Kugaaruk youth take to the land
On-the-land program part of Nunavut Government's Food Secure Initiative
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, May 8, 2017
KUGAARUK
Last month's on-the-land training program for Kugaaruk youth was so successful that there are now plans to hold another one later in the spring or the summer, program co-ordinator and hamlet volunteer Cathie Rutter said.
Jimmy Pujuardjok, left, and Waylon Qavvik take to the ice last month for some fishing as part of the 'on the land' training program for Kugaaruk youth. The program is part of the GN's Food Secure Initiative. - photo courtesy of Cathie Rutter |
Kugaaruk applied for territorial government funding last July and received $24,000 through the GN's Food Secure Initiative in November, Rutter said. The money was used to take 11 Grade 7, 8 and 9 students ice fishing with hamlet elders on April 18, 19 and 24.
"It's important to the community ... because it links the youth with the elders to learn some of the traditional skills," Rutter said.
"The whole purpose of the Food Secure Initiative was to improve access for the community to country food and to improve access to nutritional store-bought food. Taking the kids out on the land to learn how to hunt (and fish) was one of the components of the program to help improve access to country foods."
Rutter said elders are not always able to teach their children and grandchildren how to hunt and fish in the hamlet, largely because they may not have the resources, including snowmobiles and ATVs. However, she said that on this trip, elders were able to pass along skills that they have learned over the years.
"They were taught how to check nets and they also did some jigging," Rutter said. "The first two days were nice, but last week they cut it short by an hour because it was quite cold. We had initially planned to do this in the middle of March but the weather was too cold and unpredictable, so we extended it into April."
She said part of the funding was also used to set up twice-weekly displays at the local Co-op, the hamlet's only grocery store.
"We were teaching people how to budget - stretch their dollars to buy food basics and prepare their own food rather than buying ready-made," she said.
"We would have displays with nutritious banana bread and giving out samples."
Rutter described the price of food in the isolated community as "terrible and crazy."
"Not only is it expensive, we often don't have any food, especially fresh produce. Our produce -when it does come in -can already be wilted. We get low on all kinds of stuff. It's very unreliable," Rutter said. "Some of the food is subsidized by Nutrition North but it's still $16.99 for a 2L container of orange juice."
Rutter came to Kugaaruk two years ago from Vancouver. Her partner is the housing manager.
"I came along for the ride. I'm kind of the community volunteer," she said. "I was working with the wellness co-ordinator and I wrote the proposal for this initiative and now I've volunteered for other projects."
Rutter said the community, particularly children, are still struggling since the school burned down in March. She said getting youngsters out on the land gave them a much-needed break from their studies.
She added that classes are being held in practically every available space in the hamlet.
Rutter said once children who did not go out on the land fishing heard about how much fun it was from those who did, they were anxious to get in on the next program - caribou hunting - where students will actually camp overnight.
