fish, roasted vegetables and duck is served.

Mabel shows us how to clean a fish for frying. A muskrat swims by our boat.

Below: Angasak , Angus and Stanley (L-R) work on getting the fish out of the net they set at a quiet eddy of water.

Right: Angus and Stanley get fresh water from the river for cooking and drinking.

“It was a lot of work. Starting up this business, and cooking for the visitors,” says Mabel. “By law, we weren’t allowed to hunt when tourists were around. We see moose and ducks with the visitors and we have to let them swim by. We cooked ‘white man food’ for them,” she laughs. “Sometimes they would stay overnight or for two nights.”

“Once we got caught in a bad storm,” says Elijah. “We had taken out a family of Italians, and only two of them could speak in English, one was allergic to something. At first we couldn’t understand, but Mabel managed to figure it out. They wanted to see the ocean, but they didn’t mind getting caught in the storm. They enjoyed seeing the stove warm with wood and said they slept well.”

Angasak adds: “You know what they used to say long ago? If you don’t have a fish net or trap; if you have nothing, you better not put your hands in your pockets and walk around. If people really want to know about bush camps they should go out with elders. Leave the machinery behind and learn to do everything by hand. We didn’t use to have skidoos, or kickers, or augers. We used to make our own fishnets, you had to make it just right too, if they are too stretched, the fish won’t come into it. If you ask me whether I like modern life, I would say if you have money, of course you’d like the modern life.”

Mabel says, “Bushcamps are more for relaxing these days. It’s like a summer home. Just so we can get away from the phones and TV. It’s easier to go sit by the water outside your cabin, than at the road in front of your house in Inuvik.” Elijah agrees: “It’s a good change,” he says, “ just to get out for awhile.”

Jojo Arey walking back to his boat, heavily laden with the geese he hunted at Egg Island. Besides his own consumption, these geese will also go to elders.

Photos (l-R)

1. Jimmy Kalinek takes aim.

2. Angel Kalinek is happy with the eggs she has collected.

3. Snow geese from Egg Island.

Sachs Harbour Community Corporation

Chairperson/CEO: Manny Kudlak

Vice Chair: Betty Hoagak

Secretary-Treasurer: Joanne Eldrige

Board of Directors: Aleta Esau, Richard Carpenter, Terrance Lennie, Tony Lucas Sr.

Corporate Manager: Donna Keogak

Elders and Youth Coordinator: Glenda Carpenter (Priscilla Hoagak is on maternity leave)

Community Development Facilitator (Self-government): Andrea Keogak

In the fall of 2001, Manny Kudlak started his involvement with the Sachs Harbour Community Corporation as an Office Assistant. “That is when my interest in the structure and dynamics in the IRC developed. So in the 2002 election, I was elected to a two-year term as a Director. At that time I went to school in Fort Smith for two and a half months. The board of directors was kind enough to hold my seat until my return. In 2004 I progressed into the Vice-Chair position, during the fall of 2004 and spring of 2005 I served as Acting Chair with the loss of two Chairpersons. I was acclaimed as Chair in the 2006 bi-election, and in the 2007 elections for the another 2-year term as Chairperson for the SHCC.”

What is SHCC’s mandate?

To identify and keep record of Inuvialuit individuals who qualify as active members of the SHCC. To administer, supervise, govern, and regulate the matters of local concern to the members of the SHCC. We participate as a member of (and together with the other Inuvialuit Community Corporations, control) the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. We receive monies from all sources for community purposes and to disburse as appropriate, either by ways of direct grant or support of specific community-oriented projects. We do all this with the aim of protecting and advancing the interests of SHCC members.

Why is SHCC is important for the community?

The directors of SHCC make decisions for the members of Sachs Harbour, including decisions on land use in our section of the Inuvialuit claim. We make decisions on funding requests from our local members and organizations. Our community is currently unable to run most of the government and IRC programs that are available. The Directors have been working in partnership with the Hamlet of Sachs Harbour to create some of the necessary structures needed to deliver a wider variety of programs to our membership.

What are the requirements for membership?

Members must be Inuvialuit and have resided in the community for 6 months. A letter has to be submitted to the board of directors for a member to be accepted into the SHCC. To become an honorary member, you have to in the community for at least 2 years. A letter of request can then be submitted to the board of Directors for a resolution. After that, it requires a two-thirds majority vote at the Annual General Meeting. Honorary members are not eligible as beneficiaries under the IFA, and are in fact only “honorary members” for the duration of the AGM, but have the right to vote during the AGM. You could get removed from the membership for failure to maintain residence in the community.

What is the voting system for positions at SHCC?

Each Director is elected for a 2-year term that is staggered with 3 seats

opening up at every election. If elected as a board member of SHCC, you are automatically on the SHDC board and the Self-Government committee as well. From the board we also select three directors to sit on IHAP (Inuvialuit Harvesters Assistance Program) and on the boards of other groups, such as Aklavik National Park Management committee.

What is decided during the first meeting of the newly elected Directors in January ?

The Directors hold an election to appoint the Vice-Chair and SecretaryTreasurer of the Board for a one-year term. Winter is a slower time, so for the first month, the new Directors do no more than policy review and familiarization. Many of the Directors, both new and veterans, have had some working knowledge of the dynamics of the corporation, so transitions for new Directors is often smooth.

How does SHCC work for its beneficiaries?

Besides employing two people and contracting another for Self-Government, the board and staff are very active people in the community. The relatively small size of our community allows us all to know what each person can bring to the table. We are there for members when important events are being held. We also give out yearly Christmas hampers and sponsor the annual Christmas feast.

Who are other organizations that SHCC works with, and what are some programs delivered by SHCC?

The SHCC and SHDC have a number of partnerships and small contracts in the community. We have been contacted by INAC (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) to start a new Community Liaison in the community. This will make INAC services more accessible to the membership. We deal mainly with IRC and it subsidiaries to deliver the programs and funding IRC provides to the community. The SHDC is the renegotiating the postal services contract in the community, which we have been running for over 10 years. We are always in the market for more partnerships and bring many years of “know how” to our little island. The SHCC had a wonderful program delivered by Aurora College this winter. The Environmental Monitoring course was held with the support of Parks Canada, who lent out their autopsy room. With our limited resources it takes these kinds of partnerships to carry out successful events in the community.

What is unique about Sachs Harbour?

We have always been known as the white fox capital of the world. Our community began around the harvesting of white fox. With the split of Nunavut, we have become the most northerly community in the NWT. We could go on forever about our history, but what makes any community unique is the members and how we interact with the land and animals.

Lawrence and Beverly Amos, Sachs Harbour residents, at a spring camp

Photo by Manny Kudlak

First Inuvialuit Chartered Accountant!

By Eileen Marthiensen

Chauna

(Nasogaluak) Hanson believes “Success has very little to do with where you come from and everything to do with your desire to excel.” She said, “In my opinion, the ability to persevere is a key quality of a successful individual. It is what drives you to continue, even in the most trying of times.”

On November 24, 2006, Chauna obtained her CA (Chartered Accountant) designation after passing the Uniform Final Exam (UFE).

Chauna has been pursuing this title for many years. Her educational accomplishments (and journey!) include a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Business Administration Major from the University of Brandon, Manitoba followed by a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Alberta.

Chauna was born and raised in Tuktoyaktuk until grade 6. She said her grandparents, Joe and Susie Nasogaluak and her mother Ella, taught her strong work ethics. They instilled in her the desire to excel.

The CA Designation requires 30 months of articling along with the requirement to complete 6 modules of study. The Uniform Final Exam requires a candidate to sit for three consecutive days for a total of 13 hours. Chauna is now one of 71,000 CA’s in Canada and the 1st Inuvialuit to obtain this designation.

Chauna was fortunate to be able to article with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada where she participated in the audits of the Government of the NWT, NWT Housing Corporation, WCB of the NWT and NWT Power Corporation. She is currently employed with the Canada Revenue Agency in Edmonton where she resides with her family.

Congratulations Chauna, on all of your outstanding accomplishments. We are all so proud of you!

Chauna Hanson

Photo courtesy of Chauna Hanson

Inuvialuktun Language Immersion Camp

By Renie Arey

Mostpeople in Canada have heard of French immersion. It is easiest to pick up a language when you are surrounded by it every day. What about Inuvialuktun immersion? What better opportunity to learn Inuvialuktun than a language immersion camp, held in the bush? Participants would have to wake up to ‘Ovlaami’ (good morning) and throughout the day pick up phrases like ‘Qairrung ulu’ (give me the ulu – the Inuvialuit woman’s knife). The women learnt these words when they were also taught bush skills like muskrat skinning.

In May, ICC (Inuvik Community Corporation) organized a language immersion camp for its staff. This pilot project was funded by Brighter Futures, and held at Walter and Maureen Elias’ bush camp at Cockney’s Channel on the east side of the MacKenzie River.

