Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 04/05) - Inuit women will gather on the land at Iglurjjuakuluit later this month for the third annual Somebody's Daughter workshop series.

The 10-day event offers an opportunity for women young and old to develop traditional skills for seal and caribou cleaning and tanning, kamik making, food preparation and sewing taught by Inuit elders and other women instructors.

The camp also provides a safe environment away from the responsibilities of home, children, family and work where women can focus on emotional healing and self-expression, said Bernadette Dean, social development co-ordinator for the Kivalliq Inuit Association.

After working as a team to soften skins and make traditional clothing in the fresh air of the day, the women will move inside in the evenings to talk, laugh and write.

They will sit in a circle in one of the tents to put their thoughts on paper through a number of writing exercises.

"Writing helps women to share their feelings, whether it's joy or sadness, so they don't have to keep it inside," Dean said.

In addition to the healing benefits of writing, the exercises will also build literacy skills in whatever language the women feel most comfortable, she said.

"We live in an age now where we need literacy skills to apply for a good job so we can be self-sufficient and we need literacy skills to receive and pass on information," Dean said.

The exact camp location is still undecided as organizers assess polar bear activity and ice conditions.

The Kivalliq Inuit Association will cover transportation expenses. Child care funding assistance is available. Deadline for applications is July 13.

Somebody's Daughter is funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.