Thankful for Inuit Elders and Youth
We're finalizing our youth-focused work here in Pangnirtung. Yesterday, we took youth out "on the land" to learn about climate change, and to take photographs that related to their stories on the topic. The photo shows a boat full of youth heading out to a nearby qammaq site in the Pangnirtung fjord, which has a modern (meeting cabin with porch) and two traditional structures (rings of huge rocks where a whale bone and seal or caribou skin roof would have been) that is a great site for learning. It was a great day and the youth enjoyed their long weekend outing.
We cruised back into town in time for thanksgiving supper. Luckily, we had all been invited to my Inuit family's feast at uncle David and auntie Rita's place, and it was amazing! Seal, char, turkey and stuffing! The house was packed and only a quarter of the family was present. It was a very memorable thanksgiving to say the least.
Today, we held a workshop at the school with Joannasie Karpik, a local elder that is very knowledgeable about climate change. Youth from grades 10, 11 and 12 were taken into this workshop-style session where Joannasie told stories about the old days and how Inuit culture and the Arctic environment has changed. From dog teams and living on the land to living in a town and driving snowmobiles. From a cold and frozen land to one that is warming with melting glaciers and disappearing sea ice. When Joannasie was asked in Inuktitut "if climate change was an emergency", he simply said that it was definitely a concern, but not something to panic over. He has witnessed so much change in a human lifetime and spoke with an overall confidence about how Inuit will be able to adapt to a shifting climate. Both Jonannasie and the youth enjoyed this experience.
Our youth film crew has been shooting two films over the past week. Julie is working on a comedic silent film on climate change and Roselynn is doing a piece that contrasts the life of a fictional 80-year old women living between 1950 and 2030. For inspiration and assistance, they wanted to go and interview Anna Akulukjuk, a local elder, and we went out this evening to do this. Julie and Roselynn were amazing, setting up the room for the shoot, prepping Anna regarding the project, and asking a number of sophisticated climate change questions. We're teaching these youth how to be both community-based researchers and filmmakers. They're into it and understand the potential.
On our walk back from Anna's, Julie and Roselynn were discussing the shoot, and they decided that they wanted to interview more elders in the community. The girls were brainstorming and realized that the local hamlet office has numerous interviews on tape with elders who have passed on. The girls got excited and now want to look deeper into their community history. Then Julie said "Roselynn, we need to know about our history, because someday youth will be coming to us to do interviews". We all laughed. It was classic. Definitely a favourite moment of the trip.
Coming off the turkey and seal meal weekend, I'm definitely thankful for Inuit elders and youth, and look forward to learning more from both of these wise age groups. Taima.
