Murray Angus
Northern News Services

Costa Rica (June 24/02) - Fifteen Inuit college students had the experience of a lifetime this spring as they took the story of Nunavut to the jungles of Costa Rica.

The youths, all students in the Ottawa-based Nunavut Sivuniksavut program, were in the Central American country on a two-week cross-cultural tour in early May.

Their goal was to share Inuit culture and history with the indigenous peoples there. Their first challenge, however, was the climate.

"When we first got to the capital city, San Jose, I thought I was going to die from the heat," said Sarah Dunford of Iqaluit.

While in the capital, the students paid a visit to Canadian embassy, where they were briefed by Ambassador Louise Leger and her officials.

The students learned about Costa Rica and what an embassy does to represent Canada abroad.

It was in the tropical jungle region along the Caribbean coast that the students had their first encounters with indigenous peoples.

Eight indigenous groups in Costa Rica make up about one per cent of the country's population.

They live primarily on 22 reserves set aside by the government in 1977. While these lands supposedly belong to the people, squatters and mining companies continue to intrude on their lands.

The students' first stop was at an educational centre run by the Bribri, one of the largest indigenous groups. The centre promotes traditional farming practices compatible with the rainforest ecosystem. It serves local Bribri and Cabacares peoples, who share the same traditional territory.

The students were welcomed upon their arrival by children from the local school who performed songs in three different languages.

The Nunavut students gave a performance in return, including ayaya songs, drumming, throat singing, a slide show about Nunavut, and demonstrations of Inuit clothing and games.

The kids loved it.

The next day they were taken on a tour of the Bribri's traditional territory.

Travelling by dugout canoe, and by bus along narrow jungle roads, they first visited a high school in the indigenous community of Amubri.

Once again, they performed their songs, drumming, and games, and the audience's response was enthusiastic. The highlight of the day was a meeting with a shaman, a Bribri man renowned for his healing capabilities.

He invited the students into his traditional house for a presentation on the use of plants and animals as medicines.

Students were enthralled by the encounter.

"It was awesome seeing him and learning of their beliefs and sharing our culture with him," said Annie Joannie of Iqaluit.

The visit ended with the shaman demonstrating the use of traditional bows and arrows, which the NS students were able to try as well.

On their final night on the Caribbean coast, the group experienced its first tropical rainstorm. It turned out to be the heaviest rain the region had seen in over thirty years -- roads were closed by mudslides, and hours after the group left the region, major bridges were washed away by the swollen rivers.

Next week: More flooding, this time from hydro-electric dams.

Murray Angus is an instructor in the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program and a freelance writer in Ottawa.