"So Heavy in the Air!"

Some of my friends at the 6th grade graduation

Only 13 years old, Chelsea Klengenberg is nervous about her first long-term trip down south. She is participating in a program this summer that will place her with a family in Edmonton as she completes an internship of her choice. Before she leaves, she must complete a series of assignments, including an interview with an elder she admires. Today, she asked Mary Avalak, one of the ladies who helps with the sewing programs at the Heritage Society, a few questions about her life experiences.

Most of the questions were straight-forward, like, "Where were you born?" and "How did you travel when you were younger?" However, one particularly interesting question was, "What do you remember about the first time you saw a plane?" Mary smiled and said, "Oh, I remember that! I was outside and I looked up in the sky and said "What is that?" (in Inuinnaqtun). I showed my parents and I said, "How does it fly? It looks so heavy; so heavy in the air!""

When Chelsea asked Mary about what things were worse now than in her childhood, Mary became more serious. "The drinking," she said, "is so bad now." She also said, "toooo much TV!"

I was very excited to be a part of this interview. The elders in this community have so much knowledge, much of which is unique and undocumented. Opportunities such as this one give youth insight into the history of the pasts of their community, families and people group. This particular generation of elders had quite fascinating lives. They were taken from their nomadic lifestyle as children, and it was their children who were taken to residential schools. They are the bridge between the old ways and the new, from dog teams to ski-doos, for better or for worse.

My good friend Johnny (the one mentioned in a previous blog entry) graduated from grade 6 today! In this community, there are only two schools, so these students will go to high school next year. Renee and I arrived early and quickly found Johnny, who was dressed in a very nice red shirt (red is his favorite color). When we asked Johnny where his mom was, he said, "Kugluktuk." "Where is your dad?" Renee asked. "He's at home," Johnny responded, nonchalantly. Renee and I glanced at each other with the same concerned look.

Later, when a teacher asked Johnny where his parents were, Johnny answered the same way, but this time he looked up at Renee and said, "Renee, you should be my mom." Renee, who was probably holding back tears at that point, simply smiled and said, "Johnny, your mom wouldn't want that! She loves you!" Johnny, who may or may not have been listening to what Renee said, said, "And Tahner (Renee's boyfriend) can be my dad!" I said, "Johnny, where does that leave me?" He just grinned and attacked his macaroni. Renee saved the day by suggesting that I could be the auntie. : )

Johnny and Auntie Abbey

Johnny ended up getting the Most Improved Student Award, and was quite pleased with himself. I only wish that his mom and dad, who are actually his foster parents, could have been there to see him.

BREAKING NEWS...Before I left for the summer, I joked that everyone in America would get the swine flu while I was isolated and untouchable in the Arctic. However, my father found this radio interview online (hopefully not by searching Google for "Will Abbey get the swine flu in Nunavut?) about an H1N1 outbreak in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Fortunately, Iqaluit is in the opposite end of the territory and there have not been any cases in the western region of Nunavut. It could make for an interesting story if I did get the swine flu up here, but I'll try not to, if only for my mother's sake.

They Don't Have Those in Vancouver!

My work today culminated in a presentation to a 5th grade class about Inuksuit, after which they created their own using rocks, paint and glue. For those of you who are new to the blog, Inuksuit are the piles of stones that are so often used to represent Inuit. Inuksuit is the plural form of inuksuk (eastern Arctic spelling)/inukshuk (English spelling)/enokhok (western Arctic spelling, because they did not use the letter s). They were used for several purposes, including to mark a sacred site or a burial place, to give direction, to welcome or just to show that people had been there. They can be found all over the Canadian Arctic, and every time I go out on the land I see a new one!

Sinclair paints a rock for his inuksuk

Lisa, who also works at the Heritage Society, showed me thiscommercial to use in my slide show. Her mom is the lady that speaks in Inuktitut!

Contrary to popular belief, the piles of stones shaped like people are not inuksuit. They are inunnguat (plural of inunnguaq). Inunnguat can be seen on both the Nunavut flag and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics logo, though one adept 5th grader pointed out that they don't have those in Vancouver!! : )

The Nunavut flag

The 2010 Olympic logo

I have several pre-med friends who have been asking about the healthcare situation up here. I was surprised to learn that there is no permanent doctor, dentist or veterinarian in Cambridge Bay. Every few weeks, these people will visit the community for appointments. Though medical attention is occasionally available, it is not enough for this community of 1,500 people. I have seen only two kids with braces, though more need them. Many people in their 40s are missing half of their teeth! Also, if someone has a medical emergency, he or she must be taken by Medevac to Yellowknife. Pregnant women are taken a month before their due date to Yellowknife to wait until their babies are born, meaning their families are not present for the occasion. It strikes me as odd that one of the largest communities in the Canadian Arctic does not even have a permanent doctor!

SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to my BN buds in Cheraw and Marion! I just got a very encouraging letter from Ben DeMarco that reminded me of how much I love all of you! I hope all is well in the South!

"He Was a Good Boy"

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" I asked the French teacher, who was eagerly awaiting answers to her questions about her students' video project. They were having difficulty getting the taped video onto their computers.

"Well, the good news is that eventually, your students will be able to get their video onto a computer."

To make a long story short, it turns out that all of the filming that had been done by the French students, as well as the environmental class' recycling video, cannot be transferred directly to our computers. Great.

Omingmak Street, the main road in Cambridge Bay

The day didn't get any better when I headed over to the funeral for John Paul Tologanak. Though I had never met him, I thought it would be important for me to see this more painful side of the community. Cambridge Bay has experienced an incredible amount of sorrow this year. Since January, there have been seven or eight funerals. The Tologanak family, in particular, has lost four relatives in that time, both here and in Kugluktuk. I have heard one person say, "Somebody has laid the death card down pretty hard on Cambridge Bay."

John Paul Tologanak died two weeks ago at age 23 from alcohol poisoning. Judging from the number of people at the funeral, he must have been a very special part of the community. The funeral began with eulogies from his mother and his aunt and uncle, who raised him. I was a little taken aback when his mother began to wail; it almost sounded like howling. Renee later affirmed my suspicion that wailing is part of the culture, just like in many cultures around the world. It was quite moving, and there were few dry eyes in the room. After the funeral, the coffin was taken out of the room and transported to the cemetery for the burial.

I spent the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow's Inuksuk activity with the 5th graders. More about that tomorrow!

No, Abbey! It's Nibbles!

I heard that my friend James, a tall, black man from Harlem (two traits which make him stick out here in Cambridge Bay) had his own radio show on the local radio station. A few days ago, I mentioned that I'd like to see the station, so he invited me to come today to help with renovations. Though there wasn't much for me to do, I did have the opportunity to ask some questions about how the station operates.

There are about three or four people who have weekly radio shows. They choose the music they want to play and make community announcements. The rest of the time, the music is simply put on shuffle. This works unless the CDs skip, which has happened several times while I have been working out. : ) The most popular kind of music here is country and western, although the station is stocked with 70s, 80s and aboriginal music as well.

Sometime this week I will hang out with Abe, one of the afternoon radio hosts. I am hoping that I will have the opportunity to get on the air at some point. Unfortunately, there is no online streaming, but I'll try to get some video of it if I do!

A boy plays in a giant puddle with the radio station in the background

The rest of the day was spent watching So You Think You Can Dance (I'm a little embarassed to admit that) and preparing for tonight's big dinner. I invited Renee, Lisa, Cameron and Richard over to eat dinner tonight, so I spent most of the day cleaning. Renee and Cameron arrived early to help make the pizza and Lisa arrived later with a pie! The dinner was delicious, and by the time it was through, we were all stuffed! Richard, a 6th grader, spent the whole time being simultaneously immensely curious and scared to death of the cats.

I was really confused when he insisted that Sweet Pea's name was Nibbles and that she used to belong to one of his friends. The lady I'm housesitting for told me that she was a rescue cat, but I never thought that this community was so small that people knew the pets by name too! : )

Cameron makes friends with one of the cats

Caps, Gowns and Kulliks

"Ladies and gentlemen, the largest graduating class in the history of Kiilinik High School, and perhaps in the entire Kitikmeot region, the class of 2009!"

Some of them laughed, some cried, some smiled, but it was obvious that each of the fourteen students standing on the stage were proud of their accomplishment. Together, they had overcome teenage drama, family hardships, and social pressures to make it to one of the most important moments of their lives. All dressed in black caps and gowns, you wouldn't know that one of them was a single mom who came back to school to graduate at age 21. You wouldn't know that one of them was the first to graduate in his family, or that another was destined for the University of Alberta.

Congratulations Class of 2009!

The ceremony began with Lena lighting the kullik, the traditional stove of Inuit. The kullik (also spelled qulliq) is lit using Arctic cotton and seal oil, and is a very symbolic act. Here is a video that my dad found of the process. Mary followed the lighting of the kullik with her traditional drum dancing. Since Lena and Mary were sponsored by the Heritage Society, I was invited (no, I didn't just crash the party) to attend the ceremony and dinner, which was catered by the Arctic College's cooking program.

