Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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something new to hear about Volume 20 Number 6 November/December 2006 $2.50 Emma Dick "It's Good to Wake Up in the Bush!" Christmas Greetings from the ISR What do we want? Safe Homes! Iqalukpik Jamboree Margaret Lennie Inuvialuktun Writing System CN Rail Memories Kendyce Cockney "John John" Stuart & The Tuk Youth Center The Bomber Pages! Children’s Story & Contest Inside!

description

Tusaayaksat is the magazine of Canada's Inuvialuit, published from Inuvik NWT, Canada

Transcript of Tusaayaksat, September 2006

Page 1: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

s o m e t h i n g n e w t o h e a r a b o u t

Volume 20 Number 6

November/December 2006 $2.50

Emma Dick "It's Good to Wake Up in the Bush!"Christmas Greetings from the ISRWhat do we want? Safe Homes!Iqalukpik JamboreeMargaret Lennie Inuvialuktun Writing SystemCN Rail Memories Kendyce Cockney "John John" Stuart& The Tuk Youth CenterThe Bomber Pages!

Children’s Story & Contest Inside!

Page 2: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT2

The Joint Review Panel (JRP) and the National Energy Board (NEB) have each been holding public hearings on the

proposed Mackenzie Gas Project. The Joint Review Panel has been looking at potential changes to the environment and

on people, animals and culture. The National Energy Board has been looking at such topics as engineering, safety, design

and economics. During the next several months, these panels will travel to communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement

Region. The people of the ISR are welcome to attend the public hearings and, depending on the type of hearing, may

speak to the panels.

For more information about the public hearings and how to participate, please contact the Northern Gas Project Secretariat

in Inuvik at 867-678-8600, by phoning toll free 1-866-372-8600 or on the Internet at www.ngps.nt.ca.

When are the public hearings in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region?

JRP Inuvik Nov. 15-16 General Hearing (GH) – Topic #7 Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat, including Birds

and Bird Habitat (includes effects on Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary)

JRP Inuvik Nov. 17 GH – Topic #12 Harvesting & Other Land Use

NEB Inuvik Nov. 22-25 Topics: General, Economic feasibility, Tolls and tariffs, Commercial access and

fees

NEB Inuvik Nov. 28 -

Dec. 2

Topics: General, Economic feasibility, Tolls and tariffs, Commercial access and

fees

NEB Tuktoyaktuk Dec. 4 Topic: General

NEB Inuvik Dec. 11-15 Topics: General, Economic feasibility, Tolls and tariffs, Commercial access and

fees

����

PANEL COMMUNITY DATE (2007) TOPIC

JRP Inuvik Jan. 8 Community Hearing (CH)

JRP Inuvik Jan. 9 GH – Open

CH

JRP Inuvik Jan. 11-12 GH – Topic #11 Project-related Economic Costs and Physical Infrastructure

Impacts

JRP Inuvik Jan. 15 - 16 GH – Topic #13 Responding to Socio-cultural Impacts

JRP Aklavik Jan. 18 CH

JRP Inuvik Mar. 13-14 GH – Topic #17 Recommendations

JRP Inuvik April 11-12 GH – Topic #18 Net Contributions of the Project and Closing Remarks

Can’t make it to a public hearing in person? Listen live.

If you want to hear what’s happening at the public hearings, there are two ways to listen live:

toll-free telephones, and Internet.

Interpretation will also be available.

To find out more, contact the Northern Gas Project Secretariat at the numbers above and we’ll

give you the details!

2007

Page 3: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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Mary Okheena won 1st place in the BMO Art! Award 2006 with this embroidered work.

Contents Makpiraam Quliangit

Youth Speak Up Nutaqat Uqaqtut4 Dreamcatchers5 Bomber Pages10 Ulukhaktokʼs Friendly Faces25 John Stuart28 Tuktoyaktuk Graduates

Special Feature Nuitaniqsaq Quliaq14 CN Rail Stories16 Iqalukpik jamboree17 Childrenʼs Story and Contest!19 From Our Readers22 Parks Canada30 Emma Dickʼs Fall Camp32 Inuvialuktun Writing System34 Xʼmas greetings!

Elder Story Inirnirit Quliangit6 Margaret Lennie: A Purposeful Life8Inuvialuktun VersionIn The News Tusaayaksani18 Vandalism24 Coastal Zone Conference ʻ0626 Take Back the Night

s o m e t h i n g n e w t o h e a r ab o u t

PublisherTopsy CockneyInuivaluit Communications Society, Executive DirectorEditor/Creative Dir.Zoe HoTranslationAlbert EliasRenie AreyReporterZoe HoContributorsMelinda GillisCarol AreyChristina EsauPhotographyZoe HoDavid StewartDesign,Illustration, Layout & TypographyZoe HoProductionICS StaffICS Board of DirectorsPresidentStan Ruben, PaulatukVice-PresidentFoster Arey, AklavikSecretary-TreasurerSarah Rogers, InuvikJack Akhiatak, UlukhaktokJoanne Eldridge, Sachs HarbourJimmy Komeak, TuktoyaktukPrintingWillow PrintersSend address changes, letters & advertising enquiries to:

TusaayaksatBox 1704, Inuvik NT, X0E 0T0 Canadae-mail:[email protected]: 1-867-777-2067Fax:1-867-777-2744Canada Post Contract 40049465

Corrections - Last issue:

Youth Brave Rapids We mispelt John Lindsay and Shari Ruben’s names. People in picture of arm wrestling: Fred Wolki and Virginia Kotokak.Picture of arm in arm youth: Johnny Kaglik, Shari Ruben and Amos Teddy

Page 4: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

In October, eight youth from Sachs Harbour went to Edmonton for the annual Aboriginal Youth Dreamcatcher s̓ Conference, where over 80 facilitators and presenters gave sessions on the social impacts that youth deal with daily. Priscilla Haogak and Dorreen Carpenter were the chaperones. Priscilla found sponsors to provide funding, lodging and air tickets for the trip. She said, “I started my job in August, and I felt that this was something the youth of Sachs really needed to see and go to.”

Well, on the 12th we woke up early in the morning once again. Kinda used to it since school has started.

We went to Weldco-Beales Manufacturers for a tour (the Inuvialuit have partial ownership). They showed

us all the major sections where they make parts for heavy equipment machinery. We watched a video

about how Weldo-Beales was started.

Then, we went downtown to Norterra to pick up our hockey tickets. Edna Elias showed us around the

offices. We watched a show on how the business operates and they kept reminding us that we own it. I

think it is cool that we own half of a company that owns three other companies. I was kinda inspired. I

thought we had so little but now I know we have alot.

Then we headed to the Oilers game. I went on a train for the first time. It was pretty cool. After jumping

off, we went to Rexall Place and got couple of big #1 fingers. We went to our seats; I was sitting at section

16, row 5. We were so close we can smell the sweat, no, I am lying, but we were close.

The game began between Oilers vs San Jose Sharks. In the first period, number 15 Jeffrey Lopul scored

the first goal. Then Jonathan Cheechoo scored the second goal. During the game we saw a fight between

Joe Thornton and Jeffrey Lopul. Thornton kept grabbing Jeff’s nose. It was so funny, they were fighting

right in front of me. It was pretty cool.

In the second period, the score ended up being 1-4 for the Sharks but I kept telling myself that the Oilers

would win. Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers scored a goal but it was a washout, the whole crowd

was mad. I was so mad.

In the third period, Ryan Smyth got his groove on and scored a hat-trick in 2:01 minutes, beating Wayne

Gretzy’s record of 2:18 minutes. The whole crowd went crazy. I was screaming and yelling and jumping.

They played a good game after that. After watching Ryan play, he became my new favorite player and

Lopul got moved down to second.

After the game we went to the train station. It was really crowded. We had to stay together or we would

get separated. We got back to the hotel. Thank God. I was so tired but so excited.