The main participants were Shawna Kaglik, Katherine Ciboci, and Mary Inuktalik. They had to learn the basics of the language while they lived off the land. Mary Inuktalik, who was used to the coastline, had an interesting experience picking up a new dialect and the Delta way of preparing food. “It was interesting. I’m from Ulukhaktok, I speak Innuniaqtun originally. I learnt some phrases in Ummarmiutun on this trip.”

These participants learnt everyday words. It was a lot easier to retain memory of the words, as they had to do the actions while the words were used. There were visitors at the camp every day, both elders and youths, who were excited to see the participants’ progress. When the ICS crew visited, participants said that they had learnt how to cook maktak, make doughnuts, and to pluck and cook geese. The two language instructors, Walter and Maureen shared some stories from long ago. “We had a blast, listening to the elders’ storytelling,” said Katherine Ciboci. “There were lots of laughs at this camp, there wasn’t a dull moment.” Her daughter Cheyenne also learnt some Inuvialuktun by coming to the camp.

The participants followed the Uumarmiutun Basic Language Lessons from the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre. It was a good way to review the phrases they learnt during the day. The elders said that two weeks were not enough to teach an entire language, but the participants came away excited to learn more. They feel thankful to the elders for sharing their knowledge.

Do you see any caribou?

Tuttunik tautukpiit?

I see many caribou. Inugiaktuanik tuttunik tautuktunga.

What do you see? Humik tautukpit?

I see a rabbit.

Ukallirmik tautuktunga.

Photos courtesy of Katherine Ciboci

Maureen shows Mary how to cook maktak. Shawna and Kyle take a skidoo ride. Katherine makes doughnuts.

Kyle Conley (L) and Cheynne Carpenter had fun at the language camp!

Babbage Falls

By Adriana Bacheschi Parks Canada

It’s so beautiful! And just going there… you look around and there is so much land! I know that in the old days, people from Aklavik used to spend a lot of time in that area, but being there and looking at all that land…it is hard to believe anyone has ever been there before .

Jane Gordon, after her first

trip

to Babbage Falls.

Tourists to the national parks of the Western Arctic faces some challenges. First of all, it is very expensive to come to the Arctic or to go to the parks. And, most trips that go to the parks are tough trips: hiking or paddling trips of 10 days or more. It means that it has always been hard for people to visit our Arctic national parks. With so few trips going to the parks, it is also hard for local people to get experience and to practice leading interpretive tours and guiding visitors.

The Babbage tour idea started with talks between Artic Nature Tours, Parks Canada and the community of Aklavik. The idea: to try to work co-operatively to develop a tourism product that provided an opportunity for visitors to experience Ivvavik National Park in its cultural and regional context, through a guided day trip.

Parks Canada objectives also were to help a local Inuvialuit-owned business – Artic Nature Tours – to pilot and develop the day trip. The project, as well, aimed at providing opportunities to develop interpretive and guiding skills for local residents and Parks Canada staff that might eventually lead to economic opportunities in tourism.

The idea came through and tours were first offered in 2005. Sarah Rogers, who works for Parks Canada, remembers her first trip into the Babbage, two years ago: “I enjoyed the trip very much. It was a good walk, good scenery. We saw animals and we had good company. We also had a good interpreter, Andy Tardiff. He is from Aklavik and had much traditional knowledge of the falls. He could name mountains, plants, and birds. He could talk about traveling in the land and what people did. Going to the Babbage was like being in a home away from home, because we used to live on the land and we feel at peace in places like that.”

Now in its third year, the Babbage River Fly and Trek trip is an interpretive tour that begins in Inuvik. It begins with a beautiful flight over the Mackenzie Delta, crossing into the Yukon and landing on a high ridge above the Babbage Falls, in the British

Mountains in Ivvavik National Park. Once in the park, the group hikes down to the falls, looking at the scenery and wildlife and the many signs of wildlife. After a few hours on site, the group flies back to Inuvik.

Gerry Kisoun, who guides the Babbage trip for Parks Canada explains why he likes going there: “It is a nice trip and there is always wildlife there. The flight is also great and there is a great view of the falls. It is just good to get to the Babbage. We don’t get there enough.”

Just before the 2007 first public tour, Parks Canada offered a familiarization trip to the Babbage. Parks Canada employees, and Jessie Macleod, who currently works at the Western Arctic Visitor Center, had a chance to visit the area, as well.

Wildlife and wildflowers that are seen include a variety of Arctic species. Flowers change through the season. In late June the hillsides are blue with lupines, while on the dry ridges white mountain avens, the territorial flower of the Northwest Territories, are so abundant that from a distance they look like snow. Caribou are occasionally seen in the distance and on this spring’s familiarization trip a small group of five was seen below the landing strip. Moose and muskox also visit the area. Peregrine and gyrfalcons and many other kinds of birds are often seen as well. A “bear stomp” – a trail of beaten-in bear footprints – is striking evidence of centuries of travel by grizzlies along the river.

Melinda Gillis, who will be leading the trip this summer for Parks Canada for the first time, talked about what she liked the most about that trip: “Seeing those five caribou. I have never been that close to live caribou before. It was really intense for me, especially because they were as curious about us, as we were about them. They looked at us for a while, then moved downwind to get a better scent and then moved on.

When asked if Melinda would recommend this trip to other people, her answer was swift: “Yes! Most definitely. It is a great trip and it’s a way to get into the park at an affordable price!”

The trip has been a good way for staff and others to get to know more about the park and about guiding groups of visitors. Visitors have also appreciated being able to visit the park in a scenic flight, to meet some local people and to have a little taste of the Arctic!

Photo of Siberian Phlox (flowers) by Pat Dunn Photo of Babbage Falls by Jane Gordon

Babbage Falls was named by Sir John Franklin during his second Arctic expedition in 1826 and was one of the first places in the Yukon to acquire an English name. Charles Babbage was a noted British mathematician and founder of the Astronomical Society.

According to historian R.C. Coutts, its local name was "Cook-Keaktok" meaning Rocky River.

Caribou watching group during Babbage Fly and Trek trip.

Photos by Lihua Huang

Who is Nellie Pokiak?

An elder who is young at heart, set on making a difference within her community, especially amongst the youth. She believes children are special and will be the leaders of the future, that they are strong and resilient. She is recently graduated from Justice Studies at Yukon College, and her pursuit of further education, despite a number of challenges, has opened her eyes and mind to the importance of personal growth for all people. She shares her life story with us here, and asserts her belief that building healthy communities is an attainable dream, if people were to work together.

Nellie teaches her grandson Anthony how to hold a freshly netted inconnu fish at her favourite place: the shore of the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk.

My name is Nellie Vera Pokiak. I was born at Stanton, at the mouth of the Anderson River, to Donald Silaotsiak and Ida (Kimiksana). I am the youngest daughter and the third youngest of ten children. We moved to Tuktoyaktuk when I was about two years old. Both my parents were involved with the Catholic Church and instilled in me the importance of listening, of being compassionate and generous with others. My mother’s words were law for me. One of the most important first lessons was to interact with people with kindness, respect and compassion. Relationships take time and patience, and if I did not want to be lonely, I have to learn tolerance. Her advice kept me on the good side of everyone I have met!

My dad died when I was eight, but I can hear his words as clearly today as when he spoke them. He was bedridden by then, and instructing me to light my first fire with one match. When I am lighting a fire for the teaboiling contest during Northern games, I always remember his teaching.

I remember the short willow against my skin if I misbehaved and fought with my siblings. I was taught the value of family. Relatives do not fight. I learnt to sing. Mom hummed when she taught us skills, to dance, sing and story tell.

Mom went to residential school for seven years in Aklavik. She was adopted to Peter Loops, but she returned to Anderson River when she realized her biological parents were still alive. She told me about her long walk home. She described the comforts of having meals, shelter and clothes, comparing these to using her survival skills, getting wood, ice and food. I realized later these are the lessons she prepared me with to find my inner strength.

Ienjoyed school. I was always determined to have my homework done. I remember using a homemade candle, one made from a sardine can, a cloth wick and some melted lard. Other children laughed at my homework smeared with oil stains, but I took pride in its being complete and correct.

I attended school in Tuktoyaktuk at the Federal Day School, then at old Mangilauk School by the ocean. I went to Sir Alexander Mackenzie School for grade six, and attended Samuel Hearne Secondary School for four years. Miss Weir, Mr. McPherson and Mr. Robson helped me as I struggled to accomplish my final grade. I learned that I had the power of choice in whether or not to continue doing well.

As a young woman, I learned the traditional skills of Inuvialuit women, from elders such as Lena Pokiak, Jeannie Keevik, Annie Emaghok, Sarah Mangelana, Lucy Cockney and my mom. I eagerly took in their advice. In our culture, wastage is not accepted. I learned to prepare animals for food and clothing. It is important not to let the animals we hunted spoil and go to waste. These skills were useful to my husband, who was a hunter and fisherman. It requires teamwork to make an income living off the land. The satisfaction we get when a task is completed is rewarding.

