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INUVIK
The winter is usually a slow time for visitors to the Mackenzie Delta.

Dr. Wayne Horowitz, a professor at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was one of the researchers at the Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik last week. Horowitz was observing the Northern sky with respect to constellation locations and movements. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

But over the past few weeks, there has been a flurry of activity at Inuvik's Aurora Research Institute with topics that range from scanning the night sky to observing how people live in areas that are off the grid in terms of energy efficiency, transportation and availability of technology.

"Most of the activity happens in the summer, right around spring break-up and then again in August, those are our two busiest times," said Jolie Gareis, manager of the Inuvik Research Centre.

"We're having a very busy week, we have about eight people in town," she said Tuesday.

Dr. Wayne Horowitz had a long journey to Inuvik. He is a professor at the University of Jerusalem – although he is currently undergoing a residency at Berkeley in California – specializing in astronomy and anthropology.

He was in Inuvik for about 10 days this month to work on a feasibility study about how the stars of the Arctic can help people understand the ancient texts of of the Middle East. He spent nights looking at the sky at roughly two- to three-hour intervals.

"How much of how we perceive what we see in the sky is culturally based and how much of what we see in the sky is just a shared human biological way our eyes see light?" he asked.

He said comparing views of the sky – native traditions versus ancient texts – would help divide what's culturally based from what's share dhuman heritage.

"We're dealing with such different cultures: cold here versus hot there, agricultural there versus traditional, on-the-land lifestyle here, and modern/ancient ... day and night, the sun, the stars, the moon are all daily phenomenon. The seasonal aspect is not as significant ... You don't have that here," he said.

"The other advantage of traditional astronomy in this part of the world is that it's an astronomy that didn't develop through ancient Greek astronomy which is based on Babylonian astronomy, which is the basis of our modern Western astronomy," said Horowitz.

Horowitz observed the aurora borealis on his trip and noticed how the sun doesn't rise very high and how long twilight lasts. He also noticed the movement of the constellations, which don't seem to move in a true east-west direction but in a more circular pattern.

Dr. Phillip Vannini, a professor of communication and culture at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C., and masters student and photographer Johnathan Taggart are aiming to document the lifestyles of Canadian people and communities living off the grid in every province and territory and were in Inuvik from Feb. 9 to 16.

Vannini explained "off the grid" means a place that is not connected to the electricity grid and natural gas pipeline servicing the province or territory, a place disassociated from certain networks or infrastructures that allow for basic needs such as lighting, heating, or accessing roads.

Vannini spoke with about 15 official representatives of the town as well as elders and other residents.

He said the utilidor system in the community has a surreal beauty to it.

"It is an impressive visual reminder of how connected we are with one another. In cities most grids are invisible, or even those that are visible quickly disappear into the back of our minds," he wrote.

He said the one grid he ended up focusing on was the road grid – how Inuvik, Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk are connected seasonally.

"That's what makes this region so interesting: its on/off balance, which changes according to the seasons and the weather ... in Inuvik break-up and freeze-up are part of life. Sure people will complain about the spikes in the costs of food and supplies during that time, but to a great degree these rhythms are built into everyday life year-round and accepted as normal."

Vannini concludes that life off the grid "is the normalization of a condition that others view as unfathomable."

There were 158 research licences issued across the territority in 2011, according to Gareis.

"It's nice to see people come through and they give talks when they can and leave materials with us and information," she said.

"It's great that we're able to hold onto that and pass that along to interested people from the community who want to know a little bit more about what people are doing up here."

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