Clyde River (Sep 18/06) - Meeka Paniloo loves kids, and if 53 youth turning out for hip hop workshops stand as proof, kids love her.

Clyde River's Paniloo works part time with youth for the Ilisaqsivik society.

Her job is to oversee the hamlet's breakdancing boom that happened in the wake of a visit by the Canadian Floor Masters last month.

"I love having lots of kids (at the workshops)," Paniloo said.

And while most of the Thursday night sessions take place on the dance floor,

Paniloo also uses the time to talk about the dangers of smoking and sniffing.

"One of the reasons I like hip hop is they have to be sober if they want to join the hip hop," she said. "I don't even let them go outside to smoke until it's break time." The same is true of a recent healing camp the Ilisaqsivik society held on the land outside of the hamlet.

Paniloo was responsible for youth activities, taking kids for walks, picking berries and passing on some of life's lessons.

"For example, I talk about myself, like I wasn't doing what my parents (wanted me) to do and I don't like that," she said. "So for me, I'm grown up now and I have kids. Now I'm knowing that I was wrong."

But in addition to the lectures, Paniloo also led the kids, mostly 10 and under, in gospel songs, making traditional crafts and feeding them healthy snacks.

She hopes the camp helps connect young Inuit to the traditional ways.

"Even me, I didn't know all the stuff that I should have known," she said. "Maybe it's because in the past kids weren't allowed to ask adults... These days now, I can ask whoever I want about the things I don't know."