REPULSE BAY
Inuit culture was front and centre during Heritage Day at Tusarvik School in Repulse Bay (Naujaat) this past month.
Elder David Tuktudjuk shows a group of elementary students how to do string games during Heritage Day at Tusarvik School in Repulse Bay this past month. - photo courtesy of Julia MacPherson |
The event is an entire day dedicated to Inuit culture.
Elders and other community members are asked to work at school stations for the students during the day.
Students in kindergarten to Grade 6 spend the morning visiting the eight stations of storytelling, lighting the qulliq, string games, nugluktaq, ayagark, Inuit games and a new video game titled Never Alone that features the adventures of an Alaskan boy and his husky.
In the afternoon the children go to the sea ice to fly kites, play tug of war and ice fish.
Students in Grades seven to 12 select an activity for the morning and afternoon.
The senior students can choose between dog sledding, sewing mittens, hide preparation, wall hangings, cooking caribou stew and bannock, packing a qamutiik, setting up a camp and drilling holes and Inuit games.
The activities require a lot of work, dedication and planning, said vice-principal Julia MacPherson.
The event was begun by a previous staff member at Tusarvik, before MacPherson took the lead planning it for the past three years, she added.
"It's a fantastic day for students, teachers and elders to have a lot of fun," said MacPherson.
"We also set up a heritage fair along the same lines as our science fair.
"Every class works on an Inuit heritage project to be displayed in the gym and judged."
The first Heritage Day was held at Tusarvik five years ago.
MacPherson said the event has caught on with students, but it requires a lot of commitment for the staff.
Because it's a lot of hard work, teachers aren't begging for it to happen, she said. However, once it starts everyone helps out and it turns out great every year.
"We also hired a hunter to catch a caribou and bring it back to the school.
"Some high school students helped butcher the caribou, then the meat was taken to the kitchen and made into caribou stew, which was connected to another station.
"We had a seal this past year so we could prepare a sealskin, but it was too dangerous to go to the floe edge after one this year.
"So we thawed caribou hides that had been frozen and stored earlier for the students to work on."
