Monthly Archives: April 2008

Here I am playing music (on headphones) at 1am, looking outside at the sunlight.

It’s not quite 24-hour day yet, but we’re getting there!

Strange look from this dog, no?

Some ravens looked like they were setting up a nest, flying with bits of scrap. 

Are raven eggs on the way?

The NWT Power Corporation has not charged me one dollar for electricity since December. Instead I get blank bills, which are incomprehensible but don’t request any payment.

It’s apparently some kind of computer error, and they “haven’t forgotten about me.”

Has this happened to anyone else? Please call the CBC station (867) 777-7617, as Loren McGuiness is preparing a news story about it. 

There’s something delightfully retro about these colours and the choice of font…could it be the future of the 1970s?

The weather is getting nicer in Inuvik, and the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk has been placed on 48-hours notice.

How long before this boat is used on a summer day?

Get your rubber boots on, it’s springtime.

Even wearing a harness, I bet this is scary.

It’s the hot-stepping Qilamik guy! He looks fast and nimble, no?

According to Google, Qilamik means “to be in hurry.”

“Welcome traveller! Approach, but know…all who cross this bridge must answer to the raven troll!”

“I will allow passage…but first you must answer this riddle!“

“What is the food ravens find most delicious?”

“Old pizza boxes from the Roost!! That’s the right answer…carry on…”

A faded RCMP truck appears aqua blue. Strange colour!

Hey, it’s the flying squirrel from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show!

You rarely get to notice sleeping birds, but this raven stayed motionless for hours on a pipe.

This photo was taken after midnight, around 12:35, as a snowmobile was going by on the ice road. 

Inuvik is a very religious community, though not all churches are as famous as the iconic “Igloo church.” 

Here are the Baptist and (pentacostal?) Lighthouse Community Church.

The summer continues to approach…it’s now bright enough to see outside at midnight, and the sun sets at 11 o’clock.

This raven was making strange “glou glou” sounds from the top of a telephone pole. 

What do those mean?

So it turns out, I tried “getting fancy with the spices” and messed up. 

Instead of using my reliable Nikon D80, I decided to use my wide-angle lens Olympus E-Volt during the Governor General’s visit at CBC North today. I thought the rounded lens would work better in a cramped studio.

But when this unexpected moment came — right as Her Excellency Michaelle Jean was leaving — I had my camera settings wrong because we’d been shooting a sit-down interview in low light!

The result is a blurry mess, ruining an otherwise-priceless photo. 

Sorry Wanda and Dorothy! 

Fortunately, some of the other photos turned out better.

We’ll also get photos sent from the official photographer, who visited today with a $7000 Canon camera and lens.

(Last photo courtesy of Zo Ho and ICS.)

UPDATE: The interview is now posted online at www.cbc.ca/northwind

It’s a baby drinking a Pepsi!

A “Healthy Foods North” campaign sure is a good idea.

The Healthy Foods North program advertises balanced eating.

Notice how the ‘healthy food pyramid’ style drawing here includes cranberries, goose, muskox, seal and beluga whale!

In retrospect it’s amazing how little formality surrounds the Governor General. She seems genuinely interested in everyone she meets, and walks freely among the crowd. 

What other country would have it’s Head of State climb on the blanket toss? 

I love Canada.

Canada’s Governor General, Michaelle Jean, arrived in town today for a week. 

She will be heading to Tuktoyaktuk, but first visited the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex where she recieved a parkee. (Not a parka, it’s a different word.)

Her speech was very inspiring and full of researched local references. She mentioned her surprise at meeting Rev. Matthew Ihuoma, who is from Nigeria and lives in Inuvik, and said aboriginal people here are “the guardians of a heritage that enriches all of humanity.”

It seems everyone in Inuvik was delighted by her presence. She’s really friendly — not pretentious at all, and seems really interested in the people she meets — and furthermore was adventurous enough to try drum dancing and the “blanket toss!”

I have more photos of the evening, some of which will appear in the NWT’s french-language newspaper l‘Aquilon, and probably also the Inuvik Drum or News/North.

Listen to Northwind today (Monday) for a 12-minute “radio documentary” of the evening!

For international readers, here is an article explaining her office.

Here is another view of the “blanket toss,” which sent elder Abel Tingmiak high enough to touch the ceiling tiles.

This is a traditonal Inuvialuit game, which the Governor General was cool enough to try.

Many people wear traditional winter boots of all styles around town. 

Here’s a window sticker at the Inuvik ESSO, near the soft drinks. “Happy Inuvialuit Day.”

Here’s the Gwich’in Tribal Council building in Inuvik. It’s got a really nice wooden sign featuring their caribou logo. 

There was a delivery today at the local gas station.

Truck driver Darwin Steil said he brought thousands of gallons from Edmonton, which is a three-day drive. “It’s actually pretty good, I got up here in three days,” he said. “I have a friend who was recently stuck at Eagle Plains for four days.”

Little known fact: Inuvik has a speed limit of 35km/h.

So, everyone chill out, you’ll get there eventually.

Doesn’t it make you want to listen to the Beach Boys?

This is a really cool sweeping logo for Gwich’in Helicopters. Very elegant and suggestive of Northern lights!

Some trucks were recently stuck at Eagle Plains along the Dempster Highway. 

It meant no gas was available in town for a few hours.

When only one snowmobile works, just tie them together! 

These boys seemed to be having fun as they zipped under the bridge at Boot Lake.

(Click photo for larger size)

Good news! Oliver Burkeman’s article about Inuvik in the Guardian UK was recently published, and can be found here. 

It’s a very perceptive look at Canada’s north and the various trends which are converging here these days. He also interviews Tuktoyaktuk’s mayor, Merven Gruben and even discusses drinking at the Mad Trapper.

(Above is the photo chosen by the Guardian UK to represent Tuktoyaktuk.)

You might remember that Oliver visited Inuvik last month.

Ravens grow very thick feathers to keep warm — especially around the neck!

These two were enjoying a pizza box outside the Mackenzie hotel.

Extra note: Check out the “horns” or “eyebrows” on the right-side bird…could this be a male and female pair?

What’s the Muskrat jamboree without a muskrat skinning contest? 

The race has simple rules: Remove the skin using a knife. No using the hands, and it must be a clean job.

Jamboree host Roy Ipana started by holding two muskrats up for the audience.

As people took photos, he then explained that people in the Beaufort Delta have been trapping muskrat for generations.

“A muskrat trapper would set about 100 traps, then make a fire and have some tea, and then check the traps on the way home,” he explained. “One year, (legendary Inuvik general store manager) Slim Semmler called out for 100,000 muskrats, and they caught them all.”

After the contest was over — the winners took less than two minutes each — the muskrat skins were collected and the meat given to elders for cooking.

This is the wood stove in the jamboree’s warm-up cabin. People could take a break from being on the ice.

A little girl meets a fluffy white dog at the jamboree. This is the kind of picture community newspapers love! 

Jamboree host Roy Ipana took it really easy last weekend.

He had a sofa on the back of a truck!