June 2010
100 posts
April Diamond Dutheil: Know someone who worked in... →
If you, or anyone that you know once worked in the Arctic during the time period of 1930-1970, and are living in Vancouver or British Columbia’s lower mainland, we would like to hear from you. We are interested in hearing from people who worked in all areas of the Arctic and would especially…
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Do you see small blocks instead of Inuktitut?
To make information available to both English and Inuktitut speakers (Inuktitut is the language spoken by the Inuit) we have translated pieces of the website into syllabics (the Inuktitut written language). To learn more about Inuktitut and syllabics, click here.
To view the syllabics on this site you must download the font called “Pigiarniq”
You can do this free at the Nunavut Government...
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Amy Owingayak: Inuktitut and Syllabics →
Back in the old days Inuktitut was called Inuktut, however to make it easier for Qablunaat to understand it eventually became known as “Inuktitut”. Inuktitut is the language of Inuit and syllabics are the Inuktitut writing system. I’ll give some examples of syllabics:
“huvi?” - whats up?
“mutna” - ᒪᑦᓇ - thank you
The characteristics, ᒪᑦᓇ are syllabics. There are many different dialects of...
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Hivulivut: Change of Plans →
We learned that we wouldn’t be able to actually camera interview this afternoon. It’s a sad day. Had to inform the ladies that we cannot come over to their places due to lack of cameras, or actually, having no cameras available for the project.
Things we were told have been delayed, therefore,…
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Amy Owingayak: Preparing for interview →
Today, we were gathering questions to decide what we will be asking during our interview. Our interview topic is Tuberculosis (T.B.) and we will be asking 3 elders who have survived T.B. We made plans to decide who will interview, who will be the camera person, and who will be the director. We also decided to pair up in order to do the interviews.
I am looking forward to interviewing because it...
Word of the day
hivulipta:
Mutna, < MUT NA> means thank you.
Hivulivut: Tubercolosis (T.B) Interview Prep →
Monday, June the 28th,
This morning and this afternoon we prepared for interviewing on t.b. Plans are underway. We have selected three women who went for treatment back then.
From our training workshops recently, we came up with brainstorming questions and what roles each student is going to…
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Hivulivut: Well done April ! →
Student from UBC is leaving in the morning (Sat, June 26th). We will miss you here at Arviat. You have done well. You are an expert.
April is a young person who’s got the energy to train and work extra hard in teaching us students of the Arviat History Project; Nanisiniq. You did more than you…
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Hivulivut: Kiviaq →
In connection with this project my husband and I watched Kiviaq last night. He is interviewed by Zacharias Kunuk.
Kiviaq is an Inuk whose mother is an Inuk and has a step father who was a constable then that’s a qablunaaq. He faced a very hard life in his early years. So did the rest of the…
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Elizabeth Mukyungnik: Keeping Strong ᐱᒡᒍᑐᐃᓐᓇᕐᓂᖅ →
I felt like quitting this program because I missed a few classes. Oh my god, and it was just for 2 days. I slept in and did not go to class because I was house sitting for the very first time. My mind was saying feel free at home, so I did and I stayed up all night visting friends.
And suddenly I changed my mind, I didn’t want to quit the program because the team needs me. I started saying ”I...
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What I have learned so far
robertam:
In the past few weeks i’ve learned a lot: interviewing, filming, and the camera. Learning more about each thing has a different value. The most exciting part was learning how to film. When you are filming you have to be able to know how to handle the camera. For example, if you hold the camcorder in its holding position it will look fantastic.
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Robert Mukyungnik: What does it mean to be Inuk? →
Being Inuk?
Where do i start? When you are Inuk you need to know that you are capable of accomplishing anything. In the old days you either had to be a survivor or you died trying. For example, when men would go hunt for food, they had to work together-towards a goal.
So, we too have to understand life’s details in order to make sense of where we are going and what goals that we...
Inuk Timeline
*Note: This timeline is merely a brief overview of events that occurred in the history of the Arctic, and is by no means exhaustive.
Arviat History – 1860-1988
Motives of Qallunaat
1. Profit
2. Avoid dependency
3. Sovereignty
1860’s – Scottish and American whalers
1890’s – Rev. Peck introduces syllabics
1911 - 1. Hudson’s Bay Company opens the first trading post (fox trade)
...