The biggest gift in my life is having a partner who accepts me as I am. I’ve had his gentle support through all challenges, and he showed me the wonderment of life and nature. I learned through love to appreciate people, land and animals. I have been hurt and felt emotional pain. It affected how I lived. The compassion I received from the elders and friends helped change my attitude and behavior. Their support made me understand that receiving help is not a weakness but strength.

Life has been good to me, through the blessings of having others in my life. My children were my pillars of strength and at times my teachers. I grew with them, and gained knowledge as they did. As a mother I believe that education is important. The elders taught me to stay busy so that I have no idle time to get into trouble. Today my children and grandchildren are constantly learning whether it be academically or from the land.

I enjoy eating all the delicacies taken from the land and sea. I continue traditional activities like skinning animals for clothing or sales and preparing traditional food. Living on the land with my family gives me the opportunity to teach my children and grandchildren. What I learned was passed on to me so I can in turn teach it to the younger generation. I have showed many youth our traditional ways of preparing ptarmigan, seals, and caribou.

I enjoy promoting our culture through Northern Games, story telling and traditional knowledge. Educating the younger generation helps them build strength and opens them up to the wonder and amazement that the world has to offer.

Children are important because they are the future leaders of our community. As adults, we have the power to demonstrate that living in harmony with nature and other people can build strong individuals. Everyone has a story to tell. The children imitate what they see and hear. Through helping elders and listening to their

Teaching Youth traditional skills (seal skinning) and to have a sense of humour in clowning workshops.

photos courtesy of Nellie Pokiak.

amazing trials they can gain valuable experience.

Ihave never been bored in my life. I have created games, clothing and stories. Reading has opened doors to more worlds. My eyes have seen many beautiful events, geese flying in flocks, with thirteen blue geese at one time! I’ve seen fish of all colours and sizes, and grizzly bears roaming free. I’ve seen and heard beluga whales swimming close to the shores, children laughing at Christmas and Halloween. I enjoy the singing of birds or lapping waves against the beach, the smell of the fresh flowers blowing in the Arctic wind.

These memories came alive, as I got homesick. When I went to college, I would recall my hometown to de-stress. Having lived close to nature strengthened my capacity for endurance.

I have been told some goals are impossible to reach. I do not believe this.

Agroup of us once raised forty thousand dollars in ten months through school activities for a group of 13 students to go to Costa Rica. Father Lemeur, a priest who did a lot for the people of Tuktoyaktuk, taught me to stay committed when I helped him solicit donations. Some people told me it was impossible for me to leave my role as a wife and mother to pursue further education. I was fortunate to have the support of my husband and children, and also my colleagues to overcome obstacles. I climbed a ladder of doubt, fear and loneliness by leaving my comfort zone, but was rewarded with a Northern Justice Certificate and General Studies Diploma from Yukon College.

My goal had always been to return to school when my children were old enough. I returned to Arctic College in Tuktoyaktuk in 1984, where I took a trades program. Then I took a fourteenmonth program in Ft. Smith, as a school counselor. When I was laid off, I decided to take the Criminal Justice Program in

Inuvik, and went further by completing my college program in Whitehorse.

I am past 50 years old. I struggled with at first with my written English, because I had not completed Grade 12. It was strange to be a student and not a professional. It was trying and stressful but I knew I had the power to control the outcome. As a mature student, I learnt from younger students that values and ideas are changing, and the younger students accepted me and learnt from my values.

Irealize that many begin a walk but few finish their goal. I struggled but graduation was special. It felt like a great accomplishment. I encourage all students to graduate and stay in school. I believe that at whatever age college can be accomplished, with the support of the family and friends.

I plan to use my training to help people in trouble, who are facing the justice system, or to pass on what I have learnt to others. I believe that by opening doors and minds about how people are affected by crime or deviant behavior, we can help them to change their paths. Crime affects the whole community, not just the offender or victim. By working with the community, and getting their support, we can help to end the pain. To curb crime, putting someone on the path to healing is more effective than the threat of imprisonment.

Crime has affected our community for too long. Finding creative ways to deal with anger, pain and fear is the key. The youth must listen, watch and work towards helping themselves overcome the negative influences that surround them. There are many mentors who can help and listen. In turn, you can develop skills to help others become better citizens. There are people who care for you. Believe in yourself, reach out and talk about your problems. It is easier than being alone in an isolated cell.

Nellie, with grandson Anthony and husband Frank at her 2007 graduation (Yukon College, Justice Diploma).

Nellie has always been interested in helping youth people.

Anthony gives Nellie a rose at her convocation in Whitehorse.

Qinauva Nellie?

Innak aglan uumartinga nutauruk huli allauguvlugu inna makununa nutaqatigun. Ilihimaruq nutaqat pilparinaktut ilanni hivuliuniaqtut hivuniptingnii, hangirutlu uqalururutlu. Ilitchiarniktuak Justice Studies uvani Yukon Iliharvikpanganni iliffarugtuk, ilanni hangirinaktut inna ilitchiruk qanuq innuit hutilangit pikparinaktut. Quliaktunga uvaptingnun quliaraa innaptauk ihumavluni nakutquvlugit nakuruamun, ilugatting inuit havakpatta.

Quliaktuautaa Nellitigun

Uvanga atiga Nellie Vera Pokiak, Annimaruanga Stantonmi Anderson Riveram aullaniihangani ukunanga Donald Silousiaklu unalu Ida Kimiksanaminlu Pingayurunga nakaklinin makua qulit nutqanginin. Nutuarut Tuturaqtumun malruk ukiunikgama.

Ilagga ilugatik ikayururuk Kalliinii ahiin ilitchuanga naallirnigmiklu allat inuit nakuaquvlugiit. Aagaa uqautchingit huangaruat. Alaat inuit paglautilautanaktutlu nakuagutigunlu. Ina illagiktuni qilamiirualaniatchuk ahiin aglan ilingmiguagungitguma, allanun manulugigniaqtuna. Ilitatgaa nakunmun irluapqaganga humiligga Inuit paakgapqit.

Aapagaa tukuruak tallimat pingahunugamma, aglan uvlupaktun tuharhugigaa nippa uqaqtuaman. Inna ikitchuugaa iknik atauhimik ikutimik. Itqarugigaa tamna ukkumarakmatta, nittiligaurakmattalu.

Ilihautrirauruaga ilanagma ilitkuhinginik, iliriit qinna Taitchut. Atulahiruanga. Aagarga ilihautimatigut mumirnimik, aturnirmiklu qulliatunuklu.

Aagarga iliharvingmituak takkimat pingahunni Aklarvingmi. Tiruakimaruak Peter Loopsmun aglan utiktuak angayukapiamingnun ilitchurigami inuruak Anderson rivermingani Aqautigangani pihukatak pauraruruak ainmun.

Qanuqtuak nirilautaruman igluutauk, annuaratlu, makuaatun ingitchut inuniarugami, qiruktargami hikuhaiklu, niqirtirgunlu: Ilitchuriruanga Makua ilitgarlugit. Atuaratgiit.

Iliharvingminama nakuarigga. Iliharvingmin Havatqa iimarvingmi nunguniaruritgaa patqurralianiq atururuanga, unnalu sardine punga, calicumiklu, larrmiklu atlat nutaqqat iglaktuak tuatuggamirung ugruggaman Havatka nungutchuritga iluamnuntalag piniarluggit. Iliharniargtuanga Tuturaqtummi atinga Federal Day School, mkahiintuuk Mangilaluk iliharvialungani tarium hinani. Uvungagtunga Sir Alexander Mackenzie School maungagtuanga iliharvingmin itcharrani ahiin tauk uvani Samual Herne Secondary School hihamanik ukiuni. Miss Weirlu, Mr. Macphersonlu unalu Mr. Robson ikayugangani ilaani huiliugamma nunguniarlugit ilihautrat. Inna ilitchuanga uvamnun ihummarvlunga huhukguma taina pilautaklunga aglantual pilautarungitguma.

Agnauraugama makua havangit ilitatga makununnanin innaitnin Lena Pokiaklu Jeannie Keeviklu, Annie Emagoklu Sarah Mangelanaminlu, Lucy Cockneyminlu ahiintauk Aagangmininlu ilihautringit ilitnialugit. Innuniarutiptingni igitchilaitchurut. Ilitchuanga qanuq nirrutit niqingitnik havarutingitnik. Tuvagatingma

Photos

1 Nellie Pokiak qulit itcharrat ukiunik inaami.

2 Nellim angayugangi

3 Nellilu Franklu (uiinga) nutaugamik. Atigiting atugangik Nellim pilliagik.

ikayugangi anguniartauruklu igalungnirtauruktauk. Innahavangnaktuk ikayutilugit manga nunamin pihuktunni. Pilautaktuni nakulaktuk taimaktuni havanik

Una angirnirrak inuniartimni ilannagaa pikparivlunga qanuq itilamnin. Ikayuuganga qanuligga ahiintauk tautuktilunga qanuq inuniarutiptingniklu nunapta qanutilangalu. Ilitchuagaa nakuaqutigunlu inuungnunlu nunalu nirrutinunlu.