We had plans to go register at the MacEwan College. It went faster then I thought. After that we went

on a tour at NAIT and it was really cool. They were having an open house, and we got to see all kinds of

programs they offered. I found the Canadian Forces booth and learnt that I have to pass my grade 12

Chemistry and Geometry to become a medic. I found a lot of good opportunities but still stuck to wanting to

be a medic. I was all confused before 'cause I didn’t know if I should go to college after high school, or if I

should just go straight to the Canadian Forces... ...

Then we went to the Kingsway Garten Mall and shopped for four long hours. I was so happy. I went to

sleep so excited.

We went to Grant MacEwan for our Dreamcatcher’s session. The sessions were all cool, but I liked the

Inspiration Through Music session the most. Man, those guys who taught the session have so much going

for them. They are a band called MEB. While we were there, we wrote a song as a group and the band

sang it.

Vanessa and I went with Tuktoyaktuk’s group to watch the Dreamcatcher’s Idol show after the

sessions. there was a guy there that sounded like Cher, it was so cool. While we were there, we took

pictures like crazy. It was so exciting, I’m so happy that I got picked to come to the 2006 Dreamcatcher’s

Conference. Peace.

Photos coutesy of P

riscilla Hao

gak

The youth that went are Kevin Gully, Kyle Donovan, CJ Haogak, JD Keogak, Vanessa Anikina, Christina Esau, Kyle Wolki and Isaac Elanik. Christina let us have a look at her journal entries for the trip. >>

Christina Esau and Vanessa Anikina cheered madly at the Oiler’s hockey game in Edmonton!

Page 5: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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 wheth-

er they think being a “newspaper reporter” is “geeky”, Sydney Dunlop, Brittaney Watters, Jacinta La-roque 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 bro-chures 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 Mac-Donald, 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 Cen-ter 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.”

Well, on the 12th we woke up early in the morning once again. Kinda used to it since school has started.

We went to Weldco-Beales Manufacturers for a tour (the Inuvialuit have partial ownership). They showed

us all the major sections where they make parts for heavy equipment machinery. We watched a video

about how Weldo-Beales was started.

Then, we went downtown to Norterra to pick up our hockey tickets. Edna Elias showed us around the

offices. We watched a show on how the business operates and they kept reminding us that we own it. I

think it is cool that we own half of a company that owns three other companies. I was kinda inspired. I

thought we had so little but now I know we have alot.

Then we headed to the Oilers game. I went on a train for the first time. It was pretty cool. After jumping

off, we went to Rexall Place and got couple of big #1 fingers. We went to our seats; I was sitting at section

16, row 5. We were so close we can smell the sweat, no, I am lying, but we were close.

The game began between Oilers vs San Jose Sharks. In the first period, number 15 Jeffrey Lopul scored

the first goal. Then Jonathan Cheechoo scored the second goal. During the game we saw a fight between

Joe Thornton and Jeffrey Lopul. Thornton kept grabbing Jeff’s nose. It was so funny, they were fighting

right in front of me. It was pretty cool.

In the second period, the score ended up being 1-4 for the Sharks but I kept telling myself that the Oilers

would win. Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers scored a goal but it was a washout, the whole crowd

was mad. I was so mad.

In the third period, Ryan Smyth got his groove on and scored a hat-trick in 2:01 minutes, beating Wayne

Gretzy’s record of 2:18 minutes. The whole crowd went crazy. I was screaming and yelling and jumping.

They played a good game after that. After watching Ryan play, he became my new favorite player and

Lopul got moved down to second.

After the game we went to the train station. It was really crowded. We had to stay together or we would

get separated. We got back to the hotel. Thank God. I was so tired but so excited.

We had plans to go register at the MacEwan College. It went faster then I thought. After that we went

on a tour at NAIT and it was really cool. They were having an open house, and we got to see all kinds of

programs they offered. I found the Canadian Forces booth and learnt that I have to pass my grade 12

Chemistry and Geometry to become a medic. I found a lot of good opportunities but still stuck to wanting to

be a medic. I was all confused before 'cause I didn’t know if I should go to college after high school, or if I

should just go straight to the Canadian Forces... ...

Then we went to the Kingsway Garten Mall and shopped for four long hours. I was so happy. I went to

sleep so excited.

We went to Grant MacEwan for our Dreamcatcher’s session. The sessions were all cool, but I liked the

Inspiration Through Music session the most. Man, those guys who taught the session have so much going

for them. They are a band called MEB. While we were there, we wrote a song as a group and the band

sang it.

Vanessa and I went with Tuktoyaktuk’s group to watch the Dreamcatcher’s Idol show after the

sessions. there was a guy there that sounded like Cher, it was so cool. While we were there, we took

pictures like crazy. It was so exciting, I’m so happy that I got picked to come to the 2006 Dreamcatcher’s

Conference. Peace.

Look out for Sheree McLeod’s art, Molly Price’s Poetry, Kenzie MacDonald’s “rant”, and a whole lot more in the Bomber Pages!

The Bomber Pages

were lauched at a

pizza lunch at SHSS.

Students Sydney,

Brittaney, Jacinta

and Amie were as

much into ideas as

they were into pizza!

Youth Speak Up Nutaqat Uqaqtut

Page 6: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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

Margaret Lennie: A Purposeful Life

Margaret shows us the beautiful uppers she has beaded.

Unalena, Margaret's

grandmother, with baby Annie.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT6 Thank you to Sam Lennie & family, for letting us use their family photos!

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Page 7: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

Arthur, Freddy, Jerry, Georgie and Naudia spend a beautiful afternoon at Bar C with Margaret.

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 as a youth.

Tents surrounded by snow blocks, similar to the ones that Margaret's family lived in at Banks Island.

Margaret as bridesmaid (R) at Dora Nasogaluak's wedding.

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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”.

Margaret Lennie Inuuvaktuq Pitqusiksani Maliklugu

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”.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT8

Margaret Amamaralua.

Margaret nivingaimayuq mipkuksanik ingnirvium qulani.

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Page 9: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

“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 Bar-2’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”.

Reindeer (Qungiq) (Qungialuk) Lennie’tkut aulaviat Banksland’mun sumuliqalu.

Margaret niviaqsiugami.

Sam’lu Margaret’lu paniaraluktiklu Naudia.

Margaret angiyumik iqaluktuaq.

Page 10: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT10

YOUNG FUNDRAISERSSimon Hagen, Steven Alldridge, and Trent Gordon made their way into Nellie’s office on a rainy Wednesday afternoon this September. These Grade Five students from SAMS each brought along a carton of chocolates and were doing a great job of selling with a smile. They told us the profits would go towards the Grade Six sport teams. We asked them how it feels to fundraise. Simon said, “It’s fun.” Steven said the best way to sell is to say, “It’s for fundraising and it tastes really good.” The best sellers were the chocolate covered almonds! It’s always good to see kids who are willing to help others!

At the restaurant of Ulukhaktok’s co-op run Inn, Susie and Sandi Memogana, as well as Robby Inutalik and Coral Joss provided such friendly service that although the inn itself might not be five-star, the service definitely was.

During the lunch hour, the four staff hurried to serve a rush of customers, from local residents with their children, GNME workers, health staff from the nursing station, to Don Burnstick, APTN comedian and his assistant.

Susanna has been working there the longest. “I’ve been working here since last year. I works full time during the holidays, and during work weekends when we have school.”

Sandi has just started working there, she is currently studying in Grade 10. She likes working at the till. She said, “You get to meet all kinds of new people.” Coral agrees it’s the best part of the job, they find the computerized cash

register easy to use.

Both Susanna and Coral enjoy cooking, Susanna said her best dish is “Omelette”! Besides making some money, they also get a free meal for each day they work. Susanna admits, “You get tired of it if you eat it everyday,” but for now,

while she is thinking about whether she wants to go further in culinary arts, it gives her good practice for the working world. Perhaps we will see them working at a five star hotel one day!

L-R: Susie Memogana, Robby Inutalik, Sandy Memogana, and Cora Joss make work fun at the Ulukhaktok Co-op Hotel.

