IGLULIK
Organizers of Ataguttaaluk Elementary School's culture week May 4 to 8 reached out to the community of Iglulik to share stories, teach traditional skills to children and lead excursions on the land.
Elder Maurice Arnatsiaq, known as an action-filled storyteller, sets his skills loose on the students during culture week at Ataguttaaluk Elementary School in Iglulik May 4 to 8. - photo courtesy of Jennifer McGee |
While in the past the school has organized a day of cultural activities and learning, this year the organizing committee of Grade 2 teacher Jeela Allurut, school community counsellor Raigili Amaaq and student support teacher and learning coach Jennifer McGee laid out a plan for an entire week.
"Planning and getting things organized was quite a bit of work because we had so many things going on," said Allurut.
"There were two separate things going on, outdoor and indoor activities. It needed a lot of management and organization."
McGee said, "There were so many activities that the elders could pass on to the children."
The trio hired 41 people from the community.
"A lot of money went back to the community," said McGee, who adds not only were the elders showing the students what they know but the students themselves taught the southern teachers all about Inuit culture.
"It was a great mutual learning experience."
Amaaq explains students from kindergarten to Grade 4 were joined into family groups - two from each classroom - and throughout the week they participated together in indoor activities, such as beading, braiding yarn, storytelling, carving with soap stone, softening sealskin, string games, throatsinging, drumdancing and a variety of Inuit games, among many other activities.
"And for outdoors, for Grade 5 to 7, there was iglu-building, kids were taken out to the qarmaq (the sod house), Ski-Doo rides to show them where they hunt seals and where they hunt fish. There was ice-picking. When they did the ice-picking they would distribute the ice to the elders. And there were Inuit sports outside." said Amaaq.
"The kids were really eager to get out on the land, they couldn't wait to get on the qamutiik. They were really excited. Especially the kids who don't usually go out on the land."
Groups rotated every 40 minutes.
"They enjoyed it," said Amaaq. "They had different stations to go to, and it was something different. They were really good, really happy."
Allurut says the older students were "really good and very happy."
"It was a good flow. When I asked some students, they were always happy. The atmosphere was different. When you're in the school you feel the atmosphere as sometimes they are tired or they sometimes don't listen and the atmosphere is kind of slow.
"But when you are outdoors, they're refreshed, they're quiet and they're laughing, they're helping the elders. They're ready to do anything. If you ask them to do anything, they are willing right away."
Allurut says the days were too short, for the students and elders alike.
"We had elders that didn't want to go home for lunch. They just wanted to stay at the tent or the qarmaq. Two days they had lunch up there, instead of going home. And teachers also enjoyed their time."
The Northern Store donated a lot of goods and young men from the community were hired to set up tents.
"The young men were very helpful. It was so good to have those guys," said Allurut.
"We had elders, young people, everybody."
On the final day, the community gathered for a feast of caribou, seal and char.
"Whatever wasn't eaten, the elders took home. From the leftovers of the ice-picking the elders were also able to take the ice home," said Amaaq.
Allurut says the school will definitely organize a whole week again, having learned from this first year.