Annikkimaurunga ilumnintauk. Innuniarutigaa alunguktuak. Ikayumangga Inait ilanamintauk ikayugangani innuniarutigga. Ikayugangani ganuq itillagaa hanginnamalu.

Innuniarutigaa nakuruk allat inuit ikayumatta. Nutaqqatga ikayulunga ilihautivlungalu. Agliutivlugitlu ilihaklungalu ilingmiggutuak.

Aagaugamma ilautri iliharvingmi pikparginaktug. Innait ilihautikgangani havaluktukguvlunga kinnakganiargitchungaguug. Uvlupak Nutaqqatgalu tutitchiargalu ilihaktuapiarurut havakvingmiluni nu nanptingnilu.

Nakurrut nirriruni nunaptingnin tariuminlu. Nirrutinik havarurunga annuaranik, tunniaraniktauk manni nirrutit niqingitniktauk.

Nunami Inuniagaptaa nutaqqatgalu tutitchiatgaa lu ilititchiniarugitgaa. Huna ilitatga nutaqanun litiniarii. Ilihautriruanga qarriit halumautingitniklu natchiniklu tutunuiklu.

Tunniaraniktauk havaklugit makua nigit ingilaratun. Nunami innuniartunni ilatgalu ilitchirhigitga tamani nutaqatgalu tutichiartgalu. Hunna ilitchurigaraa innum uvamnun pikganga ahiin makua nutat nutaqat ilihautihuklugit. Ilihautiangigtuanga nutaqanun qanuq qarigimik halumaininga, nitchitlu, tututlu.

Nakurira innuniarutivut ilitchuriniartilturit ukuna Northern Gamestigun, qilliaqtualungalu makununa innuniarutiptiguntauk. Ilihaurrat nataqat ikayururi ihumating iluanmun ihumatingtauk angmaktuatun alagayanik tautungniartuat ikayutirat.

Nutaqat pikparinaqtut ilanni hivuniptingni atangaurauniaqtut inniptingni. Uvagut innauraugut inna pilartirunlut innunaruta nakuruatigun ukununatigun nunaptirunlu alatauk inuit ilingmitigun aularnihaniaqtut hianganmun. Innuitgug quliaqtuakaktut.

Nutaqat tuhargaminiklu, tautugaminiklu, ivruagurut. Ikayupating innait nallaklugi hummutilangit ilitchuriniaqtut nutilaraginik. Aliahuliatchinga innuniargama, piuaraliulunga, annuariniqtauk qulliaktuaniktauk. Tairuqtuni upkuat angmarnaqtut tavunga alagayanun nunanun.

Iriga taututuak nakuyunaqtuanik hummata, Kangurauit tingiruat, ukuatlu, qulit pingahunik blue kangunik atatchimi! Tautuktuanga alakayanik galungnik angiraanik, aklalu tamani pihukataktuak.

Tautuktuangaptuaq gilalugamik pufraktuat atrium hinani nutaqat iglaktuak Qitchirvingmilu Halloweenmilu, Tuhayunaqtuq tingmiaruit nivliramata makuatlunni qilirman hinani, niruniptauk nautchiarnik manni annirlium Manni aulatitangi.

Makua itqauhit itqatga aihuligamaq, iliharagiagtuanga collegemun, Inna uqautimaranga ilangitgug nurarat pilaitgivut. Tamna uvpirigitgiigaa.

Inuriahlutta katitahiraegut $40,000.00 qulit tatqiqiumi makununa iliharvingmiung hutilangitinik qulit pingahut nutaqat Costa Rica mungniaqtut.

Father Lemeur, minihitak ikayugangi tutukaqtumiut, ikayuguvlunga ataramik huniligaa atchuimata. Inuit ilangit innakgangani pilaautarniagitchutin tuvagatigalutinlu aagauvlutinlu iliahfarniaruviit.

1 Nellilu Franklu munargigangik qanuq itilangit qaluit.

2 Nulaktugtuat ilatinglu

These pages (28, 29) photos courtesy of Nellie Pokiak.

Tuvargatimalu, nutaqamalu igaymatta makurauk makuaptauk ilihairitiqatitka natchipkaktin mangaa, pilluktuanga iikitigunlu innilautagaa unitchakapku Northern Justice Certificate unlalu General Studies Diploma Yukon Collegemi pumarri nakuruk.

Inna ilihmarhuruanga nutaqatka aglrurakpatta iliharhatqingniartunga. Utiktuanga Arctic College tuturaqtumi 1984mi, allakayanik ilituanga. Ahiin, qulit hihamini iliharvingmi councilor Fort Smithmi.

Taimaktinmanga havavingmin ihumaruanga una ilitchirlugu Criminal Justice Program Inuvingmi, College havangit nungniarlugit Whitehorse muktuanga.

50ukiungit kangiritgaa. Aglangniargama pilautalautchunga illani Grade twelve nungunkiluruu. Allauruq iliharniartuni ilihimakpaktuatungilak. Yayanaqtuk hangihiktuni aglan nungilulgit ihumargagtuanga. Ilihihaqaqama ilituanga nutaqat illituatauq uvamnin innuniarutimnik.

Illitchuriruanga pihukataktuni ilangit nungitchi laitchut. Ilani huiliutuanga aglan nungitchguma iliharvingmi nakukpauraktuk. Uvamnun ihumaranga pianikgitgaa pihuqatgaa. Nutaqat iliharvingmi havating natluggut, iliharvinhmuktuarutin. Qanuq ukiukaraluarurit una College nungalarin, ukuat ikayukpatin ilantinlu ilanatinlu

Huut ilatatgaa ikayuniarniaritgaa pilautangitchuat ukakitarniartuataug, makaatauk ilitatgaa alanun ilitquvluggit. Makuat innuit pilautangivut innuniarangit alungunglugulpiyaqualaruat manni inniptingnituk iluitchivluta qanga tarma. Makua immihaunlu, anniaaklu qanuq havarlugit qanuligga.

Nuttaqat nalakummilu nipikturuminglu ikayutilutinglu hiunaart igun. Alat ikayularuat mallalaruatauk. Ilivitauk ikayularin alakayat humma nakuriggatin. Ilingnun ukpirilutin, alanun aqaqatilurit huna pigatin. Tainna nakulaktuk inakilak ishiktavingmi alianaqtuq.

Nellim ilangit.

Nellim ilangit.

Thank you Shorty, we had a good day of fun!

Ida Aivek makes bannock and tea.

Annie Inuktalik fleshes the blubber off seal skin.

Youths gather around at Doris Rogers at the jamboree.

Children look for krill in the water.

James Rogers, Jimmy Komeak and Albert Elias catch up with each other.

Jamboree Royalty, (L-R) The princess is Carmella Klengenberg, Prince - Brendon Kanayok, the King - Albert Kuneluk, and Queen - Kathy Inuktalik!

Kingalik Jamboree

Whatbegan as a sports day back in the mid 1960s in Ulukhaktok is now known as the Kingalik Jamboree. In 1970, a chartered DC3 made two trips to Ulukhaktok. At that time the landing strip was practically located in the middle of town. I remember seeing a crowd of people coming to greet the plane as it came to a stop very close to the houses. I have fond memories of this first meeting. The friendly hospitality and the scenery surrounding the tiny Victoria Island community impressed me deeply. The tradition goes on today, the Kingalik Jamboree is a time to celebrate and welcome the coming of summer, a three-day fun filled event. Some of the activities are games, outings, outdoor feasting, and dancing. Kingalik [meaning has a nose] is an Inuvialuktun word for the male eider duck that has a distinctive orange “lump” between the beak and the eyes.

On friday, June 15th the jamboree got underway at the school gym with opening speeches by the mayor and the 2006 Kingalik queen, prince, and princess. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony. There were fun games for all ages as well. This was followed by performances by the central and western drum dance groups. Popular singer Doris Rogers and her father James Rogers had the crowed cheering with her beautiful voice. After some great fiddle music by James Rogers, a teen dance was held at the community hall.

Photos and Words

By Albert Elias

Although it was overcast with a brisk northwest wind, adults and children enjoyed the outdoor activities on Saturday and Sunday. There were even some light snow flurries over the weekend. The traditional duck hunt at Masuuyaq and other activities scheduled there were cancelled because of unsafe ice conditions. Most of the sea ice near Ulukhaktok had drifted away in early May.

The events were held downtown where all the country food was cooked over open fires. Boiled maktak, caribou soup, duck soup, musk-ox soup, fish and seal meat, wow! It can’t be beat. Eating freshly cooked bannock with hot tea will pick you up and never let you down! There were also bike and foot races for all ages, “tug o’ war,” duck plucking, fish filleting, bannock making and tea boiling. The seal skinning, fleshing and pegging contest was a hit as usual. The main event was the scavenger hunt for a prize of forty-five gallons of gasoline. This one had us scurrying around in all directions.