Read our article in Nunatsiaq News →
An ambitious history project and training program will see the Sivulinuut Elders Society and youth in Arviat collaborate with researchers from the University of British Columbia over the next two years to record the history of Arviat and the Kivalliq region…
Hivulivut: What does it mean for me to be an Inuk?... →
First of all, I was born Inuk and I’m dying Inuk, end of story. Not ! lol
Okay, the Inuk race / ethnic hasn’t changed one tiny bit since my forefathers. I’ve never seen most of them, while I’ve seen a few on photos and seen few in real life.
I am an Inuk Canadian whose ancestors were…
“ᖃᓄᖅ ᑐᑭᖃᖅᐸ ᐃᓅᔪᓂ”
ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᒥᒃ, ᐃᓅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖓ ᐃᓅᑦᖢᖓ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑐᖁᓂᐊᕆᕗᖓ ᐃᓅᓗᖓ, ᑕᒡᕙ ᐃᓱᐊ.
ᔮᖅ ! ᐃᔪᖅᓇᑦᖢᑯᓂ
...
Amy Owingayak: Who I am →
My great-grandparents:
Kunuk and Annalutnaaq (grandfathers parents) were Padlei-miut. I dont know much about them but I’ve heard of them before.
Alareak and Pittau (grandmothers parents) were Kingaryualik-miut. I also dont know much about them but I’ve seen photos.
My grandparents:
David and…
Amy Owingayak: What it means for me to be Inuk →
To answer “What it means for me to be an inuk” , I look at my past generations. My great grandparents, in my opinion, were very smart. From what I’ve learned from schools, they made tools only from animal parts like antlers, tusks, anything possible and used them to hunt and travel (sleds). They…
ᖃᓄᖅ ᑐᑭᖃᖅᐸ ᐅᕙᒻᓄᑦ ᐃᓅᔪᓂ
ᑭᐅᓗᒍ “ᖃᓄᖅ ᑐᑭᖃᖅᐸ ᐅᕙᒻᓄᑦ ᐃᓅᔪᓂ”, ᑕᑯᓱᖅᑐᖓ ᓯᕗᓕᕆᓚᐅᑦᑲᒻᓂᒃ. ᐊᑖᒃᑖᕐᒪ...
Lights, Camera and Action
arluq:
Today we learned how to operate a video camera and how to position the lighting. We also practiced interviewing and learned how to direct the camera man/woman.
Patrick (camera man) and Martha (our elder).
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Inuktituk
arluq:
This language we call is inuktituk.
Translating it to English it says,
My name is Joseph Thompson, I’m from Arviat Nunavut.
Im studying the history of Arviat.
We will be traveling to Yellowknife and Vancouver
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Hivulivut: Last class →
Tuesday, June 22:
Our last class together for this month. We discussed what our documentary will be about for this project.
We came up with;
In the summer of 2010, Inuit youth began historical research and will be investigating how events of the past could help make positive changes to lives today.
How will we show it ?
Play dramatization (work with drama group at JAHS)
Telling...
Amy Owingayak: Project →
I’ve been learning how to work with the camera’s and interviewing. It is a lot of fun to interview because you learn more about what you did not know before. During our project, we learn how to research history, and film our experiences with cassettes, video tapes and photos. It is so much fun to be apart of the project because the people we are working with are fun to be around, they are so...
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Jenelle Muckpah Mamgark: My weekend. →
This Saturday I went to the flow edge with my dad and brother. When I came home from the Northern Store Saturday afternoon, my brother came to ask me if I wanted to follow him to the flow edge. I replied of course. So we waited for my dad to come home. As soon as he came home they started to get…
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Elizabeth Mukyungnik: Project. →
Today’s the last day of work with Pat. He is flying back home due to his other work.
In this project we are now editing what we filmed, such as interviewing and filming. He is teaching us how to do In(I) and Out(O) editing (which we do on the iMac), how to capture images, and also how to import and export film to see how we can make it shorter or longer. Pat has been very helpful, showing us...
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B-roll shots
robertam:
In the past few days we learned how to do b-roll shots. B-roll is considered to be beauty shots. For example, when you see something that is beautiful and you know that it won’t last long, then you should take some pictures or video shots of that moment. Frank, Pat (our documentary film maker, and awesome guy) and myself shot some clouds when the weather settled down. For me, it...
