Cadet exchange visits Naujaat
B.C. cadets complete exchange program with 10-day stay
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
NAUJAAT/REPULSE BAY
The second leg of an Experiences Canada exchange program saw 21 combined sea and army cadets from Port Alberni, B.C., along with three adults, pay a 10-day visit to Naujaat earlier this month.
The 3055 Naujaat Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps (RCACC) visited Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in March to begin the exchange program.
The Experiences Canada program is funded through the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and pays all travel costs associated with the exchange trips.
3055 Naujaat RCACC commanding officer Capt. Lloyd Francis said Naujaat sent 26 cadets and three adults to Port Alberni between March 10 and March 19.
Francis said the B.C. cadets' visit to Naujaat from May 16 to 25 went exceedingly well.
He said the B.C. cadets had a lot of fun in Naujaat, and seemed to really enjoy everything the 3055 RCACC had planned for them to do in the community and out on the land.
"The visiting cadets being stuck here for a few extra days due to cancelled flights really sucked for them, but, on the other hand, they got a real taste of the Arctic in that travel problems are the norm here," said Francis.
"The Port Alberni cadets loved fishing while we were all out on the land, and they also loved that we went sledding and did some orienteering, too."
Francis said even though there were about 50 people in the group, it was nice and peaceful out on the land and a great experience for both groups of cadets.
He said they slept out on the land, with the B.C. cadets sleeping inside the elders' cabin that the hamlet donated for use during their visit to Naujaat.
"In town, the Port Alberni cadets really enjoyed the square dancing the hamlet organized for us at Tusarvik School, and they also really liked the drum dancing we did.
"We had ayaya singers and a number of our visitors were brave enough to go up and give drum dancing a try for themselves.
"There were no examples of culture or climate shock that stood out, although they were a little shocked at just how small our community is, and we did have some issues with people being a little cold here and there, but it wasn't anything major."
Francis said the B.C. cadets kind of marvelled at the lack of amenities, such as movie theatres, big box stores and those kind of things.
But, he said they loved riding in a qamutiik or on a Ski-Doo or ATV, and most of them even got to go dogsledding through a school activity.
"The dogsledding was another thing I got to try for the first time, too, after living in Naujaat for the past four years.
"The cadets got along great in B.C., but, I think, they got along even better in Naujaat because they already knew each other a little bit, and having no access to WiFi and no cell service in our community kind of forced them to have more face-to-face communication, which led to them bonding more than they did in Port Alberni.
"So, the lack of technology here actually played to our advantage this time.
"Some of the visiting cadets struggled a bit with having no access for the first couple of days, but then they got used to it, and I let the adults come down and use my personal WiFi so they could communicate with everyone back home and keep them up to date with everything that was going on."
Francis said the Experiences Canada program was very good and very productive to be a part of.
He said the community of Naujaat really came together, especially the hamlet and Co-op, to support the exchange program.
"The parents and a number of staff members at school also stepped up to help out and that was really nice to see.
"Their experience with country food was limited to caribou, char and fish soup, and most of them really seemed to enjoy it, especially the caribou stew made by one of the parents.
"All in all, in was a truly wonderful experience for all the cadets and everyone else involved."