Some elders told stories about the earlier days when many visitors would come to the jamborees. They would like that to happen again. With more advance advertising, public relations and promoting I think more people would come to visit our community. This jamboree was also held in memory of the late Clarence Bruce Brown, better known to many of his friends as “Shorty”. He helped start sports day back in the 1960s here in Ulukhaktok (Holman). I quote from eulogy by John H. Parker, “Shorty was most passionate about kids minor hockey. To that end, he promoted programs and provided opportunities for many northern kids to experience the game that Shorty loved.”

June 15-17, 2007

Caribou meat and vegetable stir fry.

Golf putting contest.

Agnes Aleekuk makes stirfry.

Pipeline hopefuls flock to Inuvik

Mixed moods at this year’s petroleum show

Photos

and

words by Terry Halifax

The mood at this years’ Inuvik Petroleum Show was an odd mix of pessimism, guarded optimism and bold confidence.

Following a massive new cost projection for the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP), the trade show participants kept a brave face in the pall of the new $16.2 billion cost estimate and news of another possible regulatory delay.

Inuvilauit Regional Corporation Chair and CEO Nellie Cournoyea opened the show with a cheery welcome to participants and a hopeful message that the pipeline project will proceed.

Noting the delays and huge costs of regulation, Cournoyea conveyed sympathy to those working towards the completion of the pipeline, suggesting some compensation.

too much potential for all of us and all of North America. There is no other alternative.”

Randy Ottenbreit, Resource Development Executive with Imperial Oil Ltd., delivered an eye-opening slideshow and presentation on the massive regulation and hearings the proponents have undergone.

“After Nellie’s words, I should declare that I make this presentation under legal duress,” Ottenbreit joked. “I also thought that after 143 days of hearings and 15,000 pages of transcripts, I was the subject of mental cruelty.”

Ottenbriet went on to provide an update on the hearings with the National Energy Board (NEB) and the Joint Review Panel (JRP). He noted that the NEB finished their hearings with a compilation of about 33,000 pages and the JRP record exceeds 100,000 pages and counting.

“There will be a significant effort required for the Joint Review Panel to develop their report from these hearings,” he said. Ottenbreit described the massive permitting process that’s proven to be a daunting task for the project lead. Over 9,000 individual permits are required, he said, adding that many are not complicated, but they are a time consuming and expensive – regulation costs will likely exceed $45 million.

Fred Carmichael, President of the Gwich’in Tribal Council and Chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, gave a rousing welcome and drew applause with a very heartfelt address.

Making a comparison between the “old government and new government,” Carmichael credited the former Liberal government with the access and benefits agreement, skills employment and training, the Pipeline Readiness Office and a $500 million socio-economic fund.

“Those are the things our previous government has done for this project, so this new government has some catch-up to do, and I’m confident that they will,” Carmichael said. “I’ve met with [Indian and Northern Affairs] Minister Prentice and he is committed to the pipeline; the producers are committed to the pipeline; APG is committed to the pipeline and all of you here are committed to the pipeline -- so it will go forward.”

Premier Joe Handley was also confident in the project and said the GNWT has and will remain committed to doing all they can to get the MGP moving forward.

“There’s only so much gas in the world; there’s only so much gas in North America and we don’t have alternatives right now,” Handley said. “It’s a project that’s gone too far and has

The Cooperation Plan established an original schedule which forecasted the JRP hearings would be completed in 11 months but Ottenbreit said it’s already been 22 months and there has yet to be a final schedule announced.

On June 6, the JRP announced that they planned to soon be releasing the schedule dates for remaining hearings, but that schedule has been put on hold, pending a new motion filed by the Sierra Club of Canada (SCC) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Although the JRP had requested additional scenario-based information on Dec. 3, 2004 and again on July 18, 2005, the SCC/WWF motion wasn’t filed until June 6, 2007.

The motion requests that the JRP “commission an independent scenario-based cumulative effects assessment … and ensure it’s distributed in advance of the cumulative effects hearings.”

On June 21, both the GNWT and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs had filed positions with the JRP, asking that the SCC/WWF motion be dismissed, because that type of a request is outside the scope of the JRP mandate. Further, conducting a separate independent study, complete with community hearings, would take months to complete.

“We’d like to see some of those dollars go to people in the industry,” Cournoyea joked. “To us, it’s a cruelty issue because many of us have been through it all before. I want to give notice to Randy Ottenbreit and the representatives of Imperial Oil that if they don’t do everything to get the pipeline built, we’re going to sue them for mental cruelty.”

Randy Ottenbreit

It’s been rumored that the federal government may be interested in taking an equity position in the pipeline, but Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Jim Prentice told oil and gas producers at an Ottawa energy conference on June 7, that the feds have no interest in buying into the pipeline, but would be open to assuming some risk in the project.

“This pipeline must be driven by private sector, free market forces,” Prentice said. “It must be competitive with alternative gas supply options available to the proponents and to potential future shippers.”

Prentice said the government will help the project through the regulatory process, and will also continue work on a corporation that will help mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the MPG, adding that the feds would be willing to examine other options such as committing to gas shipping contracts, reducing royalties and taking gas in lieu of royalties.

“(The Mackenzie Gas Project) is inextricably connected to our destiny as an energy superpower,” Prentice said, adding,

“No one has pulled out, and that includes the government of Canada.”

APG President Bob Reid bristled at the news of the new twist in the regulatory drama.

“The regulatory process is certainly taking a lot longer than any of us had anticipated,” Reid said. “Conclusion of that phase is the highest priority for proponents.”

The next move for the proponents, he said, is to get together to discuss Prentice’s comments and work towards a solution.

“We remain optimistic that the pipeline will be built and that APG will be a part of it.”

“North America needs this natural gas. Traditional sources are declining and Mackenzie gas is the closest to the North American market – you just have to connect the dots.”

“It’s going to happen.”

The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation’s large collection of booths was abuzz with activity during the 7th Annual Inuvik Petroleum Show.

IRC Chair and CEO Nellie Cournoyea shares a laugh and presents a cheque for $500,000 to Inuvik’s Aurora College Campus Director Miki O’Kane and college President Maurice Evans. The money is part of a $2 million project that will, effectively, put a trade school in a semi-trailer, to deliver training throughout the Beaufort Delta.

The Sharing of “A Place Of My Own”

by Johanna Skibsrud

Patrick is one of the ten participants in the New Horizon’s Skills Link program whose creative writing will be included in the publication entitled, “A Place of My Own.” Over 1000 copies are set to be distributed to libraries and literacy groups across Canada in July. “When I write it’s to write something that I’ve got to talk about, and let other people know what we’re going through down this way,” Patrick says.

The project was developed as part of the Skills Link Literacy program in order to showcase the work of the participants over the course of the program. At first, some of the participants thought that the project would be too much work; others thought that they had nothing to say. But, as they progressed through the writing workshops, an increasingly large and valuable body of work began to develop. It became clear that it was important to share that work.

What is writing for? According to Andrew Bernhardt, who shared stories about what it was like growing up in Inuvik and what he learned from his family and community, we write so that “other people can read what we say, and know about us, and about what is going on up here.” Writing means more communication, Andrew says, and more communication means more friendship among people across Canada.

“It’s good to write about yourself and your community,” says Leona Arey, who shared poetry and letters that she had written over the course of the literacy workshops. “It’s good to share it with everyone else, and let other people know that we still can save our culture.”

A Place All My Own

By Suveni Dillon

I finally got a place all my own A tiny little place that I call home, And I’m showing you how I’m all grown up now.

I’m standing here for all to see The woman I was meant to be, And I’m showing you all I’m a hundred feet tall.

I was doubted and they put me down, I would talk about it and they would frown, And I don’t know how, But I’m showing them now.

I’m standing here for all to see The woman I was meant to be, And I am showing you all I’m a hundred feet tall.

The publication is funded through the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre, in association with the Canadian Council on Learning, with support from the Inuvik Youth Centre. The funding comes from an annual grant, entitled the “Call for Knowledge Exchange,” which is available to literary and artistic ventures that attempt to bridge boundaries and communicate between groups and regions in Canada. Programs like Skills Link are opportunities for youth to learn from teachers and community leaders, but “A Place All My Own” is testament to the fact that the community has much to learn from our youth as well.

“All of us here, we weren’t into writing at all,” Mishelle Furlong – who is publishing two poems – says, “but I think pushing it more for us, it helps us, because a lot of us don’t really speak our minds, you know. A lot of people carry lots of things, and I think that it’s best to write it down on paper, because then at least it comes out. And it’s all true from the inside.”

“I’m proud of myself and I’m proud of my team,” Mishelle goes on to say. “They’ll see something that’s going to be published around Canada, and I hope they’re proud of themselves, too. Like, “Hey! I wrote this!” And maybe down the road, who knows, if we continue to write, we can continue to share our work. A lot of cultures are different. Me, being from the Delta, I have respect for a lot of my people, and my land, and everything. Communication is the only way to be heard, and it’s very important, because people don’t read minds. If we don’t communicate, then nothing goes good. Everyone’s just running in circles, getting frustrated and getting confused.”

