KIDS, KIDS, KIDS...

My walks back from the college each day were usually short and solitary. On this particular day, however, a group of kids (including a couple of Toona's grandchildren) were taking turns sliding on a patch of ice along the side of the road. I stopped to join in but the cuteness was overwhelming and I couldn't help but turn the camera on them. In the video of the sliding tots, Toona carves away in the background, obliviously focused on the stone in front of him. Each of the kids wanted to try my glasses on as well, so I took pics of each.

CARIBOU VIDEO

At 8:30am on Saturday, Hugh Kalluk pulled up in front of the hotel on his honda and waited for me to come outside. Btw, that's what you call an ATV here - a honda. Doesn't matter if it's actually a Honda, it's a honda. Anyway, I hopped on the back and we were off in search of caribou just outside of town. Here are some pics and vids from my first time on a honda, my first time seeing caribou up close, my first time drinking tea made from frozen Arctic lake water, my first time watching someone field-dress an animal and definitely my first time eating raw liver from said animal. It was an intense learning experience, and I'm thankful Hugh was kind enough to share it with me. For what it's worth, I beat Hugh at poker later that night. Oh, and the video at the end is the view from my room when I got back from the caribou. In the Arctic, the sky and sun are often changing into their next beautiful thing.



In front of the hotel - 8:30am.



Hugh breaking through ice, getting fresh water for tea.

ARCTIC FOX

I was standing on the tundra when I heard little clicking noises behind me. I thought maybe it was some kind of bird, or a siksik. When I turned back to scan the ground, I saw an Arctic fox slinking through the snow and rocks. I suppose the sound I heard was the breaking of the snow as the fox took its little steps. I couldn't find it in my viewfinder until it had moved off a bit, so it's not exactly a close-up. But it was a really nice moment for me, so I thought I'd share it.

THE THIRD HERD

I'm told there are three herds of caribou that make their way through Baker Lake each year. I spent my morning with the last herd. I didn't take a lot of pics and videos. It was an intense, new experience and I wanted to soak it in without having a camera in front of my face. I'll post some video in a separate post and provide some details when I get some time in front of the computer tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's 3 of many tuktu!

A LONG STORY ABOUT MEETING TOONA LAST NIGHT

Last night an Inuit sculptor named Toona came to the hotel to see Terry the chef. Me and Toona had a great eyelocker when he first got in the door. We looked at his leg together and then back up to eye level. We acknowledged that he was communicating leg pain. Then he folded into a small pile on the floor. I've never seen legs go from parallel-upright to flat-horizontal. But that's how Toona sat, maybe a foot and a half tall once he collapsed his table-legs.

Today, on my walk back from the college, I saw a slumped, canvas covered shape in the distance. I see in shapes. I have bad eyes. Either way, because of my eyes or because he was out of the hotel context, I didn't recognize the shape as Toona. But I thought it might be human.

Not afraid to meet people, I gestured towards it, or looked, or something. A hand went up. I walked over. "Quinauvit," I said. "What's your name?" An older Inuk man looked up. But he didn't seem to hear, or he didn't know I was trying to talk Inuktitut, or I dunno maybe he recognized me - "I'm Aron," I said extremely brightly. I clued in. That's Toona from last night. "Hey, Toona! We met last night!"

All teeth and raised eyebrows, I motioned to my video camera. Toona posed slightly for a picture with the stone he was carving into a bear. He kept pausing, thinking the picture was done, or wondering what I was doing, why I still had a camera pointed at him.

Keep going, I motioned. Keep going with the carving.

This may be the beginning of something, this filming of Toona. I could see bringing Terry the chef's boxes of carvings down to Toronto. (Terry: Excellent inter-personal skills and a carving acquisition problem.) I could show Toona's carvings, tell his story, show some video. It'd be a great night. Or maybe a day thing. Get all kid-friendly. Playing along with the video would be some music by Loscil or even Lazersuze.

The Arctic has the ability to erase a lot. People, places, thoughts. It can wipe out vegans. It turns them into sealskin coat buyers; really, I've seen that. The Arctic is always present. Like the sun to the Earth. You go around it at the most fundamental level. It all translates as awe.

And therefore the people here, especially elders and artists who've grown up here, resonate a history so awesome and so palpable that you might think you've met Nature itself when you say hello.

Toona's carvings are raw and soulful. That's why Terry's right on with his reverence for Toona's work. Terry's feelin' the vibe. The ancient. That's what I'll try to communicate back in Toronto if there's a little show. But first, let's meet Toona.

