Monthly Archives: June 2008

Here is some Gwich’in language stuff from Sir Alexander Mackenzie School in Inuvik.

Little signs like this help keep traditional language alive.

Things are really sprouting at the Inuvik Community Greenhouse these days.

Head on over to www.cbc.ca/northwind to hear some interviews with gardeners and see more pictures.

Here is something you often see in the arctic: babies being carried in back pouches.

Here are some stickers promoting Inuvialuit culture. They are distributed freely in town to promote the preservation of language.

This dog was enjoying the sun outside the Eagle Plains Hotel, around 1am.

This truck looks like a relic from WW2!

The best part of my Aboriginal Day (June 21) was playing drums with the Delta Good Time band late at night.

This style of “jigging music” is popular in the north: it has a quick beat like a galloping horse.

Be sure to note all the mosquitoes! There was a cloud of them descending on stage but people kept playing and dancing.

This video was taken around 1am, which really gives you an idea of the midnight sun.

(And yes, I am using electronic drums.)

Thanks to Ashli for filming and taking these pictures, and thanks to the band for letting me play!

(Here, some curious children are looking at the electronic drums and asking how they work. “Are you really playing the song?” One asked.)

Click here for a gallery of photos taken for CBC.ca, detailing Inuvik’s Aboriginal Day celebrations.

There was a traditional drum dance, fiddle tunes, a fish BBQ and many more activities, including a square dance under the midnight sun.

The internet presentation of photos on CBC is really beautiful, I love the interface.

You can also find my radio report (Approx. 6 minutes of sound and interviews) at www.cbc.ca/northwind

Some children were playing tag and getting away from “the monkey” on Aboriginal Day.

There is probably an interesting story behind this suit!

The E.Grubens’ transport logo is another classic: It brings to mind the US Postal service’s pledge about “neither rain nor sleet nor snow” stopping delivery.

“We’ll bring your products, even if we have to do it on foot in -40 degrees!” 

The only thing worse than a mocking bird, a nagging bird!

All of a sudden, it’s mosquito season in Inuvik.

Those critters are everywhere these days!

Update: This is my third night in a row being awake past 4:30am. I’ve killed AT LEAST 30 to 50 mosquitoes inside the apartment every night and keep waking up because of the bites! Where are they coming in from? Is it because I live close to the river??

Here’s a new feature: a look at some music which is enjoyed in Inuvik.

Here are records by Moe Bandy. He’s one of the most honest and authentic musicians you’ll ever find: his songs tell stories of his life and many are about struggling with alcoholism.

To give you an example of how genuine Moe Bandy really is, here’s a blurb from the back of his album, “I started hatin’ cheatin’ songs today.”

“Here’s a guy from Texas who had a talent for singing and wasn’t satisfied just having his band playing for niteclubs around Texas and working in the sheet metal business in the daytime. Believe it or not, he wanted more and so he tried to do the things that would better his chances for achieving his goals. For example, he came to Nashville a few years ago and recorded a session and paid for it himself.

(…)

In country music, one of the first measures of success is when a guy quits his steady day job, and that happened to Moe too. In fact, he’s now doing what he likes, which is singing and entertaining for a living.”

So here now are a few views, with comments.

The concept: Moe’s girlfriend cheats on him so he goes to the bar. Suddenly the song “your cheatin’ heart” start playing and he smashes a bottle of whiskey into the jukebox. I started hatin’ cheatin’ songs today, he says.

Song title: “I’m the honky tonk on loser’s avenue.”

He might look happy here, but the song “here I am drunk again” is really sad. It’s about a man breaking his promise to himself and family never to drink again. He has a moment of realization while drunk and thinks “well, here I am drunk again.” 

Moe’s tribute to Hank Williams, called “Hank Williams, you wrote my life.” It’s a song about the country legend’s music and how the lyrics have been reflected in Moe’s life. “You wrote “Your cheatin’ heart,” like it was about my ex-wife,” he says.

Moe’s “here I am drunk again” album also features the song “The bottle’s holdin’ me,” which is a very honest look at a man with a drinking problem. A girl leaves Moe and he says he would go after her, but instead he resigns himself to sit there and drink.

Now I live across town from the only one I love
No woman wants a man that drinks too much
I know she’d take me back again if I could quit for good
Lord knows I’d quit if I could

I’m not holdin’ the bottle the bottle’s holdin’ me
I could win that goal I’ve lost but I’m not free
In my darling’s loving arms that’s where I wanna be
I’m not holdin’ the bottle the bottle’s holdin’ me
[ fiddle ]
My friends come around me but they can’t stop the rain
The way you could if you were mine again
When that evening sun goes down they all hit for home
And leave me here all tied up alone

I’m not holdin’ the bottle…
I’m not holdin’ the bottle the bottle’s holdin’ me

These classic songs are meant to be played over solitary drinks: “Smoke filled bar”, “this time I won’t cheat on her again”, “home is where he hurt is” and  ”I wouldn’t cheat on her if she was mine.” 