Lena lights the kullik

I was extremely proud of this graduating class, several of whom I have had the pleasure of working with in the environmental class. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come; that more youth of Cambridge Bay are recognizing the importance of getting an education. You could tell by the looks on the faces of the graduates' parents that they believe there is hope in the youth of Cambridge Bay. I wish them all the best of luck and hope they pursue their dreams with all of their hearts.

What a Nice Day!

Today began with another meeting, this time between the KIA (Kitikmeot Inuit Association), the Wellness Center and the Recreation Department. It was a chance for the directors to discuss sources of funding and goals which could be met by working together. I am excited to see all of the initiatives which will be carried out this summer, but it makes me wish I could stay longer to see them happen.

I was so excited to see this article on CNN today! There is a team of scientists conducting an expedition this summer to study the effects of climate change on humans, specifically the Inuit! This is exactly what I hoped to learn more about this summer! Unfortunately, this crew will not be passing through Cambridge Bay while I am here. Hopefully, though, they will conclude their expedition with some great video and eye-opening findings.

Everybody left work early today because it was such a nice day. Of course, by "nice day," I mean not snowing and 0 degrees Celsius. : )

To keep this from being a really boring post, I decided to share some of this week's classic moments. I was talking with Eric on the phone on Thursday when I noticed the two cats were up on the counter. I shooed them off and told Eric, "they must have found something tasty up there!" He said, "they're probably just thirsty." That's when I realized that I hadn't refilled the water bowl since Monday night!! When Eric mentioned that I should change the litter box every day, I cringed...I hadn't changed it for three days! I'm now convinced that the hardest part of my 8-week experience will be keeping these cats alive. : )



I forgot to mention that our landfill trip was featured in the school newspaper! It was placed beside an article about how the governor general came to the high school library...which, in actuality, never happened. So much for truthful journalism, haha!

Communication Breakdown

The morning began with a meeting at the elders cabin with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association. The KIA is similar to the Heritage Society regarding its stance on preservation of local culture and traditions. This meeting served as a forum for new ideas for elders programming and was conducted in both English and Inuinnaqtun. One of the ideas was that the elders cabin be spruced up and invested in, as currently, many community groups use it as a meeting place and it is not being kept up properly. One of the elders got really excited about this idea and pumped his fists as he spoke of taking ownership of the cabin. Later on during the conversation, he said, "I do not understand, because now you are saying something different." He had thought that they were proposing that an entirely new building be built! I asked Renee if this kind of communication mishap happens often, and she replied, "all the time!"

Steve and the rest of the elders decided to do a traditional fishing trip in August

I began filming in the afternoon for the documentary about Cambridge Bay that I am making to show my scholarship program; hopefully I can help put something together to send to the Jane's Walk program or show the Cambridge Bay community. I began by filming some of the 6th graders doing throat singing and jigging. They get really excited whenever I pull out my camera or videocamera, and I have to let them take turns holding and using each. This means I usually end up with many very unflattering pictures of myself later. (Check back later...I'm going to try to put up the video of them throat singing!)

Me and Shaina, one of the 6th graders

I am glad to be starting another project, because I feel in a rut here. I want to do more organizing, but I don't know what I can do as a white outsider. As we made muffins this afternoon for tomorrow's elders meeting, Renee and I spoke about the potential power of youth in Cambridge Bay. I feel strongly that if anyone is going to spark change in this community, it will be the youth, simply because they have not yet accepted everything as "the way it is." The concept of change does not bother them. They seek improvement. However, it doesn't seem like anyone is encouraging them, showing them how to take charge. They have no role models who could show them how to lead a social movement. I would love to be able to provide a forum to discuss social issues or help them organize protests (like the protest against alcoholism that students of Kugluktuk sponsored), for example, but as a white outsider it may be inappropriate for me to do so.

Sometimes, I wonder at how much I will actually be able to accomplish here. Though I have learned much about the culture, history and social issues, I do not feel like I have done much to help this community. As my passion for these people, and my understanding of their problems, grows, I feel more helpless. I want so badly to empower them, but must walk a fine line that may prevent me from doing so.

Speaking of change and empowerment, I discovered this really cool article online today, entitled 25 Big Ideas. Though some of the ideas are controversial (getting rid of syllabics for example), they are all proposed by Nunavut residents, who are obviously more qualified than southerners at judging what their region needs. I was particularly interested in the ways that Nunavut could become a leader in the environmental movement. Take a look and see what you think!