Five Star Future for Ulukhaktok’s Friendly Faces

Yo

uth

Spe

ak

Up

Nu

taq

at U

qa

qtu

t

Page 11: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

11

Five Star Future for Ulukhaktok’s Friendly Faces

Page 12: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT12

Two Inuvialuit ran to be part of Inuvik’s Town Council. Both are worthy candidates, and although only Grace Loreen was elected

this time, we wanted to hear why they ran, and how they hope to make a difference in the community.

When asked whether he has previous experience in politics, Kurt Wainman answers stoutly, “No” but adds, “That’s the best part.” He is not a “politician” who will say anything to win your vote, but an Inuvialuit “born and raised here”, who wants to do his part for Inuvik. “I’ve lots of good input,” he said. “I am interested in what’s going on in Inuvik, especially with all the oil and gas industries set to boom.” Kurt runs a number of successful businesses related to road services and the oil industry, and is also known for his charitable support of youth organizations. He said, “There are lots of improve-ments to do, and I hoped to bring about change as part of a team with the Mayor and the town council.” He sees the following as crucial qualities for town councilor: Being able to articulate opinion, staying on top of local politics, and in-volvement in the community.

This is also Grace Loreen’s first run at elections for town councilor. She sees the position as “being the voice of the people.” She said, “I’m glad that the have people so gra-ciously elected me and I shall do my best while on Council.”

“I am sure this will be a learning experience. I am sure I will get a lot of “Hey, you are a councilor and this is my con-cern…so what are you going to do about it?” As a single parent with two children (one of them is Dez Loreen, edi-tor of the Inuvik Drum), and currently working at EGT (Gruben’s Transport), Grace feels the time has come for her to be of service to the community. “I am really proud to be from Inuvik and from the North,” she said, “hopefully I can make a little bit of a change and help the community.”

She misses her days of voluntarism in Tuktoyaktuk. “I was on the recreation board and the chairperson for the woman’s shelter there. If there were any events that needed volun-teers, such as a jamboree, I would take part. Tuktoyaktuk is an even smaller community, so they need all the volunteers they can get.”

Now elected, her goal is to better Inuvik. “Vandalism seems to be the biggest problem lately, and something has to be done about it,” she said. “If I know that the person who committed the crime is a minor, I would talk to the parents. You can’t go barging in, pretending to be social services and pointing fingers, but if you can’t stop the youth you have to talk to the parents so the parents can keep the youth in-side.”

“This summer’s the worst we’ve had for a long time. Maybe in the winter it will be harder for them, because they will leave a trail in the snow if they try in winter.”

INUVIK ELECTIONS:CANDIDATES DISCUSS GOALS

INUVIK ELECTIONS:CANDIDATES DISCUSS GOALS

...

...

Kurt Wainman did not get elected this time, but he did get 421 votes, indicating he does have the support of many in the community.

Grace Loreen is one of Inuvik’s eight newly electedtown councillors.She received 458votes!

>>

>>

In The News Tusaayaksani

Page 13: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

13

In loving memory of Ishmael Joseph Alunik (Feb 19th, 1923 – July 7th, 2006)Ishmael was the eldest son of Isaac and Sarah Alunik. He was born in Old Crow Flats, Yukon. Ishmael went to school at Shingle Point and in Aklavik. At the age of 21, he fell madly in love with Ruth, and they got married in 1944. They were blessed with three children: Mary, Angus and Dennis. He was a hunter and trapper, a custodian and also an Inupoiq language Announcer/Operator for the CBC north. He wrote the book Call me Ishmael at the age of seventy five.

Ishmael’s wish and prayer is that we know we are all special and should love, encourage and respect one another. Most importantly, he wanted his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to be ready to meet the Lord for his second coming. He was a very strong and devoted man of God, and very knowledgeable of the Bible. He lived by what he read in the Bible.

In Loving Memory of Lena Verna Molly GrubenLena Verna Molly Gruben passed away peacefully after a four-year battle with cancer on Saturday, September 9, 2006 at the age of 50 years. Lena was born in Banks Island and raised in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. As a young woman she moved south with Ron Wade to raise a family. During her career, she influenced many lives and left a great example for others to emulate. Lena was a loving mother, partner, daughter, sister, aunt, and life-long friend. She was a beautiful , beloved woman. We will miss you, Lena.

THE FAMILY OF LENA GRUBEN WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE COMMUNITY OF TUKTOYAKTUK AS WELL AS THE FOLLOWING:INUVIALUIT REGIONAL CORPORATION, NTCL, E. GRUBEN'S TRANSPORT, CANADIAN NORTH, TUKTOYAKTUK COMMUNITY CORP AND ELDERS COMMITTEE, HAMLET OF TUKTOYAKTUK, EMMANUEL ADAM, LAWRENCE THRASHER & FAMILY, ROBERT VOUDRACH, MAVIS JACOBSON, & ALL THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY.

Announcements

Page 14: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT14

to Pine Point. Both Joseph and Elijah remember hilarious moments on the two-way radio. “The best time on the job was when we hauled gravel. We traveled 24 hours a day and had lots of fun. We saw lots of wildlife en route. There were Christmas dances. If there were any “cranky” managers, they got “kicked back” to Edmonton soon enough. We told them “If you don’t like it, you can go back to Edmonton. Leave us alone.”

“For the first eight years, I was an engineer. Then when CN took over from Edmonton, I had to work

in the shop as a laborer. I had to retrain to become a mechanic,” said Joseph. “I lost the job because I had no education at that time,” Elijah echoed, “when after six years they told me to go in the shop to keep it clean, I was disappointed.” Elijah felt trapped, although he could learn how to drive a train within a couple of hours, he found it hard to achieve grade 12 education in a matter of three months. He found a job with Peter Barton Drilling back in the North, and left Grimshaw with his family. Elijah felt angry with the union for forcing him to become demoted. He did not like the reduced work hours imposed by the union, as he was used to working twelve-

hour days and making more money from it.

Joseph spoke about his retraining. “I had to go to night school for three months,

I used to just about cry, having to do those grammar exercises,” he laughed. Every night after work, it was straight to night school. “I had boxes and boxes of books and lessons. When I finally passed the course, I burnt

them in a bonfire. I was happy not to need the damn papers anymore.”

Joseph eventually worked at CN as a certified mechanic for thirty-one and a half years. When CN rail was

In the late 1960s, employees of the CN Rail (Slave Lakes Branch) were faced with an ultimatum. “If you don’t

join the union, you were out,” said Joseph Allen, former employee of CN. Those who wished to join the union had to become literate within three months, and for Joseph Allen and Elijah Allen Okpik, that was a challenge far more daunting than learning to drive and repair derailed trains.

Before the union arrived at Hay River, Elijah and Joseph held advanced positions at work. Although they had

never been educated academically, both men had a natural gift for mechanics. Elijah said, “I worked on the railroad for six years, I knew every car.” He could calculate the amount of fuel and acceleration necessary for carrying any freight, and had an accident free record as a locomotive driver.

Joseph Allen was a trapper before he worked for the CN Rail, and he preferred the steady paycheck from CN.

“ This was easier. We had income once every two weeks. You might trap for two weeks and only have a dollar. There was no work up North then, so I had to go find a job further south. My wages in 1966 were 90 cents an hour. That was big money then.”

“There was housing and running water, even washing machines,” said Elijah. “It was really

something. We could also afford to buy a car. I bought a used '65 Ford that was in good shape. We would drive to Edmonton for shopping trips.”

“It was a good place to work. There were 375 of us from the north, coming and going,” said Joseph.

Garrett Nutik, James Greenland, Sydney Peters, and Sandy Steffanson were some of the people he worked with. The trains carried weigh freight – fuel, grain, elevators, ore and lumber - it ran between Peace River

Phot

os c

ourt

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Ben

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Hotchkiss bridge: Often, Elijah would drive the train over this bridge, hauling gravel from Meander to Peace River.

Derailment between Hay River and Peace River: Elijah worked with two gangs of about seventy people to make a detour.

