Lessons learned on the land
Classes rotate through Boot Lake camp to take note of traditional skills
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 24, 2015
INUVIK
Over the course of a few weeks, classes at East Three School spent time on the riverbank near Boot Lake, learning lessons they couldn't in a classroom.
Naomi Pearce, left, Lexi Gilmour and Inuvialuktun language and culture teacher Donna Johns watched as fish are pulled from the river near a camp at Boot Lake two weeks ago. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photos
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Students got a taste of traditional culture through trapping, snaring, language lessons and fishing, said facilitator Eric Church, who has taken part in the program for years.
"I feel like a student most of the time when I'm here," he said. "We all learn together."
Environment and Natural Resources officers, contractors and retired teachers all take part in the camp, hailing from different local traditions themselves. This spectrum of experience gives instructors the ability to teach a wide range of students a variety of skills and approaches.
"When all students are exposed to local culture and traditions, that sense of storytelling is passed on," Church said.
Some of the older students have been taking these on-the-land lessons for several years but Church said there is value in repetition. He challenges those students to remember everything they ever learned on the trips and says they can learn more with time.
"It reinforces those lessons," he said. "And they build on that knowledge and experience. It helps them develop their own relationship with the land."
The activities are largely the same for all ages, according to instructor Angus Alunik, who teaches trapping and snaring.
"Some of the ones we saw last year remember a lot of it," he told the Drum. "That's good to see."
Students Cooper Jenks and Madison Parsons from the Kindergarten to Grade 1 French immersion class said they learned a lot about the types of fish and liked watching as the net was pulled out of the river.
"There were coneys and crooked-backs," Jenks said, adding that he was pleased to be outside because he finds regular classes boring. "I liked the sledding but I was most excited for eating."
Parsons said she liked being around the fire, seeing the fish come out of the ice in the net and learning about them as they flopped about on the frozen river.
"But the best part," she said with a grin, arms stuck out in front of her. "The best part was getting to wear Eric's mitts."
Church's mitts were large and cozy, offering significant protection against the cold.
