Winter 2011

So, Chris and I have been up to a few things lately. We have some pics to share from our walks around town, as well as some school activities that I have been a part of.

The first set of pics are from Chris and I walking around town. The local dog sledding committee built an igloo out on the ice. To celebrate, they were serving tea, bannock, caribou and char to anyone who wanted to visit.

Inside the igloo. There were some women cooking, so it was a bit cloudy.

The igloo roof (to let the smoke out). Later, it was rebuilt as it was starting to cave in a bit.

The igloo was packed down with snow on the outside. Afterward, they sprayed water to make it stronger. They are now storing seals carcasses inside (like a freezer).

Chris wearing his "Northern" mitts. They were made mostly from wolf hide, with some wolverine, baby seal and rabbit.

There was a winter carnival in town last weekend, which included a fishing derby (for ugly fish- sculpin), 2 dog sledding races, a BBQ, teen dance, a square dance, as well as some other activities.

Some homemade caribou jackets/pants

The ice was pretty thick! Over 6ft deep.

A couple of weeks ago, the teachers had a week off of school for Professional Improvement. A number of teachers at our school decided to make some traditional Inuit clothing. Some of us made parkas, kamiks (boots), and I made an amouti (jacket for carrying a baby). The back of the hood doubles down so that a baby can fit in and I am still able to pull up the hood. It was a lot of work!! Traditionally, they were made from caribou hides.

I was part of a team of people that were flown from Repulse Bay to Sanikiluaq to check out the new high school that was built there. They are considering building the same high school in Repulse, so we were there to see what we could do to make changes suitable for the needs of the students in Repulse. We were flown to Iqaluit first, then had a charter plane to Sanikiluaq for the day. It was a pretty neat experience. While we were there, we visited the current school, which had some cool items in their lobby.

One of two polar bears that were on display.

Sanikiluaq is known for its reed baskets. I bought one from the local Co-op store made by Annie Cookie. I didn't know that when we returned to the school that she would be there! I got a picture of her with the basket that I had just purchased.

Here are a few pictures from a class walk that I took with my students today. Some people in town built an ice rink out on the ice. The local Zamboni even came down to clean up the ice! We were lucky to witness it out on the ice today while we were taking pictures at the igloo.