Family Ties

One of the largest learning curves I have experienced during my time in Cape Dorset is understanding the Inuit family trees of my students and colleagues.  The Inuit have a unique adoption and child sharing culture which is extremely different than that of other Canadians.  It is very common for individuals to be raised by other family or community members other than their biological parents.  This 'adoption' of a child is not documented or kept secret.  The adopted individuals grow up knowing who their biological parents are and many have relationships with them and their other biological relatives.

The Inuit language supports these unique family relationships.  For example there are Inuktitut words for biological siblings versus adopted siblings, name siblings (if you have the same name as someone or if you are named after someone - each has their own word), biological parent versus adopted parent, etc.  When individuals use Inuktitut these relationships are understood easily.  However, in english these relationships are much harder to explain and require much more description than one or two words.

Due to the inadequacy of english terminology (brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, etc) for describing Inuit families, it has been quite an experience learning about and listening to my students and colleagues talk about their families.  It is very normal here to refer to both your adopted parents (this could be an aunt/uncle, grandparent, non-relation, etc) and your biological parents as both mom and dad.  When you begin to gather information and layer all of the relationships of the people around you it becomes very apparent just how small the community of Cape Dorset is, and actually Nunavut as a whole.

I have had some great conversations with my students, who think it is fascinating that I only have one mom and dad who are still married and two biological brothers that I grew up with.  Since being up here I have learned to ask questions such as "who takes care of you/who lives with you" and "are they your biological parents/siblings", etc.  This may seem strange, but again it is normal for someone you don't know to ask you who your parents are, are they your biological parents, etc.  Down south this sort of inquiry would be seen as rude and 'not appropriate' questioning.

Traditionally child sharing happened for a number of reasons, such as a new family giving their parents their first born to learn how to raise their next children through watching them raise their first; providing individuals who could not have children with the opportunity to have some; being unable to provide for a new child; being instructed by an elder to do so; etc.  Today these reasons for child sharing still hold true, however, there also exists a darker side.  When talking to Inuit colleagues they have expressed concerns that some young women today seem to not take responsibility for the child they are carrying. They fear for the fate of the child they are carrying and its future parents. They see pregnant individuals not taking care of themselves and saying statements such as 'it doesn't matter because it's not my baby' or posting adds on social media forums asking if anyone would like their babies.  It is very sad to witness, however, this is not an isolated problem.  These sorts of situations occur throughout Canada and the world.

Daily I feel fortunate for the knowledge that I gained from my northern teaching course.  These cultural nuances are so much easier to understand, respect and apply when you have a base knowledge to draw upon.  It is so easy to make quick and uneducated judgments.  Thank you Nick.  

Amanda wearing an Amauti - woman's jacket

First Indoor Recess of the Year!

Although the blizzard warning was removed this morning, there were still strong winds and drifting snow.  The schools decided to re-open, as it was forecasting nicer weather by mid-morning, but the bus could not run until then. This meant that most classrooms were only about half full at the start of the day and students trickled in throughout the morning.  The wind was still super strong at recess (making it feel like it was -35 out with lots of blowing snow), thus it was decided that the students would stay inside.

Apparently this was the first indoor recess of the year.  I have been out on duty when it has been this cold before, so am assuming it was due to the drifting snow not the temperature that students were being kept in.  Myself being new to the school, and my practicum teacher only being here for one year himself, did not know what the protocol was for indoor recesses... it had never come up!  We stuck our heads out the classroom door and decided that most teachers were just staying in their classrooms, so we followed suit.  It was apparent that this was a novelty for the students and you could see how much they enjoyed and appreciated the free time within their classrooms.

This afternoon I had the privilege to sit in on two high school classes, a grade 11 social studies class and a grade 9 english class.  I had been informed that generally the attendance rate in high school drops the higher you go in the grades.  I am not sure if it was the day, but this seemed to be true for the classes that I sat in on and witnessed while walking around the school.

