From traditional knowledge to the "big league"

How cool is it to start off your Monday learning how to get lamp oil out of whale blubber? Today in school Hopi explained to the kindergarten class how to make the oil for the Qulliq, which was the lamp used for light, heat and cooking in traditional Inuit snow houses.

I wish I could bottle this woman up and take her back with me. She is one of the most amazing teachers I have ever met. Not only can she hold a class full of kids and teachers in rapt attention, but she knows so much about the traditional way of life as it was here not so very long ago. She used an ulu or woman's knife to scrape the oil from the meat and it looks a little like jelly, but when it burns it hardly smokes at all. I think it so awesome that the kids here are learning about their history in such a tangible way. It is no wonder that they are strong and proud of their heritage.

The rest of the day was what you might call a typical Monday other than the fact that it was bitterly cold out on the playground first thing in the morning... The temperature was only about -16, but once you added in the wind chill factor, it was down around -32. Yikes. I had a great time with my class, though- they were enthusiastic and sometimes overly energetic, but we managed to paint our rainsticks and get some organizing done for the play even though we had a fire drill interrupt us at one point. Believe me, going outside for a fire drill when it feels like -32 is no joke! 

After school I went to the arena to watch a couple of the kids from my class play hockey. They are heading to Iqaluit in a little over a week for a big tournament and they've been practicing really hard. I think they were glad I came out to support the team, and it was nice to see my students in a different venue. They sure take their hockey seriously here- and they're good at it.

 

I was impressed with their skating and puck handling, but I was most impressed with their team work. I'll be rooting for them in Iqaluit next week- Go team, go!

 

Stormy Sunday

Sometimes it seems like I only just arrived and sometimes it feels like I've lived here for a long time. Today, as I look out my window, I realize that I have less then a week left before I head back to Nova Scotia. I know I'm going to miss the people here, especially the kids at the school, but I think it will be good to get back where things are starting to get a little green and there is the smell of summer just around the corner.

It has been snowing off and on and I spent most of the day working on lesson plans, getting laundry done, cooking supper and hanging out in the house. I did go out for a short walk before starting supper, but it was kind of grey and not very photogenic. They tell me this is typical winter weather and that I have been extremely lucky so far to have seen so much sun.

I walked by the Kinggait Arts Coop, but of course it was closed up tight as a drum. I have yet to even make it inside the building since I am at school all day while they are working. I am going to try and call tomorrow and see if they are going to be there on Thursday afternoon (my last day here!) because we have parent/teacher meetings and I might be able to get down earlier that day.

I know that I have been packing so much into my time here, but I am constantly reminded of all the things I have not yet had a chance to see.

After supper Frances and I went out for another walk just to "blow the stink off" as my mom used to say. It was still grey and windy and getting greyer and windier by the minute.

Speaking of stink, I managed to get a picture of one of the frames people use to tan seal hides here... They don't cure them like we would and to be honest, although the traditional seal outfits are gorgeous, they don't smell very nice! When we went out on the land  Etoogaluk (one of the Inuit teachers) had one and for the longest time I couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from. David tells me that most people keep their sealskin suits in a deep freezer to try and keep the odour down to a minimum. Although it isn't very sweet smelling, check out the picture- it really is a work of art.

While Frances and I were out walking we ran across the cutest little sled dog puppy- I joked that I was going to find another suitcase and pack him in it to bring home with me. He was just out wandering and kind of attached himself to us for a bit... he seemed a little lost.

When we were getting close to home the wind started to pick up and the snow started to blow... I hope he'll stay warm tonight. We may be in for quite a storm and tomorrow is supposed to get really cold (-21 with a wind chill of -36!)... I might get more use out of that survival suit after all! This might have been one of the last mild days I'll have to get out for a walk around town so I'm glad I rustled up my "get up and go".

There is so much about this place that will stay with me forever (unfortunately not the cute puppy, although I am tempted!). I have been extremely lucky and have seen a lot in my short time here but I am certainly aware of the fact that I have barely scratched the tip of the iceberg.

Kitchen Party Cape Dorset Style

Well. They sure know how to have a good time in many different ways in Cape Dorset!