Two ex-CN rail employees and their journeys to literacy

Never say Never

Spe

cial Fe

atu

re N

uita

niq

saq

Qu

liaq

Page 15: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

15

changing ownership in the late 90s, Joseph opted to retire and received a seven-year salary payout. “It was a good deal, because otherwise I would have to move to Vancouver or Edmonton,” he said. He also grew to appreciate the union. “When they go on strike, your wages go up a little,” he said.

Elijah “headed for the desk” when he was forty-eight. “It had always been one of my goals, to be literate.

When I was a young boy, I wanted to go to school, but my mother was against it because my brother and sister who went to school came back speaking English, and they didn’t listen to her as well anymore.” He spoke to his oldest daughter about his dream and she found him a tutor. For three years, Elijah worked twice a week with the tutor on reading and writing, while he worked during the day as a truck driver. “Learning to read was like coming out of a shell. I was in a cage and suddenly I was free. I remember the first sign I read by myself. It was ‘SALE’. I felt so proud.”

Elijah has now been retired for six years from his job as head custodian of the Sir Alexander Mackenzie

Elementary School. “I used to go to the grade one hallway to read what the kids were writing. Every year I got better. I used to have to memorize my work hours in my head, but knowing how to read meant I could do timesheets and do my job as head custodian. I would read the Bible out loud to my wife everyday. She helped me a lot because she went to school when she was young.”

In 1993, Elijah and his wife went to Ottawa, where he received a Council of the Federation Literacy Award.

“Who would ever imagine that a boy born in a tent could one day have a party with the governor general,” said Elijah. After meeting Elijah and Joseph, who could ever say that it’s too old to learn? Elijah even had his writing published in a book recently!

After the union came along, CN employees who did not meet the Grade 12 literacy requirement went from working on locomotives to cleaning up the shop.

Joseph at a company dance.

Below: Elijah at 69 years old, sharing his Council of the Federation Literacy Award with us.

Yellow map: Great Slave Lakes Railway route.

Page 16: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT16

Cooking competition: Peter Ruben and his wife Mollie. Check out her “tea pot!”

Frank Green Junior knee-jumping.

Dwayne RubenHigh Kicks!

Keith Felix, Warren Ruben and Savannah Greenshowed off some good moves at this Paulatuk Jamboree!

Page 17: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

17

Photos by Markus Siivolla

Dizzy stick

Boat race

High Kick

Colton Ruben, Esther Wolki, Courtney Ruben and Kristen Green.

Keith Felix, Warren Ruben and Savannah Greenshowed off some good moves at this Paulatuk Jamboree!

Page 18: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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Page 19: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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Page 20: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

“Vandalism is a product of boredom.” Rebecca Robertson, town councilor for

students should know. “Everyone has an idea who the people doing it are. They don’t want to go home and they don’t have anything else to do. We need more police authority on the streets.” When Tusaayaksat asked a group of students at Samuel Hearne Secondary what their thoughts were on Vandalism, it became an impromptu heated discussion. Everybody had his or her two cents. Crysta Rogers and Starla Shae do not find the vandalism “shocking” or new, and are surprised at the hype surrounding the topic these days. Starla does not feel affected by it. “It’s normal to me because I came from Yellowknife. There’s vandalism everywhere. But I feel bad for the people with property, because they paid for it,” she said. Besides increased policing, students suggested citizen patrol and directly fining the parents of those who vandalize.

A public meeting was held in October, and those present from the community, town

government, and the youth center brought up similar ideas. It was also suggested that vandalism culprits could be curbed if their actions result in having their names published in the public press. A search through previous news articles suggest that vandalism always spikes when summers turns to fall, when it’s too warm to have to stay inside, but dark enough for the vandals to hide and conceal their acts. Most public buildings and businesses, as well as private vehicles in town have had their brush-ins with vandals.

Youth say the police do stop them on the streets when they are out late. RCMP officer

Noella Cockney said, “The vandals are mostly youth and below 18. A lot of them have been sentenced, and others are waiting to go to court. These kids are just individuals crying out for attention and help. As a parent, I let youth know that I trust them until they give me reason to believe otherwise. It seems to work.”

Kurt Wainman feels that “As part of the community, if you get involved, you could

get charged with hurting the children.” Youth like

Kenzie MacDonald said there is danger of being hurt by the vandals if they try to intervene. Josh Teddy of Tuktoyaktuk worries that the underlying issues, if unsolved, would “just put more and more young people in jail.”

There were suggestions at the public meeting that the Inuvik Youth Center should be moved,

as some think the presence of young people on the main strip of Inuvik allows them to target businesses. Steve Baryluk, a board member of the Youth Center responded, “People are quick to point fingers at the youngsters, but really the kids that are in the youth center, in my mind, are the ones that are typically engaging in healthy activities. Just because they are in groups does not mean they are conspiring on how to bust up everything they can get at.”

“If you move the IYC to an off-location you will lose a lot of its users, and then you will

have even more kids hanging out on the streets, because those who were previously inside the center, who will now be hanging around the roads doing nothing,” he said.

“We all like to talk and make comments about this, but where are the innovative ideas that

can overcome this problem? Safe communities are healthy communities; parents and the community have to come together to help resolve these negative behavioral patterns,” said Nellie Cournoyea, Chair of IRC.

Vandalism Rooted in Deeper Issues

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT20

In T

he

Ne

ws T

usa

aya

ksa

ni

Page 21: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

There is so much I have heard since I could remember, and I still like to listen to what

the elders have to say; one of them is my nanuck (Grandmother) Sarah Meyook, and some others that have left us, like my grandparents Tom and Jean Arey, Charlie Soupay, and so many more.

I remember them talking about how, as young children, they would listen to their grandparents

and others predicting what had happen, and what will happen today. The predicted the television; I was told they would talk about seeing people through a box and hearing them talk. Sarah Meyook said when she was a kid she used to laugh at them because she thought they were crazy, “how they knew, what were they talking about?" Then there were the changes in weather, ocean currents, and the animals we survive on....

One of the predictions was about the eagles and crows, she said that her elders used to say, “In

the future the Tingmiakpaks and Tuluguaks (eagles and crows) will bunch together, when that starts to happen the animals we eat will be harder to get… just remember that even just twenty years ago we were lucky to see an eagle, and now there are plenty. Crows are now living and nesting along the coast, when there were none until a few years ago. There used to be many ground squirrels at Running River

and Shingle Point, but now there are so many eagles , we would be lucky to see or even hear a ground squirrel.

Has it ever been this hot in September before? Since when and for how long? We now rarely

see ice down at the coast during summer and fall. The ocean is warmer, and the currents are changing. I remember when I was a kid at Running River; we would go swimming in the ocean. The water was pretty cold, but there would be no currents until about the end of August. Now by mid July, I am afraid to let the kids go swimming without any of us adults nearby to grab them if the need arises. The current is getting so strong that by mid July, our fishnet just pulls and is difficult to set. Usually we wait until the currents slow down before trying to set it again.

As for whales, well my goodness, no one had the chance to get a whale (beluga) at Shingle

or Running River this year. It is not that they did not go out, they were just hard to find. The talk of Killer Whales are true, I know of someone who filmed it on video, he said he will send me a copy. There were more than one killer whale (aaggalu), and also a shark, around Herschel Island. I am not surprised about the killer whales as my Mom said she used to see them in the 50's and 60's around Herschel Island. BUT, A SHARK!!! Aallii, what next?

We are living in a drastic time....by Carol Arey

Top: Carol and her granny (Jean Arey), pictured about 15 yrs ago.

Left:Carol and her mother Nellie Arey at Running River whaling camp last summer.

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NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT22

Our adventure began when we launched our rafts into the roaring Firth River, carefully holding aloft a Canada Winter Games Torch. Our team was made up of two Inuvialuit youth athletes, two Patrol Persons from Vuntut

National Park, and three Parks Canada staff members from Inuvik. We were traveling with the torch to generate awareness of the 2007 Canada Winter Games, and to give northerners an opportunity to be part of this great event. The torch relay coincided with Parks Canada’s annual travels to monitor campsites and resources along the river, which runs through Ivvavik National Park.