AURORA BOREALIS

What would a Nunavut blog be without an early mention of Northern Lights? Last night when I looked out the hotel window at about 11pm, across the lake, way in the distance, most of the horizon was lit up as if I was looking at a city a hundred miles away. Then I remembered there was no city anywhere near me. I waited for a bit to see how the light show would shape up. The lights travelled closer towards Baker Lake so I put on my jacket and headed out to the water's edge. I tried to shoot video, but it only looked black. What a shame! The whole sky was dancing with lights that seemed almost sentient. I found these two pics on the web; they look a bit like what surrounded me last night (save for the trees). Because they're static, pictures do the northern lights no justice. Even video would be hard to capture how the famous glow fills the vast expanse of the Arctic. Btw, the stars in the Arctic Sky are more than magic enough to deserve their own blog post. But that'll have to wait...





PIPSI POWER

Locals think I'm crazy when I go out jogging here. Maybe it's because I'm all hepped up on Pipsi - dried Arctic char made right here in Nunavut. This simple stuff has two ingredients: Wild Arctic char, salt. It's pricey ($11/pack, and they sell over a million dollars of it every year) but it's worth it. At the college, one of the student teachers brought it to share - someone brings something every day! - and I've been hooked since. Even the heaviest Arctic winds can't keep me in when I'm Pipsi'd. 

EVA'S AMAUTI

Eva Noah teaches some traditional knowledge at Nunavut Arctic College. I shot some video of her cutting the pattern for an amauti, an ancient Inuit jacket meant for carrying babies during nomadic journeys. Eva was making a Nunavik style amauti for her neice on this day. The Nunavut amauti is different in that it has bigger shoulders so the baby can slide from the back right under the arm, to the breast, without ever having to stop the dogsled. Inuk style!

MOON O'ER THE LAKE & SUN ABOVE IT

There's nothing like an Arctic sky. Not that taking pics with a video camera proves it... but still - maybe you can imagine...

MUDMOBILE

 Forget snowmobiles. At this time of year, vehicles around here are mudmobiles. Here's a pic of the hotel owner's truck just after he gave it a pressure wash (there's no car wash in Baker Lake). Less than two hours later, it was solid mud again. Luv those classic Nunavut plates, too.

JORDIN TOOTOO

In 2003, the NHL got its first Inuit hockey player. His name is Jordin Tootoo and he's the pride of Nunavut. I took a picture of a monument in his name near the airport in Rankin Inlet. And when I got to Baker Lake one of the first things I saw was a framed NHL jersey and stick that Jordin gave to this community when he toured all across the territory.

I KNOW WHY I FOUND A BROWN FEATHER

I saw a flock of ptarmigan today. They were mostly white, which made me wonder why the ptarmigan feather I found last week was brown. Well, after a quick bit of research I know now that these superbly camouflaged birds change colour a few times a year to match their surroundings. Molt. Is that the word? Anyway, so the brown feather I found last week was from a molting ptarmigan. It must be shedding its brown feathers to grow white and black ones so it can blend in with snow and rocks instead of brown willows and rocks. Later in the season they prolly molt to all-white. Either way, these vids do a pretty good job of showing the bird's current I-want-to-look-like-rocks-and-snow phase. One even shows how they cluck like chickens.

FIRST SNOW

Wet snowflakes slapped my window all night long and didn't stop. In the morning, Baker Lake looked more like the Arctic that southerners might imagine . Here are the sights and sounds of this lovely, snowy day...

RADIO BINGO!!!

One of my favourite pastimes, northern or otherwise, is BINGO. Go to any Arctic community and you're sure to find a Bingo night or two. But not just any Bingo - radio Bingo! Buy a card at the store (I got mine at the radio station), tune in later when the numbers are called, and if you win, call the station. Here's what's on Baker Lake radio as I get my cards and highlighter ready...

A SILENT P

Today I spotted a siksik, a little minnow and two ptarmigan feathers, one of which I stuck in my back pocket to photograph later. What a gorgeous example of how Mother Nature mixes beauty and practicality in her designs. Btw, I didn't see a wolverine or grizzly bear - other animals common in these parts. That's a good thing.

SUNDAY STROLL

Hiked out of town today. Surprised to see someone following about a half kilometre behind, I stopped to wait. His name was Robert Tookoome. Robert and I hiked along the tundra after that, and chatted about Nunavut and the challenging culture that has emerged here. I point the camera at the ground for a bit, but mostly it was turned off. I had a lot of listening to do. In town I saw a couple of kids playing and couldn't resist turning the camera back on. :D

WALKIE TALKIE

Little foot tours to give you an idea of where I am and what I'm doing.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

The view from my room at the Nunamiut Lodge in Baker Lake, Nunavut... and a pic of the back of the hotel itself. (I'm the window on the right. The lake is - you guessed it - Baker Lake.)

LUV THIS

I just landed in the Arctic. I should probably post pics and thoughts about that. Thoughts like how I'd forgotten how powerful the endlessness is up here. But anyway, I just came across this beautiful illusion and wanted to share it. It's not very Northern, but it's very awesome. Btw, my fave 3D illusion street artist is here - enjoy! :D