I often say that the people who live in the smallest communities where there aren't a lot of options for entertainment are often the ones who learn how to make their own fun- That is certainly true here. From a day out on the land, to school activities on the weekends and evenings, to a night with some of the teachers and friends of David and Frances, these guys know how to live.

Tonight we had a real honest-to-goodness kitchen party in Cape Dorset with music, food, dancing and lots of great company. The evening started out early for me with a great supper and excellent conversation at one of the teacher's houses (Thank you so much David and Carol Ann for inviting me!).

After supper, as the sun set on Cape Dorset, we all headed out and I hauled my harp over to another house for the kitchen party (not that anything is very far away from anything else here). I must have made quite a sight dragging my harp over the snowdrifts... incidentally, she seems to have survived quite well and she loves the snow!

When I got to the house there were a few people already gathered, but as the evening wore on, more and more arrived... I tried to get a picture of one of the guitars arriving on skidoo- that's got to be a first for a kitchen party for me!

We played everything from blues to country... the Tragically Hip, Sinead O'Connor, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Pink Floyd- you name it- nothing was sacred!

Lots of folks got up and danced and one guy got up and sang a hilarious traditional Newfoundland ballad- it was awesome.

After the incredible culture shock I've been through of coming to the North and realizing what a different world it is, it was almost as much of a culture shock to be at such a traditional Nova Scotian phenomenon all of a sudden!

Gwenivere and I settled in pretty quick, though.

Thank you to Susan and Kathy who offered up their kitchen for the event (David and Frances' house was just a little too small for all the people!). Thank you to all the musicians who hauled their instruments out and thank you to all the folks who provided awesome munchies... it was a great time.

I'm going to tumble into bed now... Gwenivere and I had a lovely walk home over newly fallen snow than sparkled under the street lights. It was a great way to spend our last Saturday night in Cape Dorset- She had a lot of fun and so did I!

Nunavut... our land

Out on the land at last, thanks to Sam Pudlat school. I just have to take a moment to thank Sean (once again) for his foresight on the whole "survival suit" thing. It sure got a workout today! I think I was one of the very few "Qallunait" (non-Inuit) who didn't get cold at all. We did end up having a gorgeous, sunny day for our trip out on the land, but it was freezing when the wind was blowing and even colder hanging on for dear life at breakneck speeds across ice fields, frozen lakes, mountains and hills.

Now I know I look excited in the picture and I can honestly say that this was one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life, but I also have to say that the 50 km ride out to "Fish Lake" was one of the scariest and most nerve wracking things I've ever done.

At around eight thirty we gathered at the school and everyone who had a snowmobile or a Kamotik (home-made sled) started packing everything and everyone up. As you can tell from the picture, the sled I was in was really just a plywood box on homemade runners. Emma and I grabbed some gym mats to put in the sled, but they didn't fit very well and we were kind of awkwardly packed in.
No sooner had we gotten across the frozen harbour and up onto the land but we capsized completely. The snowmobile dragged the kamotik for a litttle bit, but luckily we weren't going fast and Emma and I just kind of tumbled out on our sides. Everyone stopped to make sure we were all right and we heaved the wooden crate back over, packed ourselves back in and continued on.

At this point the cavalcade began to pick up speed and I started to get really nervous. I had drawn the "short straw", and was facing backwards, sitting at the very front of the kamotik, where the lack of shock absorbers meant that I was dropped unceremoniously over every bump and turn. I couldn't see where we were going, and had to rely on Emma for cues about how to lean to keep this contraption from spilling over again. It felt as if I was sitting in a wooden box that was being dropped about two feet every two and a half minutes and manhandled around corners, over mountains and through narrow passageways. Not to mention the fact that the wind from the speed was bitingly cold.

Once we got over the first part of land and started out over another frozen harbour, our driver kicked it up a notch and I thought we were going to die.

Just when I thought we couldn't possibly go any faster, we heard a noise and the kamotik slowed down and then stopped completely. Emma started laughing and jumped out, pointing ahead of us at the receding snowmobile, which was happily continuing on the track without us, oblivious to the fact that the hitch had broken.

