IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY - Social studies came to life in Cambridge Bay when elders and youth came together to discuss the impact the DEW line era had on their community.

Elders and youth met in Cambridge Bay to discuss the impact of the DEW line era in the community from Feb. 15 to 19. Back row, from left, Amy Kamoayok, Mabel Etegik, Logan Kaniak, Victoria Koblogina, Donna Lyall, Hayly Maghagak, Timothy Winegard, Annie Atighioyak, and Tyson Crockatt. Front row from left, Mary Kilaodluk, Lena Kamoayok, and Whitney Lackenbauer. - photo courtesy of Renee Krucas

Whitney Lackenbauer, assistant professor of modern Canadian history at St. Jerome’s University (University of Waterloo), and Timothy Winegard, a former high school teacher from Sarnia, Ont., with a PhD in history, visited Cambridge Bay to research the changes Inuit experienced during the DEW line era in the 1950s.

Their visit coincided with the topic of globalization being studied by Grade 10 students at Kiilinik High School, teacher Greg Hoosier said. When Lackenbauer suggested a partnership, Hoosier jumped at the opportunity.

"I said it's a perfect fit with our social studies curriculum," he said. "We’re looking at how globalization has changed the lives of people in Nunavut and we're looking more particularly at how their lives are different from their parents' and grandparents' lives."

Students and elders gathered and talked about the changes that have taken place since the 1950s. When Lackenbauer showed photographs of Cambridge Bay during that time period, the discussion really took off, Hoosier said.

"A lot of the elders recognized family members from those photographs and they were really animated about it," he said.

"As a teacher I didn’t have to do too much, the elders and the students took over. It just happened naturally at that point."

Student Logan Kaniak translated in Inuinnaqtun and English while fellow student Donna Lyall filmed the group. Lackenbauer said listening to elders in speaking in Inuinnaqtun helped illustrate the value of knowing how to speak the language.

"Other students couldn't speak Inuinnaqtun very strongly," he said. "It reinforced the importance of language in all the students and some of them mentioned that afterward."

Elders enjoyed sharing their life stories with the younger generation, Lackenbauer said.

"The elders really seemed receptive to having the youth from the community there talking with them and taking interest," he said.

After talking with elders, students discussed the changes that have formed their daily lives today.

"In the classroom we talked about just how different our lives are today compared to what their lives would have been when they were their age," Hoosier said.

They discussed the positive and negative impacts of globalization and how to preserve culture in a changing world, Hoosier said.

He also said youth in Nunavut are living through some of the quickest cultural changes in history.

"We're told that this generation of people in Nunavut are experiencing more change more rapidly than any other people in history," he said.

The Feb. 15 to 19 visit was Lackenbauer's third trip to Cambridge Bay researching the impact the DEW line had on Inuit in the region in partnership with the Kitikmeot Heritage Society.