Last week, before I arrived in Cambridge Bay, Renee e-mailed me saying that Nick Lunch of http://insightshare.org/ was in town working with the high school journalism class. Insight Share is a non-profit based in the UK that gives indigenous peoples video equipment to document their experiences with environmental issues, climate change in particular. While they were filming, the students decided that they would like to begin a recycling program (like I mentioned earlier, all of the waste in Cambridge Bay is burned). When I heard that, I couldn't resist. Renee and I talked with the environmental science teacher and learned that her last teaching unit is about climate change! With her help, we have come up with an idea for a video that would profile Cambridge Bay's environmental initiatives, suggest areas for improvements and propose the recycling program. I am very excited about this project! We will be taking field trips, conducting interviews and, most importantly, inspiring the hamlet and its residents to think seriously about being environmentally friendly.
After lunch, I needed a pick-me-up, so I ran over to the co-op to buy my first Canadian candy bar. I tried a "Mr. Big," a chocolate bar with rice crisps, peanuts and caramel, highly recommended by Renee. It was AMAZING! Seriously, why don't we have these in the US? : )
During my stay thus far, I have heard and observed that students here do not attend class regularly. I don't mean they skip class every now and then. I mean that some do not show up for months at a time, or only come to their afternoon classes, or skip whenever they want. I heard a teacher say that out of her twenty students, five or six show up for her morning class and ten to fifteen will show up for her afternoon class. I asked Renee today why this is so. "Isn't there some kind of attendance policy?" I asked. "No," she responded. "There would be no way to enforce it." Until the tenth grade, students are basically automatically passed on to the next level because if failing students were kept back, very few would actually advance. After the tenth grade, many students drop out. There is little motivation to go to school. After all, the parents and grandparents of these students did not graduate from high school, partly because many of them went to "residential school," a subject for another time. Fewer still have college degrees. Also, the teenage pregnancy rate is extremely high here, adding to the list of reasons why students drop out. Renee said that the high school graduates about four to five students each year. Obviously, this is extremely low for a town with a population of 1,500 people. I am no education expert, but I am an education supporter, and I really wish that there was a way I could help. Hopefully, the environmental documentary class will inspire some of the students in the environmental science class (many of whom are my age or older), to attend class more regularly.
Tonight was my induction into Cambridge Bay nightlife. Some of my host's friends took me to the Elks Lodge, which is a popular place to go on Friday nights. When I asked what it was like, I was told that it was "like a flock of seagulls." I'm afraid I still don't understand Inuit similes. : ) When we arrived, I was a little surprised. It was basically just people sitting around and drinking, with the occasional mass exit for a smoke. We played a few card games, and I was glad that I only had to take shots of Diet Coke, because otherwise my poor poker abilities would have guaranteed me an altered state of mind for the night. Like in other modern indigenous societies, alcoholism is a problem here. However, I have been impressed by how many steps are being taken to prevent substance abuse. These initiatives are things that I think our communities in the United States could learn a lot from.
I have been in Cambridge Bay a very short time, but I have already developed a heart for the people in this community. They are the essence of "northern hospitality." : )
that project sounds so cool!
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