Youth Speak Up Nutaqat Uqaqtut

TheBomberPages were lauched at a pizzalunchatSHSS. StudentsSydney, Brittaney,Jacinta andAmie were as much into ideas as theywereintopizza!

Have you gotten your hands on the first issue of the Bomber Pages? This is history in the making, the first 100% youth driven showcase for local talent. There are no-holds barred articles (aka youth rants), pages on sports, fashion, art, horoscopes and street beats, all meant to voice what the youth in Inuvik are doing, wearing, talking and thinking about.

There are over twenty youth actively attending meetings and contributing to the Bomber Pages, quite a contrast to the usually short-staffed school newsletter editorial team. When asked whether they think being a “newspaper reporter” is “geeky”, Sydney Dunlop, Brittaney Watters, Jacinta Laroque and Amie Charlie chorused an enthusiastic “nooo!”

Jacinta said, “It’s cool. I want to write stories, and take pictures.” Amie plans to report on “sports, soccer, hockey, skating and skiing”. Sydney wants her passion for sports to be translated into action packed photography. “It’ll also help me at school, because we have to know how to make brochures for social studies,” she said.

The Inuvik Youth Center initiated this project, procuring funding from EC&E. Staff members of the Inuvik Drum (Dez Loreen, Phil Morin) and Tusaayaksat (Zoe Ho) have been roped in to help. We are amazed at the stream of creative ideas and artwork contributed by the youth, and especially at their determination to make this project work. “I hope it works out this time,” said Kenzie MacDonald, who said when they had last attempted such a newsletter; it fell apart because of inadequate resources from both staff and students at the school. A unique feature of the Bomber Pages is that it involves not just students from Samuel Hearne Secondary, but also youth from the Inuvik Youth Center and the Arctic Tern Female Young Offender Facility.

“We hope for this to be truly for, by and about the youth,” said Sarah Earley, assistant director of the Inuvik Youth Center, “And that it will allow youth all over the community to communicate through the newspaper.”

Margaret shows us the beautiful uppers she has beaded.

Margaret Lennie: A Purposeful Life

Margaret Lennie’s Inuk name is Unalena. She was named after her grandmother. The Inuvialuit believe that when you name a child after a beloved relative, they will take on that person’s strengths and personality. When we spoke to Margaret, we discovered she was a down to earth and compassionate woman, just like Unalena was. She is in her seventies, but practices many Inuvialuit traditions with the vigor of someone half her age. She lives on the land with her husband Sam Lennie. When we step into their cabin, Margaret was making caribou dry meat. After she briskly finished her task, we settled down together with some tea and dry meat.

“I had a good life,” she said. She was hospitalized due to tuberculosis, over a total of five years, but she does not indulge in self-pity. She said lightly, “At that time they didn’t have medications for certain illnesses.” Neither does she feel resentment against the residential school system. She said, “I liked it, I am grateful to them. They taught me what I know now. The mission did the best they could, with what they had.”

Margaret was born and raised in Coppermine. Her step-grandfather Ollie ran a trading post there. When she was six, she was sent to attend the Anglican residential school in Aklavik. She remained there until her mother sent for her six years later. “It was a long time to not know your mother,” she said. Nevertheless, she respected her mother and learnt how to scrape caribou hides and to sew so she could be helpful. “Long ago, a girl is always expected to know how to sew. You’ll never get married if you didn’t know how to,” she laughed, “But if you watch your mother, you’ll learn.”

When she was fifteen, and her stepfather passed away. They were living then at Toker point, about twelve miles away from Tuktoyaktuk. “It was very sad, especially for mum,” said Margaret. “Being the oldest I had to do all the men’s work. Not hunting, because there was not much to hunt then. There were reindeer but we weren’t allow to shoot them.”

That winter, Margaret, her mother, and her siblings Shirley, Bob and Arthur had to take care of themselves. “We were okay. We have so much now. Back then we didn’t have much but we didn’t know it. To me we were not poor. There were no skidoos at Toker point, I had my own dog team.”

“My mother influenced me a lot. She was a tiny little woman, but she never depended on others. She raised her family without any help.” Margaret’s mother worked for Doctor Martin at the nursing station at Coppermine, and she sewed parkas for the children at the hostel.

“Years later, I asked her, if they had started giving out welfare then, would she take it? She said she doesn’t know. Maybe that tells you how tough it was then.” Margaret prefers to rely on herself. “I think it’s the government’s fault. Giving, giving, giving. When the government started giving welfare, it was an insult. I am not helpless.”

Her family moved to Aklavik by dog team two years later, and soon, Sam Lennie asked Margaret to marry him. We asked how they met, but Margaret laughed and said, “That’s a white man’s question! Everybody knew everybody then, you don’t “meet” people because you knew them already.”

“It was the only income we had then, to trap. The hardest time was when we were in Banks Island. We sailed there on our schooner, Reindeer. Along the coast, wind temperature drops to 60 below.”