In order to help students receive their grade 12 diplomas the high school here in Cape Dorset has made it possible for students to receive partial grade completions.  This means that there are scheduled exams throughout the year and if a student successfully completes that portion of the class and exam, they will receive credit for that part and not have to repeat it later if they stop attending the class for some reason. It is an interesting idea and I am curious to know if there is a positive correlation with individuals receiving their diplomas versus not.

Snow Day

We received the official call this morning at 6:15 am that school would be cancelled in the morning because of the blizzard.  Unlike in Halifax, when school is cancelled here they only cancel a half day at a time.  Thus we will receive another call from the teacher phone tree between 11 and noon to confirm whether school is on or not.  It is a bit strange being in limbo. It feels like your day can not really get started until you get the afternoon call.

Families and students receive their updates from CBC radio north.  Someone calls the station in Iqaluit and then they relay the information.  Later in the day, someone might go to the station here in town and 'hijack' whatever program is playing to give updates.  This actually happens fairly often for a wide range of reasons.

view across the street one moment

 The blizzard that we are experiencing today is very different from most blizzards I have experienced down south.  There is very little precipitation expected and the main problem is high winds and blowing snow that was already on the ground.  It has been interesting to watch the storm out the window this morning.  One moment everything seems calm and a bit blustery, then all of a sudden the wind picks up and you can barely see across the street.  The weather is also quite warm, still only minus 9 degrees.

Another apparent difference to a storm here than at home is that besides looking out the window and watching it develop you are not constantly bombarded with weather updates.  There are no 'storm tracking' updates, extreme weather reports, or tweets about road conditions. It is a nice change.

then the wind picked up

out for a walk

What to do during a blizzard...cook up some polar bear steaks!

Well today was my first real taste of bad weather here in Cape Dorset.  There have been the occasional foggy or snowy days that quickly wore off about midday, but nothing really extreme or long lasting.  Actually the weather has been quite warm, windless and clear most days.  Well this all changed this morning when I woke up and was informed that there has been a blizzard warning issued for our area.  The blizzard is scheduled to start this evening and last until Monday night or Tuesday morning.

The wind has been howling at 60 miles an hour and throwing snow around all day.  It is amazing to see the landscape change so drastically in just a few hours.  Where there had once been snowmobile tracks and foot paths to follow on smooth ground, there are now piles of snow and exposed rocks.  When the wind buffets you around and blows the snow across your path, it is easy to understand how people can become disoriented and lose their way.

With the bad weather, we decided to stay in tonight.  Krisanne and I were given a polar bear roast by a neighbour and decided to try cooking it up.  The polar bear was caught by one of my student's mother on thursday.  The bear was skinned behind the Co-Op store and hunks of meat were passed out to community members passing by.  When we were given the meat we were informed that we needed to boil it from 2-4 hours before eating.  We were also told that it had a texture like beef but tasted like fish.

So we boiled the meat, which made the whole house reek like rancid gamey meat.  We changed the water a couple of times and this seemed to help the smell.  After the boiling was over, we decided to create a chowder with some of it, since we were told it tasted like fish.  After we got the chowder going we decided to taste some of the boiled meat.  We were all amazed to discover that it did not taste fishy at all, but just like roast beef with a gamey after taste.  The chowder however, smells and tastes very fishy, but also with a gamey after taste. Thus we have all agreed and concluded that polar bear meat, when in liquid smells and tastes like fish, but when cooked and out of liquid tastes like meat.

I am not sure how I feel about having accepted the meat and cooking it.  Part of me was very curious, just like with the frozen raw caribou and walrus.  Another part of me feels extremely guilty as polar bears are a protected animal and there are strict hunting laws attached to them.

Big Night Out

On thursday a number of us decided to go to the Dorset Suites, one of the two hotels in town, for dinner as it would be our only opportunity to do so before leaving.  There are no 'restaurants' or 'fast food' places in Cape Dorset.  There are the two grocery stores and the two hotels.  The Dorset Suites are open daily for lunch, but only two nights a week for dinner (unless by reservation) and the Kinngait Inn I believe does pizza delivery (I am unclear whether they have an eat in option for non-guests).