The title of the publication is taken from the song above, by Suveni Dillon. Suveni performed the song herself at the Skills Link graduation on June 29, 2007.

The publications are on sale at the Inuvik Youth Centre for 5$ each, all proceeds to the Youth Centre.

“You learn new stuff every time you write something,” says Patrick Bodnar. “About what you’re thinking, and who you are.”

Suveni Dillon perfroms her song at the Skills Link graduation dinner.

On the Job with the New Horizons Skills Link Program

by Johanna Skibsrud

After spending three months learning and working together at the Inuvik Youth Centre, the ten participants in the Service Canada funded New Horizons Skills Link program went their separate ways…

From May 28 th until June 14th each of the participants took part in a work experience placement with a local organization or business.

We caught up with Linda Ann Firth while she was playing a game of catch at the boat launch on a sunny day in early June as part of her work with Ingamo Halls Elder Day programs. Linda’s placement also included catering, office and receptionist duties, and planning and preparing for youth programs and Aboriginal Day events.

Andrew Bernhardt and Greg Taylor could be found cleaning and sanding boats and vehicles at Northwind Industries body shop, while Kathleen McDonald answered telephones, filed, and managed Northwind’s body shop office space. “You like my work outfit?” She asked, and twirled around, showing off her coveralls.

Mishelle Furlong could be seen checking out books, working with the after school programs, and stacking the shelves at the Inuvik Centennial Library. After the program Mishelle plans to stay on as a casual worker, while she continues her education. “If I want I could go in and help with the After-School program,” she says. “I like the people that I work with, they’re friendly, and it’s fun. I’m sure they could use some help, so I’m offering to help them out.”

“ I like it because it’s time with kids, and also with my daughter.”

Jessica Stewart , who would like to study biology someday, got to work alongside the biologists at the Gwich’in Renewable Resource board, and even had the opportunity to write a couple of articles that will appear in GRRB’s upcoming publication.

Patrick Bodnar, who worked at Arctic Storage and Rental for the three-week period, was hard to get a hold of. He spent much of his time in the crawl-space underneath the hospital, “doing a lot of bending around.” It was hard work, but Patrick enjoyed it and plans to return to work with Arctic Storage immediately after his graduation. “They told me I could go back after, and said they’re looking forward to it, and I am too. I like that job. It was something that I could do, something that I like to do.”

Suveni Dillon was another participant difficult to track down. She was often out in the MATCO trucks, delivering materials, and helping with packing and distributing. She had some tough looking bruises to show off from her hard work, and said proudly that she was learning to lift with her knees. Suveni has a job lined up with MATCO, and says she’d be happy to start the day after the New Horizons program ends. “Or maybe after that weekend,” she laughs.

We found Sherra Lyn Allen and Leona Arey flying homemade kites at Curtis Park. The two participants worked for the Aboriginal Headstart Group, and spent very full days helping out with the programming there. For Leona Arey,

Johanna Skidsrud photo

Andrew Bernhardt

Leona Arey

Greg Taylor

Kathleen McDonald

this experience gave her an insight into what she wants to do in the future. Before the Skills Link program, “I would never have thought of working (at Aboriginal Headstart), I didn’t even know they had that.” Now, she says that she would like to go back to school and take TAPS (Teacher Access Program), and continue to work for the IRC funded program.

Leona added that another possibility she would consider for her future would be working for a program like Skills Link. “I had a good experience here,” she said. “I think other people should have it, too. We should bring it to other communities.”

Although a success rate of five or six graduates is common for Skills Link programs across Canada, there were no fewer than ten New Horizons graduates walking down the aisle on June 29th at the ceremony hosted by Ingamo Hall. The graduation was well attended by the community and heartfelt speeches by graduates were met with loud applause, and a few tears.

Half of the graduates have been offered full time work by their work placement employer after the program, and the other half plan on returning to school in the fall. “I’m so proud of myself, and my team,” says Mishelle. “We all worked hard, and here’s the result.” Now that the program is over, the participants will again go their separate ways, but the connection that they made with each other over the course of the program will remain. “We can remind each other to stay strong,” says Mishelle, “and complete our goals.”

Skills Link graduates pose for a triumphant shot: Patrick Bodnar, Linda Firth, Sherra Lyn Allen, Andrew Bernhardt, Suveni Dillon, (Fred Arey- Skills Link coordinator), Leona Arey, Mischelle Furlong, Greg Taylor, Kathleen McDonald and Jesica Stewart.

Patrick Bodnar shares his happiness with his family!

Ulukhaktok Career Fair a success

“Haha, this was loads of fun. Let’s do it every month,” said Alice Kimiksana, student of the Helen Kalvak school in Ulukhaktok. She was talking about the 2007 Ulukhaktok Career Fair. It was held on May 2nd in the Helen Kalvak Elihakvik School gymnasium.

Months before the event happened, a Career Fair Committee was formed to come up with many wonderful ideas and suggestions for the event. We had a large group of presenters. Representatives were sent from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, RCMP, Mark Emerak Health Center, Olokhaktokmiut Hunters and Trappers Committee, Ulukhaktok Adventures Limited, Ulukhaktok Community Corporation, Northern Student Education Initiative, NWT Library Services, Mackenzie Gas Project, Stanton Territorial Health Authority, IRC, and the Hamlet of Ulukhaktok. There was even a speaker from the University of Florida!

The younger students responded very well to the booths that had interactive activities. The Health Centre staff had a blood pressure monitor for the students to try. This held their attention while the presenters explained their jobs.

The R.C.M.P. Officers had a training video showing along with a bulletproof vest and hat that the students could try on, so they could actually picture themselves as a member of the RCMP.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation table had local artists who demonstrated the art of printmaking. The Wellness table had a lot of informational material as well as a display of different drugs. The display was very informative and gave the students the straight facts about drugs and how they can harm you.

The Northern Student Education Initiative table had a lot of material from post-secondary institutions and helpful, practical information for students who are considering attending a postsecondary institution.

The IRC Community Development Division table had an informative video on the health fields. The Ulukhaktok Community Corporation and Self Government table had information about their organization and insightful pamphlets and videos. They also had DVD’s to distribute about a leadership trip.

The NWT Medical Association table had information on health and safety and was also very much liked by the students. Dr. Kandola provided the students the opportunity to listen to each other’s hearts with a stethoscope.

Peter Colins attended on behalf of the University of Florida and brought along his laptop computer. He showed a slide show of the work and research that he has been doing.

The Hamlet of Ulukhaktok table gave out applications for summer jobs. Student jobs were also open for the Fisheries Joint Management Commission.

Students also picked up forms for Social Insurance Numbers and birth certificates. Additionally there was information on how to get resumes started and sheets with job interview tips.

A general assembly was held for students of the school and all members of the public. A presentation was made by Mayor Peter Malgokak to the Career Fair Logo Contest Winner –Shania Goose. Shania received a certificate and a cheque for $100.

After the presentation, elders and community members performed the traditional drum dances of Ulukhaktok. The drum dance performances were most appreciated by the presenters, students and members of the public. The students of Helen Kalvak School were keen to join in on the drum dancing too! The people of Ulukhaktok were welcoming, and had good conversations with out of town vistors. Everyone came away impressed with the information they received!

Photos and words by Karen Kitekudlak

Nelson Kununa tries on the RCMP hat and vest, impressing his friends Hailey Akoakhion and Jayden Oloakyok.

Mayor Peter Malgokak presents prizes to logo contest winner, Shania Goose.

Area

328.8 km² (127 sq mi)

Population

504,635

The [McPhooer’s] Fun Guide to Dresden, Germany

By Ashtyn McLeod and Zoe Ho

Fort McPherson youth rock the Zwinger Palace in Dresden! These youth were in Germany to learn about environmental solutions, as well as to experience another culture.

(L-R) Jeffery Robert, Daniel Robert, Tony McDonald, Wade Vaneltsi, Jocelyn Blake, Shayla Snowshoe, Janelle Wilson, Jennifer Greenland, Ashtyn McLeod, Gladys Alexie (teacher), Jaksun Grice (teacher) and Judith (German tour guide!)

How to get there:

From Inuvik travel first to Old Crow, then to Norman Wells, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Calgary and Frankfurt before finally arriving in Dresden. It was a total of five flights, 4,086 miles, and over 24 hours of travel...and some of us have never even flown before!

When we got to Dresden, it was 3am in Fort McPherson but 6 pm in Dresden and we had to meet our host families at the office of Wilderness International right away! (Wilderness International is the German environmentalist non-profit organization who invited us here). We are bleary-eyed from jet lag, and a little nervous. The host families come with gifts and smiles, and call us their “children” when they introduce themselves.

In the days that follow, through the many activities arranged by Wilderness International, and the evenings and weekends spent

First meeting: Ashtyn (L) and Christine’s (R) guinea pigs!

First meeting: Shayla’s host family, Familie Muster (L-R) Daddie, Carol, Shayla (with a rose from her family), and Mommie.