Pretty soon it was just me and Emma and the kamotik, with not a snowmobile in sight! We laughed and shrugged our shoulders, hoping they would figure it out eventually, and sure enough, they did. They came back, jury-rigged the thing back together and we headed out again at breakneck speeds. Needless to say, by the time we got to Fish Lake about an hour later, I was ready for a rest!

Once I recovered from the journey, which really didn't take long for me (It took a little longer for Emma who had gotten quite cold and needed help getting out and activating some hand and body warmers she had brought), I started to look around. I just couldn't believe how incredible it was. Once again, I'm glad that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think this experience is worth an entire library's worth of words.
 
Some people started setting up a tent and others got to work digging holes for fishing. Most of the Inuit had holes they fish at quite often, so they only required a little bit of ice-breaking and slush removal, but we had brought a big gas-powered auger with us to help dig a few new ones. The ice was unbelievably thick... on more than one occasion the auger wasn't long enough to reach the water!
 
It was really cool to see them work the auger- it would dig deep into the ice and then they would have to haul it up to clear the crushed ice. At one point they hit water, hauled up the auger and threw a huge mound of slush and water up out of the hole and all over the ice.

The best part about fishing, though, was watching the Inuit set up their holes and patiently wait, bobbing their lines up and down to attract the fish. They scooped out the slush with their bare hands quite often, and laid on their stomachs for hours to look down into the hole. if you looked in the hole, you could see the bottom of the lake, and the idea is you watch for a fish to go by and then you jerk the line.

I asked Mary (one of the elders who had come with us) if she had put anything on the end of the line, and she said "No, you don't have to. Sometimes I put a little piece of orange peel and today I put some white plastic."

She was pretty quiet, but I offered her a granola bar and she let me look after her line while she ate it. Then she started telling me her fishing stories... According to her story, she was fishing one day and caught thirty fish in one hour. Apparently everyone who was with her started digging holes near hers, but no one was able to catch anywhere near as many fish. Now there may be a bit of exaggeration going on, since I think she only caught one tiny little fish today, but it was nice to hear the story anyway.

We stayed out on the lake for about five hours. Ina, the school ESL teacher and trip organizer, had brought bannock, caribou stew, Atlantic Char and hot chocolate, which they kept piping hot all day on a couple of burners in the tent. It all tasted incredible... especially seasoned with all the fresh air.

I didn't have any luck fishing, but I did manage to score a snowmobile ride out further into the wilderness. Cecil, the high school principal, took me out about three or four kilometres past the lake, up onto a mountain. After surviving a pretty harrowing and uncomfortable ride on a kamotik, the cushioned snowmobile seat with its gentle, shock-absorbing ride seemd like a luxury cadillac. And the million-dollar view is something I will remember forever.

When we got back to the camp, lots of people were still hard at work fishing. I couldn't believe how long some of the women could lay on their stomachs in the snow and just watch for fish!

All good things must come to an end, and eventually we had to pack everything back up for the long ride home. I was kind of dreading the bumping and banging, but I didn't want to seem like a wimp, so I put on my brave face and hopped back in the kamotik.

We only drove a short way before we stopped to check on another group that had been fishing at a different lake. One of them had found an arctic fox along the way, and being a complete tourist, I had to take a picture. I mean how often am I going to have the opportunty to see and arctic fox this close? It was quite small, and had apparently been injured, possibly in a trap. The guy who found it was going to take it home and use the fur... it sure was soft! When we were ready to start on our journey again Emma offered to change seats with me, and after a reasonably convincing amount of protesting (I thought), I agreed.

Well I wish I could describe the incredible journey back! Firstly, Emma said, "How in the heck did you do this?? I can't hack it- I just have to see where we're going!". She proceeded to turn around, but even turned the other way, she agreed that the bumps were excruciating. I felt really bad for her, but a little vindicated... I was beginning to think I was a wimp!

And as for me? Well, I had the most incredible ride through the most amazing scenery... it was like being in another world. The bumps were no where near as bad sitting in the back, and I could see this frozen wasteland stretched out for miles in front of me. I was sorry to see Cape Dorset appear on the horizon about a half an hour later... I could have gone on that way for days.

