CLASSIFIEDSADVERTISINGSPECIAL ISSUESONLINE SPORTSOBITUARIESNORTHERN JOBSTENDERS

NNSL Photo/Graphic


Canadian North

Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall textText size Email this articleE-mail this page

New homes for cherished fur
Coats passed down from Southern families put to use by Northern seamstresses

Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Published Monday, February 2, 2015

KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
Fur coats bundled up in hockey bags travelled by air all the way from Victoria, B.C., landing in the hands of seamstresses in Kugluktuk.

NNSL photo/graphic

Helen Himiak, an instructor with the women's sewing group in Kugluktuk, traces a pattern on a piece of fur Jan. 21 that arrived in the community all the way from Victoria, B.C. - David Ho/DnV photo

"We feel fortunate to be getting these furs because fur is so expensive up North," said sewing group instructor Helen Himiak.

The women, who are part of a sewing group that gathers two nights a week to teach sewing skills, use the furs to make winter wear for their families, children and grandchildren.

"The women are happy because their kids will stay warm throughout the winter."

The initiative, called Furs to the Arctic, was developed by Myste Anderson and Gail Pettinger.

The two met during a six-month online course, which included participants from all over the world. Anderson calls Kugluktuk home, while Pettinger is located in Victoria.

"Often Myste would give us a weather report. She was very poetic in the way she described the cold," said Pettinger from her home in Victoria.

Through conversation, Pettinger brought up unused fur coats that find their way into the backs of closets and Anderson said she knew of a sewing group.

"People feel so good about having a heart-warming purpose for these coats," said Pettinger about the donations that piled up in her home. "There are so many stories. It's almost a relief for people. Often it's a mother's coat, or a grandmother's coat or, for men, a partner that's passed. The person loved their coat."

Pettinger, for example, donated her mother's muskrat coat, worn on special occasions.

"Just the smell reminded me of her."

There is such an abundance of unused furs that are stored and honoured, she adds, and she's happy they are being repurposed.

Pettinger almost has enough coats for a second shipment.

Himiak is very aware of the depth of the gift. It means so much more than simply receiving free fur.

"We honour these coats that we receive," she says.

As much as a coat comes from a person important in a donor's family, so will a finished piece of outerwear go to a seamstress's beloved family member.

"We don't just shove them over. And we use every little bit we can."

Nancy Kadlun, the co-ordinator for the Brighter Futures program in the community which supports the sewing group, made a pair of mitts for a woman who donated a fur coat.

"The ladies are very thankful to those from Victoria who sent the coats. The fur is still good to be used," she said.

Kadlun used some of the fur "for a little parka for my granddaughter. I put the fur on the inside. She's very warm."

"We're so thankful for all that material," she adds.

Anderson, who started the ball rolling, hopes that other communities will pair up with people in southern Canada.

"It's really starting to roll. People are hearing about this idea," she said. "For example, Ottawa and Iqaluit. They could replicate it in their own way."

One way to connect is via the Facebook group Furs to the Arctic.

E-mailWe welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.