I went to see my new workplace for the first time this morning. The Kitikmeot Heritage Society is located in the library of Kiilinik High School, which is only a two minute walk from where I'm staying. This was very good, because I am still learning to dress for the weather here. I was so excited to finally meet Renee, the director of the KHS who has been helping me arrange my job and my stay in Cambridge Bay. She used to be a teacher, but fell in love with her job at KHS (she was a cultural anthropology major) and it is easy to see why. She is so enthusiastic about all of KHS's programs: traditional sewing, kayak building workshops, artifacts casting, producing a documentary, making exhibits, publishing books, etc. As you can see, there is a lot going on here!
In fact, I was privileged to have arrived on the first day of a workshop on casting artifacts that Brendan, a PhD student in archaeology who works at KHS, was hosting for the Inuit Art History class at the Arctic College. He showed us how to push the artifacts into foam to make a mold and then we mixed and poured plaster in it. Tomorrow we will go back to put the molds together. The students' assignment is to come up with a creative display for the artifacts that will change them into art forms. Very cool! : )
Pouring plaster in the artifact molds
When we got back, I was informed that some of the teachers had invited me to go ski-dooing (which I discovered, by the way, is pronounced with the accent on "doo") and icefishing! They outfitted me with a large pair of snowboots, a neck warmer, big mittens and a jacket which must have weighed ten pounds. In addition to the layers I already had on, I was quite a character (see picture), but I certainly blended in! The three teachers, two students and I ski-dooed out to the river (which of course is just snow and ice right now), dug some fishing holes and waited patiently for some Arctic char or lake trout to bite. I was surprised that no one used bait; evidently, the fish will bite at anything this early in the spring. I only got a nibble, but eventually Randy (one of the teachers) pulled up a great big trout! We ski-dooed back and cooked it and it was yummy! With the 24-hour light ("sunset" doesn't mean there's no light), we didn't really keep track of time and ended up eating around 9:30 pm. But that's the norm around here. Sometimes, kids play outside until 4 am if they've gotten a good nap during the day!
Icefishing!
One interesting note: As Renee was showing me all of the animal hides used for the traditional sewing classes, she mentioned that she used to be vegetarian before she came to Cambridge Bay. "You just can't live that way up here, though," she said. It's true. One could not begin to protest killing animals here, because that is the traditional way of life here. People here must have the furs of the animals to stay warm. They live off the land because that is how they survive. That's just the way it is. Very interesting.
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