The kamotik ride out was definitely a little rough, and I just had to take a picture of my "war wounds" when I got back to prove it. Both arms got pretty banged up from the hard plywood sides.

I also took a picture of the two Atlantic Char we managed to get from one of the guys who had more luck fishing than we did. They were huge and you just can't get them any fresher!

All in all, I have to re-iterate... This was a trip of a lifetime. I am so incredibly grateful to the folks at Sam Pudlat school and especially Ina, who organized the whole thing and David and Frances for making sure I felt welcome on this amazing experience. I had no idea what I was in for when I prayed for good weather last night as the dancing bears and kids sent me to sleep, but I will be saying my own private "thank you"s to whoever answered for a long time.

Dancing bears and dancing kids

Johnny Papigatuk, the carver who comes by David and Frances' house sometimes to show off his work, is famous for his dancing bears. They are made so that they can stand many different ways, and they all look a little like they are dancing. Johnny uses only hand carving tools, which gives his bears a unique, quirky look. These three little bears are only about two inches high, but they have so much personality... I just had to take a picture of them. I am starting to get to meet some of the artists now and see some of their work. The stone carvings are worth about a hundred dollars an inch in galleries, but if you could see how much work goes into them, you'd think that was cheap. The constant hum from the stone grinders and the sound of chipping and stone hammers punctuates the air here day and night.

Meanwhile, bringing it back to modern times and speaking of dancing, there was a dance tonight at the school. I think the kids must have been looking forward to it all day so needless to say things were a little crazy during class!

In some ways we had an awesome teaching day with lots of creativity and some wonderful breakthough moments, but we also had a lot of wild and crazy stuff going on. I did get to read through our play with all the of the kids and we managed to finish painting our Qalllupilluit masks... We had a great math activity, which involved learning centres and a couple of math games... I got to make rainsticks with the other grade fours class while our class was in the library... and I had a couple of great moments with some of the kids who have been struggling a little bit with writing.

I had volunteered to come back for the big dance, so after school I went home, whipped up some chicken noodle soup with cheese biscuits (comfort food!), ate and then raced back.

There was a little committee of kids that helped set up a canteen and some chairs and of course they had to make a crown for the "king and queen" of the dance.

Again, in many ways this was just what you might expect of a dance for grades three to five... there were lots of kids who were shy about dancing, but they ended up joining in eventually. Many kids just goofed around laughing and trying everything from hip hop moves to the macarena.

The fact that they played hockey on the front step while they were waiting to be let in (just to keep warm- it is a desparately cold night!) is a little different, but essentially this was a typical pre-teen night of giggling fun. 

Near the end of the dance one of the teachers announced that everyone should find a partner for the "Inuktitut Dance", so I was swamped with offers... I ended up being partners with quite a few kids and they swept me up in a sort of Scottish country dance meets drum dancing... I wasn't really sure what was going on, but the kids helped me figure out, and they were unbelievably enthusiastic. It was great to see them blowing off steam and nice to spend the evening being silly with them.

Tonight as I finish off my post for the day, I can hear the howl of the wind... we are supposed to go out on the land with all the teachers tomorrow, but it sounds and looks like a blizzard out there. Even the nightly snowmobiles are not as active tonight. I'm going to head to bed and hope that the weather turns before tomorrow morning so I can have a taste of what it's like to be on the land before I leave.

And tonight, thanks to Johnny and to the kids at the school, I will be able to count little dancing bears and little dancing kids to send me off to sleep.

Another incredible day in the life of Sam Pudlat School

What a day.
Only in the North could you have a day like today. We started out with all sorts of great lesson plans, but things went a little sideways when one of the teachers brought in a seal for her class to study.

Pretty soon the whole school was involved and we got a very detailed lesson about traditional hunting methods, seal preparation, tanning hides... it was amazing. Hopi explained how the hunters would watch for seal dens and then collapse them, trapping the seals inside. The kids were fascinated (and so were we!).