“It was isolated there, more so than at the DEW Line (Distant Early Warning Line) where Sam later worked. We had no house. We had to build tents and put ice around it. We had really cramped dwellings.” Margaret and Sam had three children then, and were learning how tough it was to be the heads of the household. “But when things pass, I always feel good about having gone through it. Some people are soft, but we should always remember there is so much to be thankful for.”

“Everywhere I went I had to start from scratch, and learn what I could get out of each place. Sam started working on construction in Tuktoyaktuk and I stayed in Aklavik. He didn’t get to come home that often, and a year later we moved to Bar-2.” The couple had little time off when they lived on the DEW Line, “we hardly saw each other.” However, Margaret believes “it’s self-pity that makes you unable to solve problems. You can always find solutions, if you aren’t thinking all the time about how nothing is going your way. We spent over twenty years on the DEW Line. There were no other options for jobs. That was hard because we had to send our kids to Inuvik for school, we only saw them for three months each summer. You don’t really get to know your kids over such a short time, and I really wanted to be close to them.”

“If you speak to them in Inuvialuktun at home, when they get back to school they will still forget. We tried to bribe them.” Sam offered a thousand dollar reward to his children, for “the first person that speaks a whole sentence of Inuvialuktun.” The children understand Inuvialuktun, but they did not like speaking it “because their tongue is used to speaking English.”

“We were always doing things to keep together, to take advantage of the time we had with our children in the summer. On weekends we’ll take all our gear and go camping. We also did a lot of hiking.” Later on, they moved to Tuktoyaktuk so that the children could live at home. Nevertheless, Margaret said, “The children didn’t mind being in Inuvik for school, it toughened them up, they learnt to take care of themselves.”

Now, Margaret and Sam are very comfortable with their life of retirement in the bush. “In the mid 80s, we started building this cabin. Every little bit of time we had, we would come work here. We built it from scratch, and we didn’t know anything about construction, but it’s still standing!”

Margaret is also well known for her sewing skills. She sews for her family and creates her own designs. She still uses patterns that once belonged to her mother. “It keeps me busy,” she said. In the past, although she only occasionally worked for wages on short-term projects (eg. water sampling), her time was fully occupied as they had nine children and an adopted child. “Our youngest just graduated last year,” she said with pride. As we sat back to enjoy the caribou soup she made for us, we could not help but feel happy for Margaret and Sam. Both Margaret and Sam are religious, and they prayed during hard times, but they also worked hard to achieve their happiness. “We believed what we read in the bible, but we knew it was also something that we had to do. To live the words than to just say them.”

Margaret Lennie Inuuvaktuq Pitqusiksani Maliklugu

Margaret Lennie’m Inuvialukta Unalena, annanangminik atilik. Inuvialuit’guuq ukpirivagat achiqtauyarangamik atiyuatun ilivagat ijusialu pitqusialu tavyuma inuum. Uqaqatigigaptigu Margaret, ilichuriyaqput umimiatuaq nagliktauyuklu Unalenatun. Seventy’ngugaluaqtuq tajva savausia suli suangayuq. Tuvaqatinilu Sam Lennie, nunami inuuniaqpaktuak. Igluanukapta, Margaret tuktumik mipkuliuqsimaniqtuaq. Taima assiin sanairamiun savaani, niuqiurutiyaini, mipkutuqtilutalu.

“Tutqigiyapkun inuuyuami”, uqalaktuq. Talimani ukiuni aniarvikmi ituaq TB’kluni, aglan tamana isumaaluutigingitka. Nibliutigilaga tajva “Taimani marisiitut iluriluni”. Mamiasungituq tamatkununga ilisarvingnun. Uqalakkmiuq “Nakuugiblugilu quyagiyatka. Ilisautimanga ilisimayamnik qangma. Angajuviit tajva ami qanurliqa ikayurnilukpaktut taimani”.

Margaret anniyuaq Kugluktuk’mi (Coppermine) inugurvigiblugu.

Aappakhaq, Jasper niuvaviruaqtuaq taikani.

Six’nik ukiuningman Aklavik’mun ilisariaqtuaq,taima assiin amamaan aipkaga six ukiut nanmata.

“Sivituvialuktuq tajva amamaga naluyuatun inapku”, uqalaktuq.

Aglan, amamani tusajuriklugu ilituaq aminik kiligainikun, miquyusiblunilu, ikayurukluni. “Ingilran tajva niviaqsiraq miqurnirmik ilisimayuksauyuq. Miquyuitkuvit tuvaqatinilaitutin”, iglalakluni uqalaktuq. “Amaman takunaklugu ilitviginiakan”.

15’nik ukiuniklunilu atataksa tuquyuaq Toker Point’mi ilutik, qanituq Tuktoyaktuumin. “Nanginavialuktuq, amamamnun ingatavik”, Margaret uqalaktuq. “Angayukliublunga tajva savakpaktuami angutitun. Anguniayuitunga, ami nirutikiluni nayuqtaqput. Qungiraluat aglan tuqunaitkiblutik”.