Captain Wade?!

with our hosts, we get comfortable with our new German “relations.”

Culture Shock:

Dresden means “people of the riverside forest,” and it is the capital cit y of the state of Saxony, in Germany. Situated in a valley on the Rive r Elbe , Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Kings of Saxony. You can see their cultural influence in Dresden’s architecture and art. Janelle, my schoolmate says: “It’s like stepping into pages of a story book.”

Still, it is hard being away from home. Fort McPherson has about 900 people to Dresden’s 504,635, and although city life feels weird at first, we get used to it soon enough. All in all, this experience makes me want to learn more, and to go further in life. I am curious to know what else is out there in the world! It’s true that being away makes me feel homesick, but I’ll catch on. I can always call my mum and talk to my friends on Bebo!

Where to Stay

I’ve never stayed with strangers before, and I was sort of scared about that before I got to Dresden. It was really nice of my host sister, Christina, to lend me her room, while she slept in the cellar. I would be scared of sleeping in a cellar because we don’t

have one at home.

We all came back from the first night of homestay with interesting stories! Tony lives in a mansion by the river, and Jeffery’s host dad is an artist. My host brother is mad about Canada. His room is filled with maps and books about Canada, and even his bedsheets have moose patterns! I saw my first guinea pig. I was relieved to find out they were small, and not actually “pig-sized”!

Food and Drink

I know I’m in a different country and I should try to experience different foods, but I find it hard to cope with the fact that my host family hardly eats any meat. In our Northern diet we eat caribou and other meat regularly. Germans eat bread as much as we Northerners eat meat. They eat bread with everything, and their bread feels drier and grainier than our bread. Traditional foods in Germany are very different from our caribou soup! One evening our program went to a restaurant called Sophiekeller, to try the

Jeffery and Tuna at the Bosslet home (host family).

Symbols on traffic lights wear hats!

Jennifer stops for a picture on the quaint streets of Seiffen, a small village.

Dresden’s Frauenkirche, a beautiful church that was rebuilt after the World War II bombings.

traditional German fare. The restaurant was converted from the dungeon of an old palace, and one room looked like the set of “Beerfest” the movie. The dishes were complicated, and had potato dumplings the size of my fist. Wade and Daniel shared a platter of fowl with five different kinds of birds in it!

Our host families are very kind, though, and when some of us missed the soft white bread that we are used to eating, they bought it for us.

Dinner at the Sophiekeller Restaurant. The restaurant is originally a dungeon of the King’s palace.

Wade and Daniel shared the platter with five kinds of fowl!

A dining room that looks like the set of the movie Beerfest

We also view drinking differently. I’ve noticed that back home drinking is viewed negatively, because some people binge drink. In Dresden, people usually stop when they’ve had enough. Some of our host-parents would have a few glasses of wine at dinner, but they still behaved responsibly. Daniel saw an eight-year-old kid share some beer with his parents at the soccer game, and in Neustadt (New Town), we saw people having beers on the streets. Young people were not IDed in bars. At first I felt that it was crazy, and that people could get away with anything!

It’s just different from what we are used to. In Canada we take drinking pretty seriously, and we have strict speed limits. In Germany there is no speed limit on the highway, which I think could be a bit dangerous. Everyone has their own ways of seeing things. Who knows? Maybe we’re the crazy ones, I don’t know!

The people

At first it seems fun that most Germans don’t understand English that well and speak their own language all the time, but then it gets frustrating. According to some Germans, we don’t speak ‘proper’ English (~honestly?! Haha), because we come from the North. Anyway, it is sometimes hard for my host family to understand me. When they don’t know how to say something in English they go to a dictionary and come back with a really big English word and I have to go, ‘umm…yeah’. It’s pretty funny actually.

I tell my host family that Germans are lucky to be fluent in their own language because we Northerners are losing ours, along with many other parts of our culture. I learn to say “nein”(no) and “danke!” (thank you). I want to know so much about the German culture, and the Germans all want to know about mine.

Shayla found out the Germans are not shy to show off some skin!

Having a “Waving Contest”: The girls compete to see who gets the most responses from passerby.

Boat ride down the Elbe River.

Jennifer and Julia, a host sister!

I want to be able to take it all in, but it is hard because of our language difference. After a while, though, my host sister and I find ways of talking and gesturing with body language.

It is hard for my host family to picture my home in Fort McPherson. We have so much wildlife in the North but when a single bear was sighted in Germany last year it made the headlines because it was the first brown bear to be seen in 170 years! It’s hard to tell my host family about caribou because they can’t even begin to imagine them.

Transportation

Jeffery says the roads here are narrow, that it would be hard to get around with a truck. Maybe that’s why we don’t see many trucks in Germany. Instead, people drive small vehicles. Jennifer’s host family has a Smart Car, which burns less gas. “There’s lots of bikes here too,” Janelle says. “No matter what people are wearing, they ride bikes. Maybe that’s why we hardly saw anybody who’s overweight.”

Everyone loved the soccer game in Berlin! We were not familiar with the teams that played, but cheered our hearts out anyway. There were 45,000 spectators that day!

In Dresden, everything feels so planned. In Fort McPherson, we “go with the flow” a lot more. Even the people seem organized, they have a schedule for when they wake up, and seem to know what they want to do with their lives.

It is so busy here. You are sure to bump into someone if you step out on the street. In McPherson we might not see another person for miles if we choose to walk out on our land! Also, everybody knows each other in Fort McPherson. If you walk down the road, you’ll get ten hello’s...but in Germany you will hardly be greeted on the street. We had fun with the fact that people didn’t know us, though. We waved at lots of people along the river when we went on a boat ride in Berlin. Shayla and Jennifer had a good laugh.

Places To See, And Things To Do: Soccer

For all of us, it’s the soccer game that’s the highlight of the trip! Most of us play soccer everyday at home. Before we went to Dresden, Shayla, Tony and I played at Super Soccer, a tournament

A soccer fan’s car!

in Yellowknife for twenty teams across the NWT. Our team came in third in the ‘fifteen and under’ category, and won ‘Most Outstanding team’. We are crazy about soccer, just like most Germans!

When we get to the stadium in Berlin, we hear the fans chanting. There are fifty-four thousand spectators that day, about fifty-four hundred times more people than in Fort McPherson!

Holocaust Memorial

The holocaust memorial is like a maze. There are four sides to enter and exit from, but to get from one side to another you have to walk through towering gray concrete blocks that seem to close in on you, and make you feel trapped. It really made me reflect on the terror the holocaust victims felt because it made me feel lost, and no matter where I moved, I always seemed to stay in the same place.

Shopping

I think I went a little crazy when I went shopping. We all did. The trends are two to three years ahead of ours, which is awesome! They have the best shoes and clothes. I saved up money back home before I went.

Summer toboggan run

I bet that none of us had ever gone ‘sliding’ (tobogganing) in the summer time before! We fly down a half tube roller coaster on boards with handbrakes, and laugh so hard as we race to keep up with one another. We bump toboggans for fun, and then we rush back up to the top to do it again!

Haunted Castle

We go down to the basement to explore the old army bunker and walk around with flashlights, because it’s so dark inside. When you turn them off you can’t even see your own hands! There was quite a lot of high pitched screaming when our chaperones and the German organizer from Wilderness International decided to scare us by pretending to be ghosts!

Walking through the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin: It made us think about the suffering of the victims.

Daniel poses with a stuffed boar, apparently a common animal in Germany!

Sweat lodge

We stay over night at a six hundred year old watermill that had been converted into a bed and breakfast at Grillenburg, a small village near Dresden. Hwemtin, a Native wilderness guide from Vancouver Island built a sweat lodge for us to experience the cleansing ritual. It was beautiful to hear his drumming, and the songs of Glen and Jean Allicock from the Macushi tribe in Guyana.

It is very hard to breathe inside, but I find it cool. Each time we go in we pay respect to someone, like our moms and dads. We say their names, and say prayers for them. Then, when each round ends, we run out and jump into the cold creek just a few steps away.

Shayla says, “When I came out, I felt very clean. Even if I was sweating, I felt very clean.”

Coming Home

When it was time for us to go home, we all felt sad. It felt like we had just gotten through our cultural and language differences, and have begun to develop real friendships with our host sisters and brothers. Tony said, “I’m going to say to everyone at home: When you have the chance to go overseas, take the chance! You won’t regret it!" I definitely feel stronger, having survived my homesickness and being rewarded with such a good time learning about another country, its people and culture. This summer, I will be away from home again, at a soccer camp in Yellowknife before I play at the Canada Western Games in Alberta. After experiencing all the new things in Germany, I am ready for anything in Canada!

Janelle, Jennifer and Gladys feeling on the edge in the “Haunted Castle”.

Daniel thinks about Hweimtim’s parting remarks: To believe we can protect our culture and land.

Ashtyn kicking it at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, with a street performer!

Tony on the summer sled!

