Arviat (Feb 18/04) - An Arviat throatsinger was among four Nunavut Sivuniksavut students to be thrust into the spotlight earlier this month in the nation's capital.

Arviat's Maria Illungiayok was joined by Miranda Atatahak, Lucy Angnokok and Hellin Alariaq to deliver two throatsinging performances at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The performance was arranged by the museum to help launch its new travelling educational exhibit.

The exhibit, "SILA: Clue in to Climate Change," focuses on educating Canadian youth on climate change taking place in Canada's North.

The throatsinging quartet had an audience of about 80 youth from across the country for its first performance.

The youth were in Ottawa as part of Encounters Canada, a national exchange program.

That same evening, the students performed at a more formal event, which was attended by federal Environment Minister David Anderson.

Illungiayok said she enjoyed showcasing a piece of her culture at the museum and was impressed by what she managed to see of the exhibit.

"The first thing I noticed, which made me very happy, was that it was translated in three different languages, English, French and Inuktitut," said Illungiayok.

"It will be good for youth across Canada to understand some of the changes that are taking place in the Arctic right now.

"It was also kind of neat all the questions they asked us about throatsinging," she said.

"I think it was, probably, the first time they ever saw it in person."

A great show

Museum officials were quick to praise the Inuit youth for their performance.

"It was a great performance both in the morning and the evening," said Jean Lauriault, an environmental specialist for the Canadian Centre for Biodiversity Research Services.

The executive director of the Centre for Traditional Knowledge, Lynda Kitchikeesic Juden, agreed.

Everyone left the performance smiling, she said.

"I cannot tell you how much everyone enjoyed the wonderful job the Inuit throatsingers did," said Juden.

"I still keep hearing about how good they were."