tHe nasogaluak rotHers: art I st IC C onne C t I on

brown paper bags because that was the only paper we had. We used pens, we used whatever was there to express ourselves in art.

There were a few antler carvers when I was growing up. I see them also trying to make a living. Checking their nd carving. Even my father, he wasn’t a carver but I would see him trying to make a piece and never giving up on it. When they finish, they try to go sell their carvings, and I can see the people coming in and pricing him down. I didn’t like that. That’s where I get my motivation, that drives me.

bIll: They put that name quickly on us. I want to be recognized as an artist, period. s ome of what I want to express is beyond my culture, beyond the world I live in. Even now, I live in Toronto, and I want to create pieces outside of the category of Inuit artist. I think we all do that. The three of us, we’ve done subject matters that is outside of our culture…that’s what I want to be called, an artist, instead of just an Inuit artist.

t: W H at are t H e advantages and d I sadvantages o F be I ng an art I st u P nort H ?

Joe: o ne of the challenges is exposure. you’re limited to the venues where you can do shows and get exposure. a nother disadvantage is the difficulty in getting the materials and tools.

Joe: In the North I go outside of my house and I see kids running around and playing like when I was growing up, the blue sky, the air, it’s just beautiful. Even at 40 below, and I can go to my shop and have the quietness and the work. When I go outside and I am in a place I love. I used to live down south, and I would carve, and when I went outside I would see a building, and trees. I would just feel lost. In my community there are a lot of carvers, we have snow up there but nobody knows how to carve the snow. I think we must go forward and try to introduce it and help it. We have festivals every year in our region, and it would be good to have something like this. I see the kids and families enjoy this.

This will be nice for people who are not into the skidoo races and such competitions in our region… My family and I go down to a [local] festival and we enjoy seeing our people, but at this level, it’s just awesome and I would like our people in the n orth to see that.

elI: We’d like to see snow carving events like this take root and grow and develop up n orth. Throughout the years we’ve entered competitions we’ve picked up a lot of good knowledge and I believe we can pass it on and build our own special tools. I think we’ve come to the point when we can pass on the knowledge to youth.

t: W H at I s t H e next ste P ?

Joe: I would really like to create monuments in our communities. you may see the ocean and the land and the pingos, but there’s no monument about who we are. I want my kids to be able to say, hey that’s my people and my culture. I think it’s lacking in our communities in our western region.

bIll: I think my next step is to improve my artistic abilities and to take it to another level. Even if people can’t see it visually, I want to know that within myself. I want to know that I’ve done it.

elI: I’ve stepped a little bit into doing paintings, and acrylics. I’ve totally stepped into challenging myself in a different field. The challenge is always there being satisfaction and sometimes not being fully satisfied, so I enjoy that.

The brothers are also looking forward to working as a team again, in an international snow carving competition next year. They did not place at this competition, but with down to earth attitudes and good humour, plan to take what they have learnt and work together on a winning design in the next competition. interviewed by a variety of media at the competition.

In the 80s we started a hockey club called the Huskies, and we went to tournaments all over the area. We had fundraiser bingos and traveled at our own expense. I love hockey, I still do,” said Roy Ipana, Master of Ceremonies of the 2008 IRC Native Hockey Cup. The Huskies were the beginning of people in this region playing hockey together, and this year, as teams from all over the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Fort Good Hope and Fort McPherson came together for another season of the biggest hockey tournament north of Yellowknife, Roy has a lot to be happy about. The tournament is the inclusive event he had envisioned since it’s beginning. “Any team can come in, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, what language you speak. That’s the way to run a hockey tournament,” he said.

to raise funds in order to come to the game. Paulatuk and Ulukhaktok received help from IRC. Sachs Harbour, who played last year, was unable to attend as they currently do not have an ice rink.

After over ten years of being organizer of the games with his wife Sandra, Roy’s son Donald Hendrick and his wife Wilma has taken over. Organizing the tournament means taking care of many details but Donald finds the payoff of “seeing all the fans enjoy hockey” to be worthy compensation. Volunteers also help during the hockey weekend.

It does seem as if hockey fever has taken over the fans as they unabashedly rallied for their teams. Aklavik’s call of “Never say die!” (their town motto) spurred their team on against Paulatuk Storm.

“In the last minute of the game between the Gwich’in Flames and the Northwind Old Dogs, everyone was just jumping up and down and screaming. When the final buzzer went, it was the biggest play in the whole tournament,” said Jaksun Grice, Gwich’in Flames coach. The team won first place in the ‘B’ division. “Fort McPherson has been trying for 24 years to win this tournament and this is the first time. It was a very big deal for the players and especially for the community. Everyone’s knew how much pride it would bring to them.” Waylon Snowshoe of the Gwich’in Flames was award Most Valuable Player of the ‘B’ Division.

High Speed Auto, a team formed this year in Inuvik, was an underdog team turned victorious, placing third in the ‘A’ division. Chris Smith formed the new team when Young Bloods and East Three Rebels decided to move down to ‘B’ division, putting together some players from these teams. His favourite game was when High Speed Auto played against the LJ’s Sabers on Friday. “We lost 3 – 1 and then had a good game after that.” He liked playing against the Ulukhaktok team, Holman Ducks, and McPherson team. Holman Ducks did well, considering it has been three years since they’ve been in the competition. They placed fourth in ‘B’ division.

It is Clayton Olifie’s first time playing in the tournament, and he was admittedly nervous. The Holman Ducks player said, “It was lots of fun, and good to play in a big arena.” Teams from smaller communities had

The final game between Northwind and Tuk EGT kept the audience on the edge. “These teams are always in the finals,” said Roy, “the competition is always there. They’ve a couple of players from down south each. To win it all is their mandate.” MVP of ‘A’ Division, Mickey Ipana helped bring Northwind to success. Before he began playing, he had told his father, “This is going to be a big night.”