INUVIK
Kevin Floyd could probably talk forever about Inuvialuit qayaqing.

Kevin Floyd, chair of the Inuvik Qayaq Club, teaches people the traditional Inuvialuit ways of using the qayaq. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

That's the impression he gives anyway, when his eyes light up and he starts describing the ways Inuvialuit qayaqs are built, how his people used to hunt birds and whales with them, and the skills involved in rolling and staying quiet in the water.

"Right off the bat, our paddles are different," he said when asked what makes Inuvialuit qayaqs different from southern ones.

"It's shaped a lot like a plane propeller. It was designed a long time ago to be optimum in the wild up here, in the water. It gives you lift when you're in the water. It's nice and quiet. And then our qayaqs, they're skin on frame."

He pulled one out from storage in the Midnight Sun Complex's pool.

Floyd went through every part of the qayaq, which is made from wood and then wrapped in a skin.

"It's a lot like the 1950s flared fenders on cars," he said about the pointed-up ends. "I've heard a lot of people say it's a handle. It's not comfortable to carry it like this any distance. I think it's just for style and design."

Inuvialuit hunters would use the qayaqs to hunt ducks, geese and whales.

For ducks and geese, they used a tool that flung a three-pronged spear. Floyd hunts, but he mostly uses a shotgun.

Whales take a little more work.

"You have to get up to it, make a good placement with your harpoon and then finish it off with a gun," said Floyd.

"That's if you're doing it on your own or with another person. Traditionally, in the old days, there would be dozens and dozens of families all gathering out in the Delta. They would paddle out to sea and then corral the beluga whales into the shallows where they can't maneuver, and then they would use a big lance to spear them."

Floyd hasn't gone whale hunting himself, but he did build a qayaq for a young man who wanted to.

The slim shape, rounded hull and length of the qayaq mean it can be turned on a dime, which is exactly what's necessary to pursue fast-moving belugas.

The Inuvik Qayaq Club held its annual general meeting last week.

The group meets regularly to practise skills in the recreation centre pool and then use them out in the water on day trips.

"I would like to potentially see an overnight trip," said Jen Lam, vice-chair of the organization, at the meeting.

More opportunities for members to build qayaqs and oars were also suggested going forward.

Anyone is welcome to drop by the club's pool practice sessions from 5 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Even people who are nervous about being in the water, and especially rolling upside down in a qayaq, are encouraged to try it out.

Floyd said some people have come in with a huge ingrained fear and panic response to being upside down in the water, and they have since progressed to being able to hang under for 45 seconds before twisting themselves and their qayaq up.

"They get up to about 45 seconds and then they just get bored and come up," he said. "So it's gone from someone who's been terrified of being in the water to 'Yeah, I'm rocking it.' You don't have to be a swimmer."

The rolling skill is key to the tradition's history.

"In the Inuit qayaqing culture, if you flip upside down and you can't get back up, you're not going to be a very good hunter," said Floyd.

Floyd and Lam will both be south this weekend at the Pacific Paddling Symposium in Victoria, BC.

They will be teaching traditional Inuvialuit qayaqing skills.

Anyone interested in the sport is encouraged to contact the Inuvik Qayaq Club on Facebook or drop in to one of the Sunday sessions.

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