Indigenous culture equals auroraYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Visitors to the Dene Nahjo hide-tanning culture camp in Somba K'e Civic Plaza were treated to the pleasant aroma of pungent sweet smoke wafting out of a hide smoke-tent, the sound of tools scraping against stretched hides.
The scene transports one to a time and place where life was lived entirely on the land.
As such, this showcase of indigenous culture is a tremendous experience, all the more relevant because those traditions continue to be passed on to new generations.
This is no museum display or historical re-enactment by paid actors. This is the real deal, so it's no surprise hundreds were drawn to the site since it opened earlier this month.
The cultures and traditions of the people of the North are valuable in their own right but public interest in the caribou and moose-hide tanning workshop is worth noting: Northern indigenous culture offers an anchor point for tourism.
With about 200 visitors per day visiting the camp and participating in the workshops it is clear Dene Nahjo has keyed into a brilliant idea and tapped a valuable, renewable traditional resource.
Culture camp visitors were described as not only being local but included U.S. and international visitors.
The stories and photographs they take home or post on social media will do much to pique interest in what the North has to offer beyond auroras, dog-sleds and houseboats.
Territorial and federal bureaucrats as well as elected officials should recognize the brilliant success of this culture camp and its power to draw curious and inquisitive minds (and their tourism dollars) North.
Ongoing support is festival's lifebloodYellowknifer - Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Another Folk on the Rocks has come and gone and by all accounts one of the biggest and best so far.
Nationally-recognized acts like Joel Plaskett, Emergency, as well as A Tribe Called Red kept audiences on their feet and dancing alongside Northern artists getting more exposure and entertaining family and friends.
There is always a wide variety of entertainment, from bands for adults in the beer gardens to performers aimed at families.
Its broad appeal brought many of the festival-goers from all over the country, flying, even driving the long road North, an experience in itself.
It isn't just music that brings out the crowds. Artists and local merchants gave the crowds more reasons to come spend the weekend and take in an arts extravaganza that makes the city so unique.
Some of the hardest workers, however, are not performing onstage. The board works throughout the year to get the best talent they can attract, dealing with fees, travelling distance and competing festivals down south as well as recruiting volunteers and wrestling site logistics to the ground.
Over the years they've brought many big-name acts, some already popular and others on their way to super stardom, remembered years later for whipping crowds into a frenzy.
Keep in mind a festival is only as good as the support it gets from its audience.
It takes a lot of work and enthusiasm to keep it alive.
Crowds don't show any signs of thinning in the near future, but fans have to remember their continued support, through tickets, merchandise and volunteering will keep the grand tradition of Folk on the Rocks alive and well.
Curfew: reflections of a youth who grew upEditorial Comment by Cody Punter
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, July 27, 2016
I remember the first time I was brought home by police. I was 14 and I had just graduated from Grade 8. To celebrate, I invited a couple of friends over to my house. After my mom went to sleep, my two friends and I decided to sneak out of the house.
I felt a rush of excitement as we tip-toed out the door through the back alley. It was a wonderful feeling - we had just finished school and now we were free to roam the streets without any parents to tell us what to do.
We weren't looking for trouble and we didn't really find any either. But sometime around 4 a.m. a police cruiser pulled up beside us on a side street. After realizing how young we were, the officers wanted to know why were out so late. We explained that we were just walking around and not doing anyone any harm. Despite our protestations, we were told that we weren't old enough to be out in the early hours of the morning — we finished our evening in the back of a police car, on the way home.
Needless to say my mom was less than impressed. Neither were the parents of my friends and for a while we were all grounded.
That was the last time I was ever brought home by police. It was not the last time I snuck out of the house. Although the fear of getting caught was always in the back of my mind, it just made me take extra precautions to make sure that didn't happen.
Which brings us to the issue of curfew in the Kivalliq.
Last week I spoke with parents from communities across the region who would like to see curfews imposed in their communities. In Rankin Inlet, the issue has been taken to hamlet council which is currently debating the merits of implementing a curfew. I have seen the polarizing effect this debate is having among people on social media, with one half supporting a curfew and the other saying it is up to the parents to keep their kids under control.