Tajvani ukiumi, tamarmik Margaret’lu, amamanilu, Shirley’lu, Bobby’lu, Arthur’lu inmingnik inuniaqpaktuat. “Nangichiutugut. Qangma suilitaujaiqtuani. Taimani suitugut iluriluta, aglan nagingitugut. Skiduitugut Toker Point’mi taimani, uvapkun qimiruaqtuami”.

“Amamangma ikayuvialugani, arnaq mikigaluaqtuq sungiqusiruayuituq. Nutaqani inuguqtitait inmigun”. Margaret amama ikayuqpaga Doctor Martin Coppermine’mi, atigiliuqlugilu nutaqat ilisarvingmi.

“Apirigapku maniq piniarmagu ikayuun naluyuruuq, taimani nanginaqtuq ilaani”. Margaret’li inmiguaruuyuq. “Ataniqpait (government) aituivalarugivakatka, iluarisuitkitka isumamni, uvapkualangayunga”.

Qimiliyaqlutik Aklavik’mun nuutuat malrungnik ukiilraqlutik, taima Sam Lennie’m apiriya Margaret nuliarisuklugu. Apiqsuraptigu Margaret iglaruchaktuaq uqalaktuaq, “Tamna tangit apiqsuutat! Taimani kituliqa inuit nalungitkait”.

“Naniriaqtukluta inuuniaqpaktuani taimani tajvatualuk. Umiaptigun Reindeer’kun ikarapta Banksland’mun nanginaqtuq ilanni, anuri qiqiqpak”. Alianatqiyaq DEWLINE’min. Igluitugut. Tupiq napaqaqlugu sikumik avaluvakaqput, inikivialuktuq”. Margaret’lu Sam’lu pingasunik nutararuaqtuak taimani, tajva ilichuriyuk inuuniarnirmik inmigun. “Qaangiutiman sunaliqa kuyasukpaktuami. Ilangit inuit iyangayut, aglan quyanaqpangniqtuaq inuusiq”.

“Naniliqa innapta qanurliqa inuunilukpaktuami, nauchiutaqlunga. Sam savaakiqtuaq Tuktoyaktuumi Aklavik’mi itilunga. Aikayuituq, taima ukiutqingman Bar2’mun nuutuani”. Ituaqpalayuituk DEWLINE’mi inamik. “Takutisuituguk ilurilunuk”. Aglan Margaret isumagami “nikasukluni inuunaituq. Ilanni inuusiq sapirnaqtutun itkaluaqluni akpautinarmiuq. 20 ukiut sipilugit DEWLINE nayukavut. Alamik ami savaaksaituq. Sapirnaraluaqtuq tajva nutaqvut Inuvik’mun ilisariarmata, auyami sivikitumik takuvakaluarivut. Sivikitpalaq, nayurukaluarita”.

“Inuvialuktun uqautigaluarlugit aimagamik, ilisarvingmi puigurniamiyut. “Sam akilichukaluagait nutaqani angiyumik Inuvialuktun uqalakpata mikiyuraluamik”. Nutaqatik Inuvialuktun qangiqsimagiblutiklu, aglan uqaruyuitut, “ami taniktun kisianik sungiusimayut”.

“Auyami aiyarangata sivikitkaluaqtuq ituayuitugut ikayuqtigiikluta, tanmariaktaqluta, pisuuyaqatigiiklutalu”. Taima assiin Tuktoyaktuumun nuunmiyuat, aimatqublugit nutaqat. Aglan Margaret uqalakmiuq, “Nutaqapta suginginminigat ilisarvik Inuvik’mi, inmingnik inuunialiqlutik tajvangaaniin”.

Qangma

Magaret’lu Sam’lu nayuqtaqtik uumarmi nakuuvialuktuq. “1980’t qitqani igooliukituangni. Qakugu kisian savalayugaqlugu. Igooliurnirmik nalugaluaqtuguk suli aglan tajva makitayuq!”.

Margaret miquyuvialungmiuq. Qitunraminun anuraliuqpaktuaq inmigun tutqiqsaqlugit. Amamangmi uuktuutait suli pimagait. “Nutqangasuitunga”. Ingilran alanun savakpaktuaq sivikitunik, aglan nutqangasuituq ami 9’nik nutaralak, atausirlu tiguaqtangak.

“Nukaqliqpuk ilisarvingmin iniqtuaq ukiaksaq”,uqalaktuq quviasukluni. Quviagiyavuk Margaret’lu Sam’lu niriqatigigaptigik tuktumik. Iluratik ukpiramik qinraqpaktuak ikayuqublutik sapirnaqiyarangan inuusiq ilanni, savaqtublutik tajva pisuktatik pitarivagait. “Ukpiriyavuk Godim uqausiit, tamamnuk ilisimayaqpuk malurutaksauyuq aglan. Innugutigiblugu Godim uqausia, taiguqsinarnagit”.