A longing for wilderness

By Ashtyn McLeod and

InMay, 2007, our school – Chief Julius Secondary – sent us to Dresden as environmental ambassadors of the North, and in order to observe the effects of development on wilderness. The project was a partnership with the German organization Wilderness International and, since last September, we have taken part in a leadership program to train us for the experience. We looked at issues that are currently affecting the environment, and learned about how people used the land before there were settled communities. We took courses in public speaking and on traditional language and history. We also put together a slideshow presentation to help people in Dresden understand the importance of the Three Rivers Project in the North.

Dresden, Germany, claims to be one of the greenest cities in Europe. Sixty-three per cent of the city is green space: parks, gardens, or forest. “Nobody litters here,” says my schoolmate Janelle in amazement, “and everybody recycles.” In Germany, because development has depleted most of the wilderness, people are conscious about recycling and doing their best to bring nature back. This seemed strange to me at first, coming from Canada. In the North we assume that nature can take care of itself, but in a place as populated as Germany, you can really see the impact that humans make on the planet. Nowadays we have

to make a real effort over something that should be natural.

Kai Andersch, chairman of Wilderness International, tells us that as a result of industrialization, there are many environmental problems in Germany today. He takes us to Seiffen, a village near Erzgebirge, for a guided tour of an underground mine. It is dark and eerie down there and I feel bad for the people who have to work all day in such cramped and musty surroundings. Kai says, “Germany is a very developed country, but there’s been a high price to be paid. About 400 years ago miners discovered silver and copper in these mountains, and now these mountains have became exploited for minerals and are left empty inside, like Swiss cheese. There used to be small villages around here, and agriculture, but in the mining boom a lot of people moved into these villages, and the town expanded really fast. The problem is that mining is not sustainable, so soon there were no jobs and people had to look for alternatives. Most of the mines these days only last five to fifteen years. These days in Germany we hardly have any mining left.”

We also visited a former surface mine, and if I could describe this mine in four letters it would be U-G-L-Y. Imagine a big piece of land all torn up, with immense cavities. A local organization dedicated to reusing old

Zoe Ho

Jeffery contemplates the effects of mining on the landscape of Germany.

Grade 5 students in Germany respond to global warming.

Jennifer’s host family has a SMART car to save on fuel.*

industrial sites is working on converting these cavities into artificial lakes, but it’s going to take years. It’s a big job to deal with the toxic waste that has been left by decades of mining.

It makes me feel so angry to see these industrial sites because soon we Northerners are going to be dealing with similar development – like the pipeline. I hate to imagine what the North could look like after the development is done —once again, U-G-L-Y. My sadness is hard to describe.

We are lucky enough to go for a hike at the Saxonian Switzerland nature reserve, which is a park that measures about eleven square kilometers – that’s not very big compared to any place in the North! It’s interesting to observe the development that exists even in this “wilderness” park. All the routes have man-made trails or railings, and even stairways – some with 1,200 steps (Tony counted them)!

We hike about twelve kilometers in total, although Daniel probably hiked about twenty or more! He’s excited and keeps running ahead, then coming back to say, “Hurry you have to come and check this out!” He’s keen on learning more about being a wilderness

guide, and says to our teacher Jaksun, “Well, if those German guides can make a living out of guiding people, then I can too.” Kai agrees. “I know what thousands of Germans are longing for,” he says. “A wilderness opportunity that we can’t get here...Being a guide for wilderness areas is one of the most intriguing opportunities up North!”

We like the hike so much that we start thinking about forming a hiking club back in Fort McPherson. The Richardson Mountains are right in our backyard, and they are bigger and more beautiful than anything. Why don’t we go out and enjoy them?

Back in the city, we visit the The University of Dresden’s botanical garden where they are trying to recreate miniature forests from each region in North America. While we walk through the miniature Rocky Mountains I think about how strange it is to have to re-create wilderness. It makes me appreciate what we have in Canada and the North.

At the botanical gardens we also plant trees for the first time! We are given seedlings that are native to North America, and have a lot of fun learning about getting the soil prepared. Maybe one day I’ll go back to Germany to see my tree...

Fundraising walk for the Guyana Rainforests and the Three Rivers project.

Jeep Tour in the minezone.*

Photos with * are courtesy of Jaksun Grice.

One of the biggest events that we attend during our stay in Dresden is a fundraising walk called Regenwaldlauf 2007 for the Guyanan Rainforest and the Three Rivers Project. The money raised will help found a protected area in the rainforests of Guyana. We meet Glen and Jean Allicock, who are here to represent Guyana. They are from the Macushi tribe in the North Rupununi of South America, but the problems they face are similar to ours in the North. Glen says: “Timber companies are coming in and ripping the rain forests apart…There was an act that allows people who are not indigenous to come onto our land to tell us what to do. We lobbied for years for the act to be changed, and fortunately this act was changed last year. The decisions of leaders will affect seven generations of people after them… You should stand as youths and represent your people,” Glen tells us. “Hold on to what you have, or you’ll never get it back.” It is inspiring to hear Glen speak. We want to return home and work to protect the land of our ancestors. We need to get informed, talk to government ministers, and tell people what we need.

There are about six thousand people in attendance at the fundraiser. We all wear our Regenwaldlauf 2007 orange shirts and it looks like we were taking over the city! When young children realize we are from the Arctic, they become excited and approach us for autographs. Wade says that it makes him feel like a celebrity! It’s amazing to see all these strangers who care about the Guyana Rain Forest and the Three Rivers Project – it feels like we’re not just from an isolated community, but are part of a global community!

Over the course of our stay, we go to many schools to tell people about the Three Rivers Project, and they listen. We tell them about how the Three area is the traditional hunting grounds of our ancestors…that it is beautiful and majestic, and that it is, as of right now, still untouched by development but that presently there is no law in place to protect the Three Rivers from road development, oil and gas development, or mining. I hope we showed them that the Three Rivers is an area that is worth saving. Seeing how much the Germans long for wilderness makes me aware that what we have is very valuable. I don’t think anybody

Shayla at Iba-see, mining zone turned tourist attraction.

Teaching youth at an international school to play traditional games.

The youth got right into the spirit of hand games.

Jeffery learning about the unsafe conditions miners work in.

Gene Alicock singing a traditional farewell song for the youth. She is of the Macushi people.

Jeffery hiking at the Saxonian Switzerland, a nature reserve with an area of only 11 sq. kilometers.

Jennifer and Janelle in mining hats.

in the North would want to destroy our land just for the sake of the pipeline, or industry. Sure, the pipeline might bring money to our area, but I think that if people get rich suddenly they might not spend their money wisely. I think our land is worth more than anything that money can buy.

Jaksun, our teacher discusses with us the environmental, social and economic impacts of the Mackenzie Valley Gas Project. “Is it a smart choice to have all the riches at once and not have anything in the end?” he says, “or is there a better way, where you could get longer employment and industry? The answer is probably to be somewhere in between the two. You as the next generation are going to have a say in the choices that are to be made. It’s up to you to get out there and get informed, and help inform people in your community to decide what is going to happen in the future. Wilderness is integral to our identity as Northerners as Canadians.”

But what about the jobs? What will people do without oil and gas jobs, you might ask? Here’s my advice: They should get their education! The North needs teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, and other professionals. Right now we spend a lot of money getting people to come to our communities from the south. Having a good education will give you alternatives to oil and gas jobs. For example, I would like to work in renewable resources one day. I could help regulate how people hunt caribou and sample fish. By returning to our culture I think that we can get closer to our own land, and also have

opportunities to see many parts of the world as well.

The trip has made a big impact on all of us. “Environmentally, I’ve changed,” says Janelle. “It would be good if we could make people in McPherson become more aware. If there is more development on our land, our culture will be taken away.” Tony agrees. “Development will destroy the land and the environment. There is oil and gas now, but it won’t be here for long. It’ll only last twenty years, and if we destroy the land our children won’t be able to do what we did: go hunting, fishing and trapping.”

In order that people of all cultures might learn to appreciate the land – and then work to preserve it –Wade says that he wants to become a wilderness guide. “It’s a big mistake if we take a big chunk of our land away just to discover oil,” he says. “Germany is what the North could turn out to look like in the future,” adds Janelle. “All their nature is gone, but now they want it back.”

I don’t think that we should have to make the same mistake, and all of us feel grateful for this experience of learning from another culture. Now we are anxious to return home. We want to work to protect our land for the future so that we have something to pass on to our own children someday.

Janelle introduces McPherson to German youth.

Shayla and Jocelyn planting their first tree.

Kai Andersch, chairman of Wilderness International.

Jennifer enjoyed tree planting.

Hweimtin performing a traditional song at the fundraising walk.

Wade (L) and Gene Allicock at the botanical gardens. The rocks they are sitting on represent the Canadian Rockies!

Upcoming Events

on the wedding of Joel Amos (Beverly and Lawrence Amos' son) and Martina Carrol (daughter of Martin and Ruthe Carrol).

Photo by Mina McLeod

Photo by Yvonne Camsell