We departed from Sheep Creek, also in Ivvavik National Park on August 19. There were smiles all around as we lit the torch and posed for photos with the Yukon Territorial flag and the Canada Winter Games flag.

The highlights of our journey down the Firth are the river sculpted canyon walls, breathtaking in their variety of shapes and colors. Green and purple rock fold together creating patterns along the canyon. We saw sheep climbing

cliffs, a grizzly bear high in the hills and eagles flying. The water was alive, flowing swiftly around and over rocks that shaped it into boils, holes, eddies and standing waves. The Big Bend Rollercoaster section, with its class IV rapids, is by far the most exciting and memorable part of this paddling adventure.

Travelling in the North always requires flexibility; our demanding environment determines schedule and pace. Weather and river conditions affected our plans and we had to cut our trip short, but that just means there will

be more to see next time. Accompanying the torch down the Firth River was a great experience for all of us. We had a wonderful time and learned a great deal about rafting, camping and the importance of teamwork. Although we did not raft the entire river, it was an amazing trip that personally connected us to the Canada Winter Games. It was an honour to be part of such a nationally significant event, hosted in the north!

The Canada Winter Games will be held in Whitehorse, Yukon. Three torches are traveling through communities north of the 60th parallel for a year. They will be reunited at the Canada Winter Games opening ceremonies in February 2007. For more information, please see http://www.2007canadagames.ca

By Melinda Gillis

By Melinda Gillis

Page 23: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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Alyssa Carpenter –Inuvialuit Youth Athlete, Inuvik“My favourite part was Big Bend Roller Coaster because the rapids were huge. I also like playing in our dry suits floating down Glacier Creek.”

Noel Cockney – Inuvialuit Youth Athlete, Inuvik“ It feels rewarding to accompany the Canada Winter Games Torch down the Firth River, because not many people get to do it. And my grandfather use to travel the Firth River so I wanted to travel in his footsteps.”

Jeffrey Peter –Patrol Person, Vuntut National Park, Old Crow“I only feared rafting when I was behind the oars because I wasn’t confident in my

abilities. It helped that Mervin and Ryan were around and they were confident that I could do it.”

Lance Nukon – Patrol Person, Vuntut National Park, Old Crow“ I feel honoured to be a part of the Canada Winter Games Torch Relay. It’s a great opportunity to experience a different park”.

Melinda Gillis –Heritage Communication Officer, Parks Canada, Inuvik“I think the trip was a great experience for all of us. It was a great opportunity for us all to be part of the Canada Winter Games.”

Mervin Joe – Park Warden, Parks Canada, Inuvik“I love rafting the Firth. It’s great every time. Don’t matter what the weather is, you just make the best of your day.”

Ryan Drummond –Park Warden, Parks Canada, Inuvik“As a past participant of the winter games with Team Yukon, it’s great to play a role in the games…coming to Whitehorse and presenting these young athletes with a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel the Firth River.”

Parks Canada Munaqsiyuat Canada’mi

Page 24: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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In August, the Coastal Zone Canada 2006 (CZ06) conference was held in Tuktoyaktuk. The location of the

conference was no accident. Tuktoyaktuk was the perfect springboard for the theme of CZ06: to raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by residents of the Arctic coastal zone, where marine ecosystems are facing rapid changes.

The conference highlighted Canadian and Circumpolar experience in marine and coastal management,

including research on ocean resources, critical habital areas, and global warming effects. The communities of the ISR was brought together with those of Nunavut, Nuvavik, the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area and beyond Canada – to coastal communities throughout the circumpolar Arctic.

A youth conference was held prior to the main conference. Presenters and participants alike came

out excited by their discussions and findings. Cultural activities were also organized. Lisa Steen, a resident of Tuktoyaktuk said, “It was the biggest thing going on in town. It was a big gathering for the local people too. I went to the last dance and the arctic fashion show. It was good to see lots of non aboriginals square dancing.”

Randal Pokiak was a presenter at the youth conference. He said, “It was the first coastal zone conference

of this scale to be held in the ISR. Something has to be said for the success of the IRC, the Joint Secretariat and Tuktoyaktuk. It helped our organizations to prove ourselves, having settled our land claim for well over twenty years.”

The people he met at the conference impressed him. “Many of those who attended were from the

south, and they showed real interest in the information presented to them. I was pleased to meet intelligent young people, some from New York and California, who are in training to work in ocean resources.” He believes this kind of participation meant more people were heeding the wake up call about climate change.

Ryan Walker, who called himself a “non indigenous aboriginal” and is a high school student in

Tuktoyaktuk, felt the youth conference was worth his $125 registration fee. He said, “ It let people who are not from the North learn about the coastal area. It was interesting for me to learn that there are a lot people working towards alternative energy in Tuktoyaktuk, for example with wind turbines. It made me want to conserve more and to change my daily habits.”

Coastal Zone Conference 2006

Arctic Fashion Show

Youth Conference Participants

A bonfire about the successful beach clean-up.

Diving DisplayNOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT24

Page 25: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

He tries his best to make life fun for local youth. “We have a lot of activities on the go for youth

at the youth center, so they are never bored. Teen dances are really popular right now, we also have

movie nights, sleepovers, sewing clubs, reading night, and we bring elders in to tell stories.”

As a youth coordinator, he is aware that “There's not much opportunity up here for youth. Families don't have much time for their youth. My job is like that of a referee and a nurturer. Some kids come in hurt, and I try to help them. I talk to them and if I find out that it’s really bad I’ll probably call the proper authorities. There's a 1800 kids help phone (1800-668-6868) that not enough youth know about.”

John acts by example. After attending a session on Global Warming at the

CZ06, he decided to stop driving and to stop using fossil fuels.

“I heard that ice caps are melting and water is rising, eroding

the coast. Using less fossil fuel will slow the warming down. There is nowhere you need to drive to in Tuk. It takes longer to walk, but you can walk,” he said.

John has an eleven-year-old son Hayden, and is a single dad. “My son's always there

with me, parenting is hard but rewarding. We are pretty flexible with each other; I think he's following in my footsteps!”

The Kids Help Phone website is a great resource for youth to express their

feelings and to get counseling and advice from caring adults.

Check it out! http://www.kidshelpphone.ca

John Stuart is a familiar face at most youth events, volunteering as a coach or chaperone.

Most affectionately call him “John John”. He runs the youth center in Tuktoyaktuk, and his experience helped him coordinate volunteers at CZ06. He worked with 80 volunteers. “About 65 of them were youth. The youth really helped out. We took care of the chauffeuring, clearing up after meals, and security. All the volunteers showed up for the beach clean up, and did a good job on cleaning up the ocean coast.”

John quit his job at NTCL to work at the youth center. “I

resigned because I wanted to work with youth. I didn't like being away from home for so long, it was six months on and six months off.”

“I like doing sports, and as I got older, I started coaching

the kids in soccer and volleyball. I recently got certified as a wrestling coach, and I plan to start a club for the youth in October. It will be a challenge, but I am the only certified coach in Tuk right now.” John was a wrestler in his high school days.

To John, wrestling requires maintaining

a good state of mind and stamina. He seems to have the same balanced approach to life. “When I was younger, there wasn't much for youth to do in Tuk, a lot of my friends went down the path of drinking and doing drugs. I didn’t, I did a lot of sports instead. I had a great group of friends who all hung out and liked sports. We had parties but didn’t drink or do drugs.” His best memory of sports is the companionship. “It didn’t matter if we won or lost as long as we were having fun.”

John Stuart

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NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT26

You can be a homebody and still benefit from being part of the Take Back the Night Walk. I’ll be the first to admit that I mumbled at first, when I heard

Gerri Sharpe Staples begin the chants,

“WHAT DO WE WANT? SAFE HOMES! WHEN DO WE WANT IT, NOW!”