Just don’t drink too much or you’ll get Honky Tonk Amnesia!

Portrait of the artist: alone with his regrets and familiar demons..

There are many ducks in the Delta these days. (And on many dinner tables.)

Anyone driving the Dempster Highway should stop about 20 minutes outside of Inuvik.

You’ll find the Gwich’in lookout, which is a spectacular view. 

Open land as far around as you can see…

Here is another priceless photo from the Eagle Plains Hotel. It shows the Gwich’in Louis Cardinal and his family overlooking the Mackenzie river in 1929. 

Today, the ferry which crosses the river is named after him.

Notice the traditional furs which everyone is wearing in this shot.

The Dempster Highway to Inuvik is cut by two rivers; the Mackenzie (where you find Tsiigehtchic) and the smaller Peel River outside Fort McPherson.

It also has a ferry and is a good place for boaters. It also has some cabins along the edge. 

This boy was throwing rocks into the river.

Here’s Inuvik’s Mike Millen upon returning from Eagle Plains with his car (we nicknamed it “the Dusty Rider.”)

As you can see, the Dempster kicks up a lot of fine sand into the dry air. 

Here is a delightful picture of artist A Y Jackson, who is one of Canada’s famous “group of seven,” landscape painters.

His portrait is displayed at the Eagle Plains Hotel. 

One thing to mention:  Jackson died in 1974, two years before the completion of the Dempster Highway. At the time of this picture in 1964, it must have looked like a road ending suddenly in the middle of an open field.

Probably a great moment for this landscape artist!

BONUS: Just so you can appreciate it, here is one of Jackson’s paintings depicting the Yukon

Let’s give credit where it’s due — the yard around the Fast Food and the old Frosty’s looks great now.

Thanks for cleaning it up! 

The only stop between Dawson City and Fort McPherson is the Eagle Plains Hotel. 

It’s full of historical photos, antlers, pelts, and preserved animals.

(Note the last photo is actually a brown wolf, and not a bear!) 

One thing you quickly grow to resent in Inuvik: “What happened to these vegetables? I bought them yesterday!”

And such a waste after traveling thousands of miles, too…

The Caribou Creek campgrounds are about 30 minutes’ drive outside Inuvik, near the Gwich’in Campgrounds. (Which have that hawk sign)

It’s a nice place to have a BBQ, play with your dog, and meet family and friends.

(Also, if you’re touring Inuvik with a camper, perhaps a good home base!)

Anyone travelling north from Whitehorse, passing through Dawson City and up towards Inuvik will pass by Fort McPherson (Tetlit ‘Zheh).

Right alongside the hamlet (which has about 900 people) there is the Johnny D. Charlie visitors’ centre, which is named after the community’s greatest Gwich’in Chief.

Robert Alexie is the host, and he’ll tell stories of caribou-skin boats, trapping muskrats, building fish-wheels and other traditional skills which he’s practiced all his life.

Extra note: Check out those solar panels on the centre’s roof! Things are getting modern around here.

Last week, people from across the ISR (Inuvialuit Settlement Region) celebrated Inuvialuit Day, June 5.

Click here for Northwind’s coverage of the event which includes audio interviews and a photo gallery!

(Nice to be able to freely share content I produce for my employer, CBC)

A quick stop on a Yukon campsite (Rocky Creek, alongside the Dempster highway, on route to Eagle Plains) revealed many curious birds. 

They came within one meter of the camera, showing their molting plumage. (Another sign of summer?)

 Of course, some muffin crumbs helped to coax the birds into the open. 

You know you spend too much time on the computer, when you travel to the Yukon’s beautiful scenic plains and think: “This reminds me of a windows background.”

A discarded robot costume by the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex. 

Those kids are up to something! 

One nice part of spring (summer?) is seeing the drainage water constantly flowing.

That’s all snow which won’t be back until October.

The Inuvik RCMP recently put up some flowers. That’s a nice gesture, eh?

How does the water not freeze in the utilidors?

They are packed full of sprayed yellow insulation.

Here are more close-lens photos from the Boot Lake trails.

It’s impressive that after nine months of winter — minus 40c temperatures, very little sunlight, etc — these fragile plants are able to revive and begin a new season.

Here’s a floating crust of ice, which has not yet melted on Boot Lake.

Seagulls and ducks are often seen walking on it and pecking at the ice.

This little bird was difficult to photograph! It kept evading the focus through a tangle of branches.

Today is June 1 and some plants are beginning to sprout.

These photos were taken on the Boot Lake Trails around 10:30pm Saturday.