Moving with Our Ancestors

Each movement in traditional Inuit Northern games carries on a piece of history and culture. From agility to pain resistance and laughing, Northern games merge life skills and having fun. Also known as Arctic sports, they transcend mere competition and weave together a story of camaraderie, personal development and survival. To this day, elders pass on their legacy through the games, connecting generations that never got a chance to meet in person. In the following pages, athletes young and old share what the cultural practice means to them.

Quotes have been taken, edited and condensed from interviews at the 2018 Arctic Winter Games trials in Inuvik. Photos are from the trials and 2018 Sikiniq Nuimavia Katijvikput.

DONALD KUPTANA

Our Inuit games, they’re games of survival, but all of those games have a meaning and a purpose.

If we look at our agility games, those help an athlete be quiet, fast and agile. Those are traits you need to have to be successful hunting.

Looking at our strength and endurance games, those help build strength for families to travel from camp to camp.

Our pain resistance games, those are games we play to deal with freezing cold weather conditions, freezing your face, your forehead, your ears, your feet, your hands. Those help an individual recognize that they’re getting in trouble.

A lot of our games are laughing games that help individuals get out of their silos and start talking with our elders and community members.

We also have our good man, good woman events. Those are life skills that our mothers, fathers, daduks, nanuks bring to the games: tea boiling, bannock making, plucking geese, skinning seals and so much more.

Within our culture, we also have our drum dancing. Drum dancing was a way to pass on stories of families, stories of great hunters, stories of whatever activities they were doing at the time.

What we want to pass on is for all of our athletes to walk away successful. Doesn’t matter what community you’re from, what nationality you are, Aboriginal, non‐Aboriginal. We encourage everyone to play our games. In the spirit of Northern games, it didn’t matter where you come from or who you are. You’re welcome and you’re welcome to play our games.

I’ve played the games, I’ve coached the games and I’ve been involved with the Northern Games Society members, our elders and all of our communities in the ISR to help organize a successful event for our youth.

That’s what our elders have passed on to me, so I’m fortunate to be able to work with our elders to continue to pass on our cultural Inuit games.

The elders give you so much energy just from them being around and watching. The kids, when they see our elders watching them, they want to do good for them.

We’re so fortunate to have our elders and we’re always passing on our knowledge. Me, I’ll never stop learning. As long as I have elders, I’ll never stop learning from them.

Once we retire, we want to make sure there’s that next person, that next role model that will take the games and go with it.

NOEL COCKNEY

A lot of it is just being able to stay in touch with my culture and being able to continue doing things they’ve done for generations.

Living up here in the Arctic, you have to help other people and be able to ask for help too, especially while you’re out on the land. If something goes wrong and people are around, they’re going to help you.

That translates to these games really easily. We all want to continue to compete to the best of our abilities and that means bringing other athletes up to the best that they can be. It’s that transition piece between on the land and being able to have that fun.

MATTHEW ANIKINA

It means a lot friendship, a lot of commitment. You’ve got to be healthy and strong. It gives you a lot of life skills, a lot of confidence. It’s one of the best sports you could ever play.

I coach the kids every Wednesday at the school in Tuk. They always have a hard time doing Alaskan high kick or one-hand reach. They’re pretty hard games to play. You’ve got to be in good shape. Got to hold yourself up on one arm. It’s pretty hard.

ROBERT GRUBEN

It builds up your esteem and your will to finish what you’re doing, to survive.

My uncle Edward Lennie, he’s the one I look up to in these games.

JEMRA GRUBEN

It’s our heritage. It’s our culture.

When everybody’s watching, you just block it out.

We’re like one big family in the Arctic sports.

AGNES KRENGNEKTAK

It’s our culture. It’s been going on for a long time. It builds up confidence for each other.

ROY COCKNEY SR.

When I was a young boy, must be about seven, eight years old, I used to watch these elders and youth playing our games. That was many years ago. Our games been on forever, way before my time. I heard a lot of stories, and from these stories we continue on with our sports.

Northern games were important to us because they’re the skills we used out on the land.

To this day, we’ve been teaching our kids Northern games, the rules and regulations, and now some of our games have gone to Arctic winter sports. It’s good in a way because it’s spreading our games all over.

Today it’s been perfected, ‘cause we know what’s wrong and what’s right in our game. It should be the way it is now. We know these rules ‘cause we played the games and we played them for a long time. We know the wrong and the right things to do. When we’re being called upon our mistakes, we know exactly why.

VERONICA MCDONALD

My mother (Meika McDonald) was a big competitor growing up, and she’s held a couple of world records. She’s one of my greatest role models. She’s an amazing athlete and without her guidance I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in.

Arctic sports is a tough game. It’s physically challenging and increased my ability to play other sports.

Every little girl looks up to her mother, of course, but also the people that do it, like Donald (Kuptana) and Gerry (Kisoun). I’ve known them since I was eight years old. I know Donald’s son Kyle and every other person I’ve competed with that I’ll never forget. Everybody’s so kind. The thing about Inuit games is it’s not as competitive as every other sport is. It’s very friendly competition and you’re continuously trying to help one another out.