I had not been inside the Suites before last night, but had heard that they had a lovely carving and print collection, which was on display.  I was not really sure what to expect from the descriptions I had received from different individuals. However, I was delightfully surprised.  The restaurant and hotel rooms (we were able to peek inside one that was open) were much more lavish than I had anticipated.

Although very modern and beautiful there were two things that stood out.  When you entered the building there was a large vestibule in which to hang up your parka, but also store your outdoor boots... meaning that if you did not bring slip ons with you, you were walking around and eating in your sock feet.  This at first seemed to contrast the look and feel of the place, but once you took your seat and realized that other guests were also sock footed, it seemed like quite the natural thing to do.

The other thing that stood out was that our waitress seemed to do a bit of everything.  She took orders, served the tables, answered the phone, dealt with take out orders, and seemed to work in the kitchen.

The contrast between 'high end' aesthetics and the need for functionality was very apparent and quite humorous.  

Vestibule

shoes are optional

Winter Carnival

Today our school had Winter Carnival, an event I had been hearing about since I arrived and had been eagerly awaiting. The students were divided into different mixed grade teams (each team had a child from every grade), and each team was named after a community on Baffin Island. The day consisted of different 15-20 minute stations that included indoor and outdoor activities.  The stations were a mixture of traditional (drum and square dancing, inuit games, igloo building and elder story telling) and 'modern' activities (tug of war/ 3-legged race and tag, sledding, hockey, mural creations, and maple syrup taffy making).

The traditional stations were manned by community members with a school staff member to assist.  It was great to watch the different interactions between the students and community members/elders.  The drum dancing, Inuit games and Igloo building seemed to be huge hits among the students.  It was fascinating to watch the elders slowly and meticulously construct the igloo from the snow just outside the school.  The amount of patience and skill was amazing to witness, especially on such a brisk day.  I also had the opportunity to witness some traditional games that I had not yet seen before.

We had two high school students from Iglulik who ran the square dancing station.  I noticed that a number of the students had difficulty understanding some of their instructions and that team leaders or other Inuit staff had to clarify what they were saying for the students.  I was informed by one of the staff that this was because of their 'accent'.   Once this was pointed out to me and I payed closer attention I did noticed a slight difference in their Inuktitut from what I have become accustomed to hearing.

Overall the day was a huge success and it was heartwarming to see, once again, they way that the community really pulled together to make the day so special for the students.  Without the help and hard work of the elders and community volunteers (students from the high school and other individuals) the traditional cultural element would have been lacking.

Just Go With It

One of the fundamental skills needed by a teacher is to be able to go with the flow.  Within any given day or week you are never sure what might occur within the school, community or with the weather.  Therefore you plan for a regular or average week, then plan some back up activities and lessons to keep in your back pocket for any situations that might occur.

This has never been more true or necessary for myself until I came to Cape Dorset.  Daily schedule interruptions or changes seem to be more common as the community and weather have a greater effect on schools than they do down south.  For example, when there is a funeral or other significant event within the community everything shuts down for a few hours or the whole day, including the schools and stores.   Also, as Cape Dorset is a fly in community, weather has a direct affect on travel to and from other communities.

Today was the epitome of being able to go with the flow, not only within my own classroom schedule, but as an entire school.  Our school has an assembly planned for tomorrow and then winter carnival friday.  Both of these events involves community wide planning - volunteers and parents/guardians. We also have guests coming from out of town to participate in both.  The weather was not good throughout the day and no one was sure if the plane, with the guests, would be able to touch down.  There was also a death within the community last week and we were informed today that the funeral will be tomorrow (if family from out of town arrive) or friday.  All of these changes had and may still have significant affects on school and business scheduling for the next two days, as things may still change and you need to be able to roll with it.

Examples like this bring to light just how much events within a small community, like Cape Dorset, have a greater affect on your daily life than within a larger town or city.  Although you may not be directly involved in a situation, just by being a member of the community you are affected and are thus drawn into the situation.