Editorial

This is simply a group fighting for its survival. The festival has built a terrific facility and deserves to stay where it is. The fight has led to a one-year delay on developing the RV park.

The tourism department wants to spend $1 million to build 36 drive-through RV sites on land owned by the Department of Transportation.

It says it will need 100 sites over the next 10 years. Obviously both the festival and an RV park cannot exist in the same spot.

There may be other tourism attractions that could work with Folk on the Rocks; this just isn't one of them.

With the project on hold for the next year, the department needs to consider new sites and reconsider some of the other 10 sites that were on the list but rejected as unsuitable. Invite the public to make suggestions on possible locations.

The tourism department should talk with the largest landowners around, the Yellowknives Dene First Nations to see if they're interested in hosting an RV park on land their land.

Parents, this is your wakeup call

The RCMP is warning city high schools there is a gang operating here, specifically targeting students.

The Crazy Dragons want to get rich poisoning our families and destroying our children's futures.

Officers are planning to host information sessions for parents and youth alike to ensure everyone knows what's going on.

Certainly these gatherings will help, but only if people care enough to attend and follow up afterwards with their kids. Criminal organizations thrive in the shadows, cutting a path of destruction through all they touch.

They wither when dragged out into the light of public consciousness. We know they're here - there have already been a few arrests. We know what they do - recruit young people to sell and deliver crack, cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs to their classmates.

We know what you, as parents, need to do next - warn your children. Sit them down and make sure they understand the ramifications of what's going on.

It may be their buddy Johnny from Math class offering to bring them weed now, but one day it could be a bunch of scary dudes from the south showing up to collect their pound of flesh for an unpaid drug debt.

Trekking out to the Tootoos

Editorial Comment
Christine Grimard
Kivalliq News
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Finding a job that's right for you is not an easy task. I've been a booking agent, in the armed forces and tried my hand at several secretarial jobs before I got into journalism.

I must say, since I've been back in this field I tell people all the time how much I love my job. I bring this up, because Monday night was another reminder why I love it so much.

My new found Rankin Inlet kindred spirit, a journalist replacing someone for a brief stint here at CBC, and I thought we would ask Jordin Tootoo if we could tag along for anything "Northern" to give the interview with he and his American Idol girlfriend a little spice. Just as we were discussing the issue over coffee, Jordin walked into the Sugar Rush. We approached him, and he happily invited us up to his cabin that night where he and his girlfriend, country singer Kellie Pickler, would be hanging out.

So that night, the two of us, hopped in a 4x4 and tried to make our way out to the cabin with the simple directions of "turn right after the bridge."

The trip up the road to the tundra was a little nerve-wracking. Nevertheless, we found the bridge, made a right, and travelled along what we hoped was the right beaten track to a scattering of cabins along a hill.

We were reassured only with the knowledge that in places like this, you can actually ask pretty much anyone you come across where so-and-so lives and there is a good chance they'll know who you're talking about. So when we reached the first sign of activity, I hopped out and knocked on the door find two people that I knew inside, Joe Kaludjak and Mary Irkootee. They happily pointed me in the right direction. One look at the road ahead and we decided we weren't going to risk getting stuck in the mud, so we decided to walk the rest of the way. About 20 minutes later, covered in mud, with nothing but tundra and some empty cabins around us, we both had to reflect this was definitely the most we've ever done to get an interview.

Our efforts were rewarded, as we were warmly welcomed to the cabin by Jordin, his mom Rose, and Kellie. I'd like to take a minute here to talk about my impressions of Kellie, in light of some jokes I heard about her calling Jordin an Eskimo and wanting to build an iglu.

To begin with, having never been to the North, there is no way for Kellie to know that there wouldn't be enough snow here this time of year. I have American relatives, and even when I was living in Ottawa they were clueless about how we lived. Even my European friends don't believe me when I tell them we get -20C in Ottawa, they tell me it's impossible and no one could survive.

I wouldn't expect Kellie to know any more than the average American or European. As for calling Jordin an Eskimo, I've had a chance to interview another Inuk living in the United States who sometimes tells people she is Eskimo, just because it's easier than giving the whole story every time.

I'd like to congratulate Kellie for making the trek up here, experiencing Inuk life and getting to know her boyfriend's culture a lot better.

She took a week off her concert tour to come up here, where she ate whale and caribou, went Skidooing and anything else Jordin dragged her to. She probably knows more now than the average Canadian does about Inuit culture.

-- Darrell Greer, the regular editor of the Kivalliq News, returns July 16.

Inuvik needs to meet the needs of the disabled

Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik News
Thursday, June 21, 2007

I want to start with two questions: How much asphalt would we need to fix every sidewalk and building in town with proper access to wheelchair ramps; and how much will it cost?