There we were, about seventy people marching in downtown Inuvik, (about forty women, the rest were children and men), carrying big signs that said,

“No more abuse!” clanging pots and pans. As we walked down the main road, a transformation took place; I found myself, along with other women, getting louder and more assertive, strengthened by each other’s fearlessness. Cars we passed honked to show support, and people of all genders and ages smiled at us. The balloons represented all the women and children who had been served by the Inuvik Transition House. By the time we released the balloons into the blue sky, we were all cheering, excited to let go of anger and to celebrate the bonding we had just went through. We then had a candlelight vigil and prayed for those who have been affected by violence in the home. Young girls interviewed felt inspired. A participant from the Arctic Tern Correctional Facilities

found the event “awesome”, and said, “I think people should do this more often!”

Ann Kasook, one of this event’s organizers and Executive Director of the Inuvik Transition House, was very pleased with the response. “This is a much bigger turnout than we’ve had in other years,” she said, “Sharing our stories in the friendship center encourages these women. There is still a lot of violence in homes, and to solve the problem, we have to admit the problem first. We all have daughters and grand daughters, sisters, relatives and friends that we need to do this for.”

Ann’s organization also sells the colorful “hand” leaflets that say “I will not raise my hands in violence” during family violence week. People who buy these leaflets write messages on them and put them up in public places in town. “It’s not for the monetary value, but to begin conversation and awareness,” Ann stressed. A study released showed that in the North, Tuktoyaktuk had the highest rate of violence against women and children, followed by Paulatuk and Hay River. We are grateful to our interviewees for sharing their personal experience in the following article, and hope their strength will inspire others to join in the fight against violence.

BREAKING SILENCE

The community of Inuvik comes together for Take Back the Night, a march to raise awareness about violence against women and children.

Tuk Women and Children’s Shelter: 977 2070 Inuvik Transition House: 777 3877 Counselling Services: Inuvik: 777 4148 Aklavik: 978 2953 Ulukhaktok: 396-468 Inuvik: 777-4148 Paulatuk: 580-3800 Sachs Harbour: 690-4181 Tuktoyaktuk: 977-2176

Page 27: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

WOMEN SHARE THEIR STORIES“I've not only seen it up North, it is all over the place.

Long ago it was pretty much a family matter and dealt through the family,” said Noella Cockney,

constable of the Inuvik RCMP. “The problem is a lack of public knowledge. Most of the elders probably still think that way and tell younger family members the same. There is also family pressure, if you speak up other family members might get angry with you, even if you are the victim, ” she said.

She added, “When I did the family violence program in Yellowknife for a week, there were sessions on domestic and family violence. It really opened my eyes and showed me if I stayed in some relationships when I was younger, it could have been me suffering. I was strong enough to get out, so now I just want to help other people know they don't have to suffer either. I've seen some strong kids who have spoken up and who've convinced their family that they will not let themselves be abused. It is a vicious cycle and there will be fighting and struggling, but there are women’s shelters in Yellowknife and in Inuvik to help you, and you can reach local social health services or the RCMP to get an Emergency Protection Order at any time.”

Many local women who work against family violence have had personal experiences like Noella, and they believe the person affected has to first want to find a solution. “Some people don’t even know that name calling, or intimidation is abuse. As caregivers, we don’t stop at 5pm. We want people to know they can live without fear,” Lucy Dillon said. She works in health and social services for Tuktoyaktuk. Lucy remembers how her job led her to “re-do” her parenting skills. “There was a parenting workshop in 1982, and our spouses had to attend with us.”

“I wanted to speak up at the meeting, but I remember how we were told to be quiet and to respect elders as we were growing up. On the third day I spoke up.” She realized they did practice favoritism with the children at home, and resolved to change. Some elders judged her outspokenness, but Lucy learnt that being honest allowed her to mend her

issues with her mother too. “There was a lot of yelling and crying at first,” she said, but it led to more understanding.

Annie Goose, visiting counselor at Inuvik Family Counseling services, said she began her journey of healing after losing her spouse. She has been sober for 11 years, and has now worked over a decade in the field of addictions counseling and community support. She describes her journey to healing. “The uphill road to healing is not without pain, but when I started dealing with the people who’ve hurt me, and allowed the tears and the downtimes to happen, I could feel myself changing. I started to share at AA meetings and with individuals and family, and soon family members were coming on board with me. How you feel on the inside shows on the outside. You become more productive and enjoy life in a peaceful way, you can sense the beauty around you, whether it be wildlife, nature or just the breeze in the air, you are connected to it. You stop ‘self-medicating’ with drugs and alcohol. Self-medication is just a bandage to the core problems, and bandages don’t last.”

“In a caregiver’s opinion, there is always hope, and asking for help is the first step. Nowadays, I know if I need help and don’t ask for it, I am making it twice as hard for myself,” she laughs.

Nellie Cournoyea, Chair of the IRC, commends the “agencies and individuals who take up the responsibility to provide support to those affected, either voluntarily or vocationally, for their dedication.” She said, “The fight against family violence is one focused on by many individuals and agencies. We all aspire to have a society with zero tolerance towards violence. To achieve this goal we have to deal with the major problem of denial, amongst other issues. Violence in the home has grown and been left unchecked - as a result, violent behavior has become a “normal and everyday occurrence”, a way of life.” The chain of denial has to be broken. Each person can take action and get help."

A candlelight vigil followed, where attendees prayed and remembered loved ones affected by violence at home.

Tuk Women and Children’s Shelter: 977 2070 Inuvik Transition House: 777 3877 Counselling Services: Inuvik: 777 4148 Aklavik: 978 2953 Ulukhaktok: 396-468 Inuvik: 777-4148 Paulatuk: 580-3800 Sachs Harbour: 690-4181 Tuktoyaktuk: 977-2176

Page 28: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

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Kendyce Cockney, The Girl That Made It!Mangilaluk Graduates share their

experience

The Girl

Kendyce Cockney’s mother is her biggest fan, and has collected all of Kendyce’s graduation memorabilia –

her hat, her four page speech and her governor general’s award for getting the best academic results in her school. Her mother is also dedicating half of her residential school compensation to Kendyce’s college fund. Kendyce is the first person in her family to become a graduate, and her valedictorian speech is an outpouring of appreciation, for all the love and support she received from her family, boyfriend and school.

“My mother Mary Cockney is the most beautiful person in the world,” said Kendyce. “She is my best friend

and guardian angel. Even though I didn’t really have a dad growing up, I thank her for making me the person I am now.”

“People sometimes graduate and they don’t do anything with it,” said Kendyce, “I don’t want to sit in an office

all day and answer the phone. I want a guy’s job. I want to be active. Nowadays, you need to be educated beyond

high school to go further.” Her oldest sister, who was one of the first female roughnecks to work on an oilrig, inspires her. Right now, Kendyce is looking at applying to NAIT College so she can get closer to her dream of becoming an engineer.

“I always pray to God, I ask him to help me find my path. But I know I need to figure it out for myself

too,” she said. When asked whether she would miss her support system too much when she goes down south, Kendyce said, “I am so glad the telephone was invented. When I run into a problem, I’ve just got to remember that the ones who love me are only a phone call away, and that I am have my opportunities because of them.”

Kendyce did at one point find it hard to wake up and go to school. “My nanuk and daduk always made me

get up, and my boyfriend made me go to school even after he dropped out. I didn’t fail a single grade.”

The most beautiful reward she got for graduating was a lucid dream, where she saw her daduk alive again. “He

hugged me and said congratulations. We were both crying. I woke up feeling so touched.” Her daduk had passed away from cancer, but it was always his dream to see his grandchild graduate. Kendyce certainly doesn’t waste a second of her life. She has never gotten into drinking or

Kendyce's grandparents, Andy and Anna Cockney.

Top: Kendyce's mother has kept all of her graduation momentos for her.

Left:Kendyce and her mother posing at her graduation.

Right: With her boyfriend, Matt.

Page 29: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

The Three Boyz

George Voudrach, 21 and Josh Teddy, 18 are giddy with relief at graduating from Mangilaluk School. Josh, who

according to his friends, is a “cool guy” said, “I feel pretty good now, it’s good to finally sleep in for awhile, have free time and enjoy life.” George and Josh are avid basketball players, and they recently attended the Cages Basketball Tournament, and contributed to the tie for the third position. They kept school fun by being involved in sports.

