Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Oct 12/01) - One of the founding members of the Inuvik Drummers and Dancers says performing reminds her of the past.

Scott Kasook, left, and Hans Lennie do a dance during an Inuvik Drummers and Dancers practice. - Malcolm Gorrill/NNSL photo

Debbie Gordon-Ruben explained that when she was very young she spent a lot of time with her parents, and especially her mother, out on the land, and that she can remember being around her mother and grandparents and elders.

"A lot of what we sing and dance about now, I learn a lot from that, as well as remember stuff I heard and saw when I was just young," Gordon-Ruben said.

"It's very fulfilling for me to sing and pronounce the words properly."

As well, Gordon-Ruben often thinks of elder Martha Harry, who helped instruct the Inuvik Drummers and Drummers when the group began in 1989.

"I always remember her in the back of my head whenever I'm going to do a performance," Gordon-Ruben said, recalling that Harry told them the main purpose was to make people smile.

"I never go to a performance where I don't feel nervous. Once you're up there and you're with the rest of your group, you get over it."

Other elders who helped instruct the group include George Harry, Sara Tingmiak, Jean Arey and Tom Kimiksana. Gordon-Ruben said that others who have influenced her include her grandfather's brother, Alec Gordon, as well as Shepherd Felix and Emmanuel Felix.

Gordon-Ruben said another good source of information was Billy Day, the spokesperson for the Mackenzie Delta Drummers and Dancers, the regional drum dance group which existed before Inuvik, Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk formed their own groups.

Gordon-Ruben explained that she and others helped start the Inuvik group in 1989, in part to learn more of the language, as well as learn about songs and traditions from the past. She pointed out many middle-aged people don't really understand Inuvialuktun.

First practice

With a laugh, Gordon-Ruben said members had to improvise for their first practice.

"We didn't have any drums," she recalled.

"We got rulers and other objects that were long in length. We took the plastic garbage pail covers, and that was our drum, and the willows and rulers and pointers were our drumstick."

How times have changed. The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers put on several performances each year, including many within Inuvik and other Delta communities. Over the years they've also performed in most provinces except along the Atlantic Coast. They've also performed in Alaska and other parts of the United States, as well as Greenland.

Gordon-Ruben said a real highlight for her is a 10-day visit in 1993 to Anadyr, in eastern Russia.

"In our region we dance the same as Alaska and we drum the same as Russia, so it's kind of like a bond."

The Inuvik group got to spend a day with their Anadyr counterparts, and they exchanged some songs before performing together.

"They do some of the same dance songs and dances we do, but they just have the dialect difference," Gordon-Ruben explained. "The beat and rhythm of the song are the same."

The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers have resumed practicing after a break for the summer. They meet Thursday evenings at Ingamo Hall and Monday evenings at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.

Newcomers welcome

"We always invite Inuvialuit to come and participate, even if they just come to watch."

Gordon-Ruben said practices are a lot of fun, and can be therapeutic after having a bad day. "It makes it fun for us to share what we've learned throughout the years with others."

Gordon-Ruben has put a drum beat to and designed motions for a song called "The Whale Tale," after having an elder help translate the song.

"That's about my life on the north slope during the whaling season, and different events that happened with my family."

As well, songs on reel to reel tapes from some elders who have passed on, including Alec Gordon, Joe Nasogaluak Sr. and Kenneth Peeloolook, are being translated so dances can be made for them.

"That's just what we're starting to do now," Gordon-Ruben said. The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers currently boast about 20 members, ranging in age from children to elders.