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Hivulivut: Review of the documentary, "Qimmit" →
“Qimmit” meaning dogs in Inuktituk. This is a show on dogs that were slaughtered on the Baffin Island area back in the days when they were the only transportation and help for the nomadic Inuit. I found this to be touching. There were times when I had big lump in my throat knowing and feeling for the people who had to face this severe experience. There were times when I just couldn’t...
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Hivulivut: More practice with interviewing →
We had a good time this morning. Our class actually went outdoors just past the first bridge, facing the river and opening of the ice breakage - so the background was some sea ice and the start of open water and some blue skies. Beautiful scene picked by Elder Silas Illungiayok.
Students prepared…
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Interview and Movie
arluq:
Today we went to go interview one of our elder, Martha Okotak, at her place.
After the interview was done, we had tea and dried caribou (Nipku).
Then tonight we will be showing our film work and the documentary, “Qimmit,” at the local community hall.
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Elizabeth Mukyungnik: My Weekend. →
This weekend I finally went up to my parent’s cabin at Mikilaa Lake (about 10-13 minutes drive). It is just up the road, about five minutes past the old airplane strip.
When I got to the cabin, first I saw my Baby walking around with grandma. As she was walking, she says “mommy, nau birdy.” I knew she was looking for the bird, so Selma was trying to catch a bird for Margo. For us it was a...
Hivulivut: Who am I - continued . . . →
Joan Owingayak, my mother:
Skilled in meat preparation. She made caribou stew, dried meat and fried too. I mostly loved the fried and the ones in boiled water. I miss her cooking very much.
My dear loving mother prepared food when dad caught some wild life. She followed him every where helping…
Hivulivut: Who am I - continued . . . →
David Owingayak, my father:
Skilled hunter - fish, whales, caribou, fox, wolves, geese, ptarmigan, and more.
Hunting, cutting, skinning, caching all took place according to the seaons of the year. He read the weather, predicted it and knew when to go out and when to stay home. Small example is…
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My life: Filming →
This afternoon we brainstormed on what we should film about, Martha and Silas told a small story when they were kids on what they remembered they did one day. Martha told us that when she was a girl, she chopped up frozen caribou with an ax, her uncle was behind her, she accidently hit him on the head with the ax, so he started bleeding. The other story is Silas also told a small story, him...
Amy Owingayak: What I learned →
I find it very interesting to get to know elders more. As our elders tell us more stories, you can learn so much about how life was in the past. Also, you get to find out more about your family that you did not know of. Working with elders and hearing their stories helps the youth to understand…
Jenelle Muckpah Mamgark: Learning the video... →
Yesterday, we went out to take a video camera, taking shots for the nanisiniq. it was kind of hard for me to take shots cause i’m not used to take shots outside and i’m used to using digital camera.
For the past few days, Pat taught us how to use video camera and I enjoy it. I didn’t know there…
Hivulivut: Cameras →
Our second day of learning cameras. We have great teachers, thanks to Pat and the team for their hard work and teaching skills, puts a real feeling to the viewers and the director.
The director decides all the settings; environment, lighting, paces, seating, background, sounds, actions, . ….
Robert Mukyungnik: Today's Lesson →
CRAZY! A BUNCH OF US DOING THE BUNNY HOP FOR THE CAMERA
Today we learned a lot of things that improved what we are doing. One thing we learned while filming is how to make a panning shot. In other words there was lots of open space to shoot in but we tried to come in close. I learned that we…
ᐅᑉᓗᒥ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᒃᓴᖅ
ᐅᑉᓗᒥ ᐃᓕᒃᑎᓯᒪᓕᖅᑐᒍᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᓂᒃ ᐱᕚᓪᓕᕈᑎᒋᓯᒪᓕᖅᑕᑉᑎᒃᓂᒃ. ᐃᓕᒃᑎᓚᐅᒃᑲᑉᑕ ᐃᓚᖓᑦ ᒪᓕᒃᐸᓪᓕᐊᓂᖅ...
My life: Town of Arviat →
Today we did more of camera work, this morning we practised on moving and zooming the camera, we danced, skiped, singing just a few things to get comfortable operating the camera. Then this afternoon we had three groups of four, got some video shots outside, inside the town. My group went by the…
Hivulivut: Who am I and Who I am →
Who am I?
I was born to David and Joan Owingayak, the eldest of four siblings. The English