One of the problems I see in all these discussions is that people are confusing the crimes being committed late at night with youth being out on the streets.
Although I have only been in town for a month, I have been woken up my fair share of times in the middle of the night. This has not been the result of children playing but rather people drunkenly shouting abuse at each other, or ATVs squealing around town.
Would a curfew stop this from happening? I doubt it. Would it stop the people who are breaking windows and stealing things with no regard for laws that are already in place? Almost definitely not. If communities want to get to the heart of the matter they should look into implementing bylaws that would address these problems specifically, whether noise complaints, public intoxication or vandalism. Curfews are just an easy way to pretend to solve problems that are much more complex than any one law can solve.
In a few weeks I will be leaving Rankin, so my opinion may not matter much to those who have lived here all their lives but I will offer my two cents before I go. I think an effort needs to be made to hear all sides: parents, youth, police, and community leaders. Bring everyone to the table and discuss these issues publicly rather than doing it from behind a computer screen. Come together as a community to develop a series of solutions that tackle the heart of the issue, whether it be more programming for youth, better supports for parents or penalties for disturbing the peace.
As the saying goes: it takes a village to raise a child. A community's youth is its future and they should be cherished as such. Blaming them for the failures of adults will only divide the community and breed resentment.
Where's dignity and respect?Northwest Territories/News North - Monday, July 25, 2016
The GNWT Income Assistance Handbook states that as a client, you have a right to "be treated with dignity and respect."
So why then were some clients of the GNWT's Income Security Division in Tuktoyaktuk left in dire straits after their benefits were chopped?
"It's been very tough and the bills are piling up also," Clara Bates told News/North, in a July 18 story headlined "Elders starving in Tuk."
"It's the first time I've really seen people cry or say that they're starving. They feel like giving up."
That's truly awful. Times are tough in the North, which is suffering the ripple effect both the oil slump and rising costs of living.
While News/North recently reported the employment rate in the NWT has increased by more than three per cent since June of last year, if you dig deeper into the statistics, you see that a large part of that increase was in part-time jobs.
However the unemployment rate has increased 17.6 per cent year to year, according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics.
So boiled down, a few more people found work, likely a part-time job in the service industry but a lot more are unemployed.
 | Start ordering in more red tape | 
|
So enter Income Assistance. And start ordering in more red tape.
The Income Assistance Program was set up to provide financial assistance to help Northerners meet basic needs.
But you'd better make sure you follow the department's rules to the letter. Or you're cut off. Just like that.
Clara Bates told News/North she was just one of a group of Tuktoyaktuk residents who had their income assistance payments cut off this spring.
"It's been really tough," she was quoted as saying in that July 18 edition.
"I've talked to a lot of people. I'm talking to them on a regular basis, just trying to keep their morale up and try to let them know that I am trying to do something about this."
On May 11, the GNWT issued a letter stating that Bates' support payments would be discontinued.
The letter stated that she had "not disclosed adequate information about your income and circumstances."
Bates said she was told that her income tax information hadn't been received.
"I told them that I did all my paperwork," she said.
"We did our stuff on time. The mail was pretty slow this spring."
In the meantime, Bates said she was without income support since she her last cheque in April.
Robert Anikina, Bates' brother, also had his income assistance discontinued after being told that he hadn't provided adequate information. He said that at the time, he had difficulty getting to the Income Assistance office due to a broken ankle and no telephone in his home.
Anikina said he explained his circumstances to a local GNWT client services officer, but still received a letter stating his income support was being discontinued.
Why has this editorial emphasized the Monday, July 18 edition of News/North?
Well the same day that paper came out with the front page headline. "Elders starving in Tuk," Bates and her brother's payments were reinstated without explanation.
While that might have been a coincidence - the problem solved the same day as the story ran - we're grateful the GNWT reinstated the payments.
We understand rules prevent fraud and abuse of the system. But people can't be left to starve and stew about a cruel bureaucracy.