As an interesting side note, we've been doing fairy tales with my class and I had just finished telling them about the Selkie legend, where a person becomes a seal by putting on a seal skin. I shared that story with Hopi and she really seemed to like it... I'm going to try and bring some information on Selkies to her tomorrow and maybe even sing the Great Selkie for the kids.

After Hopi had skinned the seal each of the classes was able to take some time and examine the skin and the flippers. Then Hopi got a smaller number of students together to show them how to prepare the meat. She showed all the parts of the seal and talked about who they were meant for according to tradition. The women would eat the ribs, the men would another part and the children yet another, etc.

I have to confess it was a little gruesome... but I guess it's sort of like a biology lesson in the South. I remember dissecting frogs and talking all about the parts of the body, so this was similar.

One of the neatest things she did was to remove all the bones from one of the "paws" leaving just the fur and nails. It looked a little like a mitten, all soft fur on the outside and floppy but with five sharp nails on one end (that's the picture at the beginning of this blog).

After all the excitement of the seal in the morning, Emma and I were scrambling to get through all the stuff we had planned to do for the day...

The kids worked really hard. I was especially pleased with the book-making we did in technology. On the first day we had a little trouble with the template, and then the kids kept saying, "I can't think of an idea" so before heading to class this time I had them fill out an "entry ticket" which had a space on it for the subject of their book and then three lines for three ideas they were going to include. If they hadn't filled out their "ticket" they weren't going to get to work at the computer. It worked really well! Everyone had at least three pages done in their books by the end of the class and many kids were working on editing and adding more pictures, formatting the text etc. It was a very productive time.

At the end of the day we had reading and while some of the kids were working with Emma I helped the rest paint our "icebergs". Once again, they wowed me with their team work and their super-cleaning abilities. We're getting closer and closer to being ready for our play!

After school I had told some of the kids who wanted to work on their books that they could stay and work with me in our "author's club". I had seven kids who stayed and worked really hard for about an hour... They were adding photos, changing fonts and editing their texts. We talked about all the different ways you can edit and they've all decided that they'd like to stay another day after school for "peer-editing" (hopefully they'll understand what that means by the time we get to it!).

So, from traditional seal hunting to high-tech book writing, these kids passed from the stone age to the future in one day, bringing me gasping for air along with them.

What an amazing place.

All the amenities...

If there's anything you need in Cape Dorset, you can always look up the number in the extensive phone page (no kidding, there is one page of numbers for the entire Hamlet).

There`s no denying that this is an amazing place, but let`s face it, there are some limitations...

If you want to stay in shape and you find it hard to run in minus double digit weather or when it's so dry and cold, you can always work out at the "gym". Some teachers have managed to put together a few machines in the attic of the school. Sure, the air is stuffy and the view is less than inspiring, but they work fine. It reminds me a little bit of some of the places they've managed to put excercise equipment on the navy ships... I guess it pays to make use of whatever space you can find!

Speaking of maximizing space, there are some really ingenious concepts... In our classroom there is a "fridge/freezer" mounted in the window. Essentially it is an un-insulated container that is on the outside of the building with a door to get into it from the inside.

When we bring our lunches in the morning we put them in this little cupboard and they stay cold (or frozen even!) until lunch. I guess it works pretty well as long as the Polar bears don't think it's "bait"!

As far as activities and amenities go, there aren't really any extensive shopping options (read- "none"). But the carvers occasionally turn into door-to-door salesmen. This guy (his name is Johnny Papigatuk) sells incredible dancing bears that balance on one foot (any of about three or four ways). David and Frances have bought a bunch of sculptures from him and they are amazing. He came by tonight with one and I managed to get a picture of it.

It is a little strange to feel so incredibly isolated and at the same time be surrounded by such welcoming people. I went to sewing again tonight with Lisa and there were fourteen or fifteen women crammed into a fairly small room. I really felt like I belonged there... I knew most of them by name and we had a great time talking. 

On the way there and on the way back I got a half a dozen hugs from kids that were out playing or sledding.

I figure they're all set in Cape Dorset. A great community, lots of ingenious ideas... all they need now is a travelling harpist.

(this is taking "have harps, will travel" to a whole new level!)