I'd really like a response to my questions, so feel free to mull that over while I condemn the town's lack of wheelchair accessibility.

I took part in the wheels on ice challenge last week to show my support for a friend and to see what state our community is in.

My ''simple task'' was to make my way from SAM school to the Mackenzie Hotel and request a room rate.

After watching Boot Lake MLA Floyd Roland make the SAM school ramp look easy, I made my start. Let me first say that the ramp at the elementary school is steep. It's too steep for this able 24 year-old to manoeuvre without the help of aides. After eventually making my way down the ramp, I started my voyage across the driveway and the main road.

It was during this long stretch of ''pavement'' that I noticed the smallest pebbles were leading me off the beaten path. Again, thanks go to my aides, who took the time from their studies to help with the event, I made the crossing.

My struggles continued when I tried to get up onto the sidewalk. The entry was cracked and raised from wear and tear. I nearly fell backwards trying to climb the slope.

Next time you're out walking on Mackenzie Road, look at the side walk. I'll bet this copy of the newspaper that you'll be shocked with the poor state of our only sidewalk in town. Might be time to redo some areas.

I don't know too much about the abilities of the average person in a wheelchair. What I do know is that travelling in a wheelchair in this town is extremely difficult.

I think it's embarrassing for our town to have such low quality service for people in wheelchairs.

Evelyn Bullock was in the wheelchair and had to get into a convenience store for a drink. It took the help of two aides to get the chair in a position where it could be lifted on a ramp in front of the store.

I want the disabled to feel comfortable in Inuvik. I want them to have a sense of dignity and independence.

I know that if I was in a chair and approached the store, I'd feel pretty bad because I'd have to ask for help.

Have you pondered my initial questions long enough yet? I hope the people in the town council chambers can pull enough cash together to fix the sidewalks. I also want the local business owners to get on the same page.

If this challenge showed me anything, it told me that this problem needs to be addressed and quickly.

I hope it doesn't take too long, because I don't think the people with disabilities want to wait any longer for their services.

On behalf of every fully-abled person in town, I want to show my support for the wheelchair bound. Keep fighting your fight. I'm sorry that nobody cares enough to patch some concrete or lay down some pavement. If you need help anywhere, call me up.

Make the celebration meaningful

Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
Thursday, June 21 2007

One of the more enjoyable parts of the summer is having days off of work.

Summer months offer plenty of opportunities thanks to a number of different holidays.

Interestingly, while many people leap at the chance to have an extra day off of work to enjoy the summer weather not everyone can explain what the various holidays signify. A definition of why the civic holiday exists isn't sitting on the tip of everyone's tongue.

Surely in the North you would think the same wouldn't hold true for National Aboriginal Day. With a population that is made up primarily of First Nation, Inuit and Metis people you'd think that the meaning of Aboriginal Day would be crystal clear.

But what exactly is it that people should be celebrating on Aboriginal Day? What makes this holiday any different or more significant than the others that crowd the summer months?

According to the official definition that can be found on various government of Canada websites, National Aboriginal Day is a day to celebrate the unique heritage, cultures and contributions of the First Nation, Inuit and Metis people in Canada.

That's a concise definition but it covers a lot of ground while not offering much insight.

A bit of history might help.

June 21 was first proclaimed as National Aboriginal Day by former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc on June 13, 1996. Prior to the proclamation there was a long standing desire for a day to be set aside nationally to celebrate Aboriginal peoples and cultures.

In 1982 the National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations, called for June 21 to be made into National Aboriginal Solidarity Day.

In 1995, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended the creation of a National First Peoples day. Pressure built in the same year as the Sacred Assembly, a national conference of aboriginal and non-aboriginal people, called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of aboriginal people.

June 21 was finally chosen because of the cultural significance of the summer solstice and because many aboriginal groups have celebrated their culture and heritage during this time of the year for generations.

What it really means is that Aboriginal Day is whatever people want to make of it.

If people choose to simply use the day as an excuse to escape from their 9 to 5 job, then that is all it will mean to them.

If people take their free day to participate in the planned activities such as traditional games, handgames tournaments, drum dances and canoe races then they are taking the celebration's meaning one step further.

But to really make June 21 more than just a date on the calendar, aboriginal and non-aboriginal people alike would have to take time to consider the contributions and heritage of all of Canada's aboriginal peoples.

The day should be used not just to look at the past and the present, but also to think about the future. This is particularly significant in the Deh Cho as the members of the Dehcho First Nations prepare for the annual Dehcho Assembly that will place in Fort Simpson June 26 -28.

Only a few minutes are needed to change June 21 from a day without work to something meaningful.