“It feels really good to finish. I found the academic subjects quite challenging, and waking up in the

morning is hard,” said George. However, despite the challenge that school can sometimes be, he plans to further his studies in a year.

Getting out of bed is worth it!

drugs, and she is concerned that “it’s really affecting the attendance of the young ones in school.” She said, “Young people can ALL do it, they have the strength to say no to drugs and alcohol. In a small community there is not much to do, but you can do anything you want after you graduate.”

“I know some kids who don’t go to school, because they or their parents are drinking…and I think, if these

kids had a hot lunch to come home to, and people to love them, it would be so much better. We also need a bigger recreational center.”

George said, “You can do anything if you put you head to it. I’d tell others to finish school. Keep trying.” Josh

too sees the value of school. He said, “I tell people it’s worth it to come to school; especially nowadays, you can’t get a job unless you have at least grade 12.”

“I am thinking of going to college or to U of C and taking recreational sports.” Josh dreams of becoming a

coach. Although drugs and alcohol are factors preventing youth from graduating, Josh found that he was able to stay away from temptation. “I play a lot of sports and I think it’s not good to do sports and do drugs or drink at the same time,” he said. “It’s pretty good to grow up in Tuk. We can go hunt, fish, and ride around on snow mobiles.”

Darren Pokiak was not available for the interview. We heard this graduate is “always out and about.”

Congratulations Darren!!

Kendyce is not afraid to speak her mind. She said, “If you are sincere, you will get though eventually. I just

don’t want people I love to suffer.” For an eighteen-year-old girl, these are powerful words. May our support be with her as she goes further.

Kendyce: I would like to thank all the teachers and staff at Mangaliluk School for all their help and

support. Without them I wouldn't have accomplished this great success. Also, thank you to my family for their love and support through the years. I would have not made it out this far without them. I love them so much, thank you all for everything!!

George Voudrach, Darren Pokiak, Josh Teddy and Kendyce Cockney, our proud new graduates from Tuktoyaktuk.

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“833…711! Good morning everybody! Good to be waking up in the bush, over!” Emma radios her cousin Rita as soon as she awakes, sitting

by the window of her cabin at Amagavik. Waking up in the bush is especially great if you happen to be at Emma’s camp, because she makes the fluffiest sourdough pancakes with bacon and eggs! By the time we finished coffee, Emma’s already in the loop with all the going-ons near her camp, from whether there are whitecaps in the water, to where the Ipana family is building their new cabin.

Emma’s laugh sounds somewhere between a chortle and a cackle, and she laughs a lot during conversation. Her ability to remain joyful and energetic is amazing at her age. As we traveled in her son Noel’s boat, she gleefully told stories of how the creeks and channels we passed came to be named, (Chickenbone Creek was especially amusing to her), and her eyes shone as she looked out for caribou tracks and signs of wildlife. She swept her arm along some shorelines, remembering how youth played there when they came to her camp with Rosie Albert in summers past.

“Rosie Albert was the instructor, we came here with Noel. They went out with the children everyday; I stayed and made lunch. I was like a camp manager! The kids

would go swimming, find wood and water, and we even drum danced with them!” Emma made doughnuts and bread, and cooked fish and caribou at the camp. “I loved helping Rosie Albert, it was a beautiful time, and a lot of fun. We also taught the kids Inuvialuktun.”

Emma has a spring camp at Campbell Creek. In the summer, she goes to Gary Island whale camp. Recently, Emma goes out on the land for shorter periods. This weekend is the only time she will be on the land before freeze up. Although she is relatively healthy, it requires effort to coordinate schedules so her family can go with

her to bush camp. The path from the boat landing to the cabin has also been destroyed by the ice

buildup during spring, and it was hard for Emma to walk up.

However, Emma always makes the best of any situation. She came determined to feed us well and to have a great time. “I brought fish eggs and muktuk!” she announced, “We’ll make fried fish and fish eggs for dinner, it’ll be very good!” In between cooking and cleaning, she took us for walks to learn about the land. “We might see bear tracks,” said Emma. There were paw prints on her carpet from the last winter, when bears broke into the cabin, looking for leftover sugar. Noel has now surrounded the cabin with fluorescent orange tape.

spruce gum

edible leaves

Emma enjoying the weather in front of her cabin at Amagavik.

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We walked to the nearest trees to look for

spruce gum. Emma’s cousin, Renie, had a bad cold the gum can cure. “You boil this

and make tea with it,” she said, plucking the yellow and sticky sap off the tree bark. “This is something Gwich'in people taught Inuvialuit! You can put this on cuts. Sometimes we cleaned it and chewed it as gum.”

“We also peeled willows in the spring and chewed them for their sweet juice. We ate anything! We collected flower buds in the springtime, and put rhubarb in blubber.” Emma showed us some leaves from the ground. “In the old days, we would keep these in uksuk (whale oil) for winter. We had no vegetables, so it was our cabbage.” The tiny round leaves suddenly seemed a whole lot more precious.

Emma showed us where to dig up soft

ground to find mashoo, edible roots. “I cook mashoo with berries,

and store it up for dessert.” She peeled the bark off and offered us some. It tasted like raw potato. “The best time to find these is in the fall, when they break easily,” she said. Emma cut up the mashoo and preserved chunks of it in uksuk. “We don’t want to waste anything!” Emma said. “Our first people never did. Nowadays people don’t even eat leftovers, they throw it into the garbage, why?”

Bush camp of course includes visiting, and we went to Abel Tingmiak’s camp, where there were many visitors! The Joe family was there, and the young hunters Dougie Joe and Dennis Chicksi have just caught twenty-eight geese. There was a boiling trunk of water and a plucking station set up outside, and almost everybody worked on preparing the geese. Emma immediately rolled up her sleeves and set about plucking as many as she can. “It’s easier to pluck if you boil them first. Long ago, if you watched your elders, you’ll learn how to do things when you grow up. You can roast and stuff these, or you can make goose soup.” The goose soup Marcy and Rhoda made was rich and delicious.

With our bellies full, we listened to Emma as she told stories of what life was like when she was younger.

She told us about muskrat and whaling

camp. She spoke of residential school, and how “We would just sneak around, and talk to each other in Inuvialuktun!” We laughed with her

as she told us what a big

ruckus her first hand-cranked washing machine caused. “We got it in 1950. You put oil in the engine, crank it up, and it starts really good!” Many neighbors would come by with their laundry, and Emma would share her machine. We

especially loved her story of how a young girl who often went to her place would always say she

felt very tired.

“Why are you tired?” Emma asked, “I was never tired when I was your age.” The youth replied, “You know

why Emma, because we were brought up with showers and

flush toilets!”

At bush camp, there is still no showers or flush toilets, but there is certainly a lot of fun to be had, with Emma the elder, who was “brought up tough”, and can tell you stories that may even make you cackle a little.

Mashoo Roots

Bush camp radio

Cleaning up goose gutsBreakfast

Top: Emma and Tusaayaksat editor, Zoe, take a break after a long walk. Bottom: Noel lights the gas lamp for the evening.

Page 32: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

The children at school definitely seemed to have fun with the Inuvialuktun language system. When I sat in on Clara Day’s grade 4 class, I was inspired by how much fun the children were having! Clara said, “It is a good thing to have a writing system. It is standardized for all the other dialects, so we can understand each other all over the ISR and

in Nunavut. I explain to the students, as soon as they are in grade 4 – 6, that we have our own writing system, and like in French, certain alphabets will sound different from the ones in English. We have games and contests, where we break up syllables, and races towards recognizing words. They see it a lot on the board and in their worksheets so they are usually very good at it."

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The standardized Inuvialuktun writing system has been established for over two decades, but it has

not received total acceptance yet, especially by the older generations. The writing system can be learnt from three dictionaries available from the ICRC (Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Center). Inuvialuktun is made up of three dialects spoken in the six ISR communities – Ummarmiut (Aklavik, Inuvik), Siglit (Tuktoyaktuk, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk) and Kangiryuarmuit (Ulukhaktok). We speak to those involved with language promotion about this.

