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Sights, sounds and tastes of the past Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison Northern News Services Published Monday, November 14, 2011
The Sachs Harbour resident has been put to the task to compile stories and recipes from the community's elders, with the goal of preserving the past for the future. In total, Keogak estimates she will meet with more than 20 elders in Sachs Harbour over the winter. The focus of her questions will be on the changes they've seen throughout their lives, including the development of the hamlet and the evolution of technology. She is also planning to ask what the most memorable moments of their childhood were, from hunting with their parents to sitting and sewing with their nanuk and listening to stories passed on from generation to generation. Anyone from the community is welcome to submit content, especially for the cookbook portion. Keogak said recipes for caribou soup, dry meat, fried and chowdered char and Akutuq, also known as Eskimo ice cream, are likely to be featured. The goal is to have the books printed so they can be distributed to every household in Sachs Harbour, as well as Inualthuyk School and other places of gathering. "We will try to involve everybody," she said, "not just the elders." Hopefully students can learn from the stories and try the recipes out themselves, she said, adding, "Kids can learn from it and realize how different it was then." Keogak, who works as the community corporation's youth and elder co-ordinator, said the best stories and anecdotes she has collected so far have been from her nanuk and daduk, or grandmother and grandfather. One that stands out the most are the adventures her nanuk encountered while working as a midwife on Banks Island, travelling all over to ensure the next generation made it into the world safely. Keogak, who completed Grade 9 in Sachs Harbour and went on to graduate from Samuel Hearne Secondary School in Inuvik, recently took a course at Aurora College to help with her research for the project. "It made me see a lot of different ways to do things that I need to get done," she said. In addition to learning about various research methods, Keogak learned how to properly word questions and had hands-on practice interviewing strangers. The skills will come in handy once interviewing starts in earnest, she said, and hopefully will pay off by the time spring arrives. "Just to have stories from the elders that are around now. Just so they're not forgotten," she said.
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