The stated priority of government is to protect its citizens - and indeed treat us all in any situation with "dignity and respect." This wasn't done in Tuktoyaktuk.
No rush for devolution dealNunavut/News North - Monday, July 25, 2016
Both Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Cathy Towtongie are pleased the federal Liberal government appointed a new chief federal negotiator on the devolution file.
They see the eventual completion of negotiations on the transfer of responsibility for Crown lands and resources to the territorial government from the federal government as a good thing, perhaps imagining the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Essentially, a portion of resource revenue from mining companies like Agnico Eagle Mines in the Kivalliq region and the Baffinland iron ore mine at Mary River would go directly to the GN instead of Ottawa.
The formula is not supposed to change the level of transfer payments to Iqaluit from Ottawa, a vital revenue stream that represents more than 90 per cent of the money going into GN coffers.
Nunavut is the last of the three territories to go through the devolution process.
Yukon was the first on April 1, 2003.
On April 1, 2014, the Northwest Territories government became responsible for managing public land, water and resources.
The financial benefit resulted in new jobs and the GNWT keeping 50 per cent of royalties from resource development on Crown lands. Further, it agreed to sharing up to 25 per cent of its portion of resource revenue with the aboriginal governments.
We submit that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is not as sparkly as first thought for the NWT, especially considering the bureaucratic mechanisms required, such as the GNWT's formation of a Department of Lands and the bottoming out of the global resource industry.
In fact, there is much for Nunavut to learn from the process undertaken in the Northwest Territories and the results of devolution since 2014. And there is a great deal of time for our negotiations to be concluded.
Overall, devolution means little to ordinary citizens. Its importance as a priority for government is severely diminished when one considers the others issues we face.
We submit that adequate and ongoing funding for suicide prevention is more important. Addressing food insecurity is an issue of high priority. Education, training, health all top the list ahead of devolution.
Then there is the issue of jobs. Will there be enough beneficiaries under Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement to fill territorial government jobs inherited through devolution?
Devolution will happen in time but there should be no rush for it to be completed. Too many pieces of the puzzle need to fall in place for it to happen successfully.
Cabinet alone should not execute plan Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 22, 2016
Saving the Robertson headframe from impending destruction would make for one hell of a story, casting the key players in a heroic light.
Unless it turned out to be a terrible idea that saddled the population of the Northwest Territories, including thousands of people who can't see the tower from where they live and don't care whether it stands or falls, with liabilities and debt for generations to come.
As laudable as saving the headframe may be, it's a complex, potentially costly issue, not one that can be cooked up secretly in the backrooms of the legislative assembly.
It is great to see local business CloudWorks take the initiative and approach the government with ideas on saving the structure. There is considerable passion surrounding one of our few remaining mining icons but little in the way of a sound business plan.
It's precisely because any deal to save the headframe will involve tricky negotiations that discussions must not start off shrouded in secrecy.
The two private businesses involved (that we know of), Newmont Mining and CloudWorks, are of course under no obligation to discuss their plans at this time.
But, according to the tenets of consensus government, our elected representatives should not be learning of the goings-on of cabinet from the media.
Nor is catching regular members off-guard the best way to set the stage for a broadly-supported solution to saving the Robertson headframe, if one is to be found at all.
CloudWorks managing director Rob Warburton said he couldn't talk specifics regarding the proposal. He is waiting "until the government decides what it's doing."
As are the rest of us.
Christmas in July highlights year-round needs Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, July 22, 2016
The Christmas holiday season is months away but those in need in the city received a gift from a group of volunteers giving something more than a shiny new toy.
Renee Sanderson and others handed out care packages to the homeless in front of Northern United place that included shoes, used clothes, snacks, toiletries, backpacks, tea and sugar.
The July 16 drive started four years ago by Sanderson, has its roots in her upbringing, who said her father encouraged her and her siblings to do a good deed every day.
It's not just her and her volunteers behind the drive, people donated money to purchase items.
Businesses also gave to the cause, including Arctic Chalet Bed and Breakfast owner Lona Hegeman, who donated tea and sugar packs, with a promise to give more if needed.
The donations have caught the attention of Post Shreddies Search for Goodness, who announced Sanderson was nominated for their $10,000 prize, which could go a long way to help her long-term plan to provide more throughout the year.
Even though the attention is on Sanderson and her volunteers, this project is a good reminder there are many people out there in need.
Even a small care package can give a much-needed boost, or at least help take care of basic needs which exist all year round.
Just plain wrongDeh Cho Drum - Thursday, July 21, 2016
The world is a chaotic place filled with love, good, violence and evil, with ambiguity thrown in the mix.
While still young, just 21 years old, even I can see the world is made of grey.
Was that person really cruel to pump shoulders with you on the way to work or was he just distracted and having a bad day?
Was that person wrong to steal bread or was he trying to feed his family?
In most cases, I would say some things are too big to judge.
It's not for me to pass judgement about somebody's goodness or evilness. I'm sure I'm guilty of a few things myself.
However, after hearing about the break in at the volunteer fire department, I was transported back to my Grade 10 high school English class and remembered a long forgotten quote from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
It's a quote about why kids shouldn't shoot mockingbirds and is where the book got its name.
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy," the quote goes.
Now, I don't want to be overly dramatic and I realize quoting a book about racial relations in the 1930s United States might be a bit too far but I still think there is a lesson we can take from it.
To hurt someone, or in this case an organization, which tries to better the community and save lives is a pretty gutless thing to do and I think it makes it easier to sort out what's right and wrong by comparison.
I mean, as Pat Rowe said in the article, if the volunteer fire department had been called in for an ambulance call that morning somebody could have gotten seriously injured or worse.
Too be fair, perhaps there is more to this story. Maybe I'm too quick to judge.
I doubt it.
This seems, in my opinion, to be an act of senseless destruction.
Nowhere in our discussion did Pat Rowe say money was taken or something like that. His golf cart was smashed, not stolen and sold for parts.
I think the people of Fort Simpson should look hard at what happened that night, decided whether they have the whole story and then throw the book at whoever committed this senseless destruction.
Impressed with politician's visitInuvik Drum - Thursday, July 21, 2016
Visiting politicians are always something of a mixed blessing.
While there is typically an element of celebrity and people are often a little star struck, there is also an undeniable disappointment when they fail to fix all the things and respond intelligently, effectively, and immediately to all the problems.
Those closest to the centre -- the ones in the roundtables and meet-and-greets -- often feel like their concerns have been heard, only to be frustrated later on when solutions are not forthcoming. Even worse, they miss the announcement that may or may not address their problems a year or two later.
There is also the matter of making important announcements in communities in which those announcements will have little to no impact.
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was in Inuvik this week, in part to announce the addition of 37 communities to the Nutrition North program.
While this can certainly be partially explained by former Inuvialuit Regional Corporation CEO Nellie Cournoyea's role as interim Nutrition North Canada Advisory Board chair, the fact is that the communities affected in the NWT are Gameti, Lutsel K'e, Wekweeti, and Whati. While we have no doubt that Inuvik residents care about their fellow citizens, this announcement changes pretty much nothing in their actual lives. The announcement would perhaps better have been made in Yellowknife, loath though I am to grant the capital any bit of spotlight.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper pulled a similar stunt in two consecutive years of his grand Northern tours when he announced a Fort Smith project in Hay River in 2013 and money for a Hay River organization in Fort Smith the following year.
These are hardly scathing indictments, but they do point to a certain lack of understanding about all Northern communities not actually being the same place.
But still, for all the cynicism and general wariness of government officials, Bennett impressed us, not so much by what she said in formal moments, but in how she acted when confronted with normal people.
After once having bomb-sniffing dogs check my bag twice in the span of 20 minutes while covering the former prime minister, the fact that she spoke to any regular humans at all was already raising the bar.
She took the time to go around the arena where the Great Northern Arts Festival workshops were taking place July 17 and spoke to just about everyone, pausing and posing for selfies with participants here and there.
She was attentive, considerate, and friendly, and it clearly struck a chord in the people she met. It was genuine -- something many politicians lack.