Cathy Cockney is manager of the ICRC, an organization with the mandate to promote and

preserve the Inuvialuktun language. She believes a standardized writing system is integral to achieving her mission. “There is resistance to the writing system developed by the COPE language commission in the

An Understanding of The Inuvialuktun Writing System

1980s,” she said. “We lose a lot of our history because we had a oral tradition, and if we wrote our stories and legends down in a unified way, it will help us pass it on to our children.”

Emily Kudlak, who works for the ICRC out of Ulukhaktok, said that elders are used to the Holman

Orthography writing system, created by the oblates. “Elders have approached me more than once to say what they want to see, but we can only publish books with the standardized writing system,” Emily said. “I feel for them; if I was never educated in the new writing system, I would find it hard to change over.”

Helen Kitekudlak remembers being part of the language commission and why they decided to

standardize spelling,

Students at Clara Day’s class learnt to recognize words by playing games like ‘cat and dog’, and racing to see who can jump with a beanbag between their knees to the correct flashcard.

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“The missionaries wrote down Inuit words the way they heard them, and the written

words varied depending on where the oblates came from, especially the way they sounded their vowels. It is a lot easier for students now, to learn to read and write by sticking to the vowels we have defined.”

Helen added the dictionaries had to be created because “the language was starting to go pretty fast. We found

ourselves speaking English even at home. A lot of our elders who were our “encyclopedias” and “dictionaries” passed away.”

Although it was hard for them to transition to the new writing system at first, both Helen Kitekudlak

and Renie Arey said they now accept and prefer using it. Renie said, “I started using the new writing system when I began teaching in 1993. We were told to use it. To me it is easier to use the new system, because the words are easier to pronounce. The new way was used in the six communities then. With children and babies, because they had no resistance, they picked up the words and sounds really quickly. I also went to some communities with Beverly Amos when I was working at the ICRC, to explain the new writing system.” She remembers talking about the silent ‘r’ in ‘Kittigaruit’ with people in Tuktoyaktuk.

Cathy explains, “There are some sounds that can’t be represented by English pronunciation. That is why

we developed the slash ‘l’ and the ‘r’ with an accent. We have fewer letters in the Inuvialuktun alphabet.” The Inuvialuktun writing system only has three vowels, ‘a’, ‘i’, and ‘u’. There is often confusion about when to use ‘o’ or ‘u’ to spell certain words, and dispensing of the English vowel ‘o’ resolves the problem.

Renie believes “I think the writing system should be kept the way it is now, and if people want to learn

how to use it, they should go to someone like Rosie Albert, who is good at speaking and writing with the system. I learnt a lot through her.”

To her, “It took so much effort to get the language back, we should treasure it

and not argue about it. Because we went to residential school and we got married when we were young, we lost our language and we didn’t pass it to our children. I am glad we are teaching children the language in our schools now.”

Some have issues with how “k” sounds similar to “q”, and “g” to “r”. “The sound for ‘q’ is pronounced

more from the back of your throat. ‘Qimmik’ means dog and ‘kimmik’ means heel. You really have to listen and to work with your tongue,” Renie explained. Cathy said the ICRC is arranging to make more trips into the communities again, to promote understanding of the language system.

Anna Pingo teaches Inuvialuktun at Inuvik's high school, and believes getting the students to listen

to fluent speakers is also key. “We have three dialects, and sometimes I have students from Tuk who find the different ways of saying words confusing. The writing system is nice, but I think listening more to oral stories will also help them absorb the information better.”

In Greenland, voting for one dialect and developing a writing system for it standardized their language. Having

three Inuvialuktun dialects in the ISR poses challenges when it comes to creating language resources. “When we publish materials, we do it in all three dialects or try not to favor just one. If a person really wants to learn all the dialects, they can," Cathy said.

" If not for COPE the language will not even be standardized. Most aboriginal languages

don’t even have grammar or dictionaries, so we are very fortunate to at least have that,” Cathy concluded.

Emily Kudlak, Helen Kitekudlak, and Renie Arey speak about their experience with the Inuvialuktun Writing System.

Page 34: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our family and friends. From Blake, Violet and Laila Noksana in Yellowknife.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New YearBest Wishes,Doug, Melinda, Olympia, Keaton, Mataya & Pearl

Tamara Gordon, Grade 4Merry Christmas to Carmen.

Christina FelixMerry Christmas and Happy New year to all my family and friends!

Christmas greetings to our Kisoun, Allen and Dick families. Also to all our friends and relatives. We wish you a safe and very Merry season. Love Uumati Kisoun and Terry and Yvonne Camsell.

Sarah Kuptana & Elsie MilligakMerry Christmas to friends and family!

John William GrubenMerry Christmas to all my friends and family!

Naudie LennieChristmases that stand out in my memory: I remember fresh oranges and candy during Christmas at Stringer Hall. It was one of the rare occasions when I got to spend time with my brothers. Christmases on the DEW Line were always unique. I remember the Christmas turkeys, We had rations of fruit and candy too. They also had a fake santa who gave us presents.

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends! Jane Tetlichi

Happy Holidays to everyone in the Delta!Velma DickMerry Christmas and Happy New Year Mum! And Season's Greetings to our family and friends too!

Page 35: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

Merry Christmas to all my relatives in Tuk, especially my mom Winnie, dad Roger, brother Robin and my Nanny Helen Gruben, and also to my sister Michelle Gruben in Aklavik. Greetings also to Holly Ovayuak and my nephew Blaise Riley in Fort Smith. Happy Holidays from Tanya Gruben and son Travis Smith in Inuvik, NT.

Elijah AllenChristmas Greetings to my family and all who read this. It's never too late to go to school!

Rosa KayotukI would like to say Merry Christmas to friends and family in all the communities and especially Alaska.

Marka BullockHallo all my friends in Tuk, I love you and I remember you very much. Merry Christmas.

Jane TyrellMerry Christmas to my family in Aklavik!

The Moore Twins!Happy Christmas time to our family and friends.

Sarah Ann GardlundMerry Christmas to my friends and family!I hope everybody has a good time and enjoy themselves. The people here are looking after me really well, thank you. I hope to get home before Christmas.

Anne AleekukI would like to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my relatives and friends, especially Debbie Gordon Ruben and her family in Paulatuk. I wish everyone happiness during the festive holidays.

Bert KimiksanaI would like to send my Christmas greetings to my other family in Tuktoyaktuk. And to my brothers and sisters, and my daughters in Yellowknife, Whitehorse and Hay River. Also to my son in Holman Island, and his family, especially the little fatso.

Frank KuptanaA very Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope to go home soon!

Page 36: Tusaayaksat, September 2006

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2006 TUSAAYAKSAT36

SuaanganTo Have S t reng thSouthern FeedFr id ays a t 5 : 30 pm

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DONʼT MISS THE ALL NEW SEASON OF SUAANGAN AND TAMAPTA!Sarah Kuptana from Sachs Harbour

Nov 14 &15

Sarah talks about tents made out of caribou skin in the winter, they were the warmest!

Fred Wolki from Tuktoyaktuk Part I Nov 21st & 27th

Fred talks about traveling on the water. “They were traveling to Banks Island that time, with the boat. Inuvialuit used to travel together. My dad used to live around Horton River.”

Part II Dec 5th and 6th“Then we had long stockings…they called them German socks at that time. Those stockings were long…” A hilarious story on stockings you donʼt want to miss.

Rita Allen from Inuvik Nov 28 & 29

“There was no sickness then, we never thought of seeing other people. Only once in a while we saw visitors.” Rita talks about the first illnesses.

Elizabeth Aviugana from Aklavik Dec 12th and 13th

"Our dad bought us a 410 gun..."A story about muskrat hunting with Elizabeth's mum.

Peter Esau from Aklavik Dec 19th and 20th

“The elders used to talk to me. I didnʼt know anything then, and today I am very grateful to them.” Peter Esau on the elders that influenced him.

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