Rankin Inlet (Feb 25/04) - A group of Rankin Inlet elders had the opportunity this past week to teach the type of traditional skill that just may save their students' lives someday.

The seven elders spent a day near the Area 6 point teaching iglu-building skills to a group of 10 people comprised of students from Alaittuq High, the Community Learning Centre and interested adults.

The session was sponsored by the Rankin Inlet Justice Committee and co-ordinated by the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre.

Temperatures warmed

The day of iglu building had originally been planned for January, but extreme cold caused its postponement until temperatures warmed up enough to make the snow more workable.

Youth activity co-ordinator and centre spokesperson Noah Tiktak said the friendship centre tries to ensure at least two iglu-building sessions are held every year.

Proper iglu building is one of the most important skills Kivalliq residents can learn, he said.

"It's always going to be cold up here and people have to know the proper way to build an iglu," said Tiktak.

"It doesn't matter if you're male or female because both can play a major role in building an iglu," he said. "Living here, you never know when you might find yourself stranded on the land and this is the type of knowledge that could save your life."

Tiktak said passing on traditional knowledge is very important to Rankin elders.

Elders are constantly looking for ways to encourage local youth to learn more traditional skills, he said.

"It was actually kind of funny because we had two elders who wanted to get a few of the participants to go with them on the land to build their iglu and then spend two nights sleeping in them," he said.

"There were no takers to the offer, though, so we held the class here in town," Tiktak said.

"The great thing about learning to build an iglu is that they're not just for emergencies, they're great for sleeping in when you travel on the land," he said.

"They can save your life, yes, but they can also simply make your time out on the land more enjoyable, too."

The centre will be offering a number of other traditional courses during the next few months, including ulu, qamutik and pana (snow knife) making.