Monthly Archives: March 2007

Can you do this difficult stunt?

Lie face down, with arms outstretched and legs together. Then, get three friends to carry you forwards. (You are not allowed to touch the floor, so you need strong arms and shoulders.)

It’s a 114km drive from Tsiigehtchic to Inuvik Regional Hospital, so I am guessing something serious was happening here.

If you’ve driven up the Dempster Highway, odds are you’re happy to see this sign.

Everyone in Tsiigehtchic calls the old Roman Catholic church “The R.C. Church.”

Isn’t Canada an amazingly diverse country? It’s strange to think that Tsiigehtchic and Toronto are are both represented by the same parliament.

This display at Tsiigehtchic’s Chief Paul Niditchie School is a really nice gesture. It recognizes all the elders in the community.

Looks like this raven is also the town traffic cop.

Kind of a funny image: The CBC sign between Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic is riddled with bullet holes.

There are so many colours in the sky here. It’s really fascinating to see it change. (These photos taken around 8:30am)

From Mangilaluk school in Tuktoyaktuk: This board illustrates the best quality of newspapers, which is “clip-a-bility!”

Here’s another game that’s easy to set up: The Sledge Jump.

Take 20 chairs, tape ribbons between them, and then ask people to leap over. The rules are:

1.You cannot touch the ribbons
2.You cannot bounce twice, or stop midway.
3.Both feet must land together.
3.Once you reach the end, you have 5 seconds to turn around and keep going.

Contestants keep bouncing back and forth and the winner is the person who does the most jumps before making an error or stopping.

(Note: the real traditional game is not played with chairs, but caribou skin barriers, I believe.)

As you can see, there are many unique buildings in Tuktoyaktuk. (Interesting rounded house, eh? Is that a silo or hangar construction?)

The CFTC radio station in Tuk reads bingo numbers over the air.
It’s a very small place.

Here are two members of the Tuktoyaktuk Drummers and Dancers, who perform traditional Inuvialuit dances at town hall meetings and other events.

The “drum parkas” are home made.

Here’s Loren from CBC driving alongside a dog sled in Aklavik. It was part of a “tracking shot” on video, which I hear turned out well.

Traditional games are awesome, and more people should play them. I think they would be perfect for scout camps, gym classes, etc.

Here’s an example called the “swing kick.” The rules are simple: You tie a belt above your knees — keeping your legs together — and then try to kick a dangling target with both feet. The highest kicker wins, and it’s difficult because you have to raise yourself on your arms in a really awkward way, because your backside can’t touch the floor.

All you need is a belt! This is a really fun party game.

Here are some interesting buildings in Tuktoyaktuk. Notice how pelts are being dried on the second one. Interestingly large and white pelts.

Could this be the shed of a polar bear hunter?

Good news! The March equinox means sunlight is now dominant in the NWT. It’s bright early in the morning and the sun stays until 9pm or later.

Some people are already covering their windows, (as shown), in preparation for that 24-hour sunlight.

Why all the angles? Is this stronger than a cylinder?

Here is a scene from Tuktoyaktuk, with the Beaufort Sea to the left.
It must be scenic in the summer, but I’ve never been. (On account of it being accessible only by plane when the ice roads thaw.)

This little dangling craft was in the rental car. Can you see how it forms a benevolent-looking mustachioed man, of sorts? This guy is pretty cool.

If the NWT wants to boost tourism, we might consider changing some names.

An interesting geometric building from downtown.

Tuktoyaktuk’s roads are covered in snow, so people use snowmobiles for regular errands. It’s not a recreational vehicle so much as a regular mode of transport.

People even ride them in the middle of the street, like cars.

Tuktoyaktuk has about 1100 people, but it goes through a box of 5000 lottery tickets a week, said one cashier at the radio station.

Yes, that’s 5000 per week.

They sell for $1 each.

A scene from Tuktoyaktuk: I am not sure why this five-year-old was chasing a dog with a stick.
(Note: Nobody hit the dog, it just looks this way in the picture.)

A scene from Aklavik: This dog tried to chase a group of ravens, but one didn’t fly away. He stood there, defiantly, and the dog had no choice but to walk away humiliated.

Tough birds, those ravens.

It’s cold outside these days but I am prepared, thanks to muskrat, rabbit and coyote fur. (And, maybe I look a little serious too, but as I said, it’s cold.

Here are some weird stuffed birds, from the Aurora College research institute.

Former Premier of the NWT, Stephen Kakfwi, has transformed into a popular country singer and conservation activist in recent years.

Does anyone think Ontario’s Ernie Eves or Mike Harris might do the same?

Hey, mom and dad, thanks for the sweater you sent in the mail!

Here’s something cool: At a recent science fair, some Tuktoyaktuk kids built a working hovercraft from plywood, duct tape, and a shower curtain.

They took rides in the lobby, and power was supplied by a shop-vac engine. Hilarious and crafty.

I am not the only journalist around here!

Here are reporters from CBC and ICS.

I know this is a little off-topic, but check out this amazing and free application:

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/

It creates a free poster from any photo, which you print out on your computer in separate pages. Any image works, because it uses a dot pattern technique similar to newsprint.

A good way to enjoy photos, northern or otherwise!

Hockey pictures are interesting, but I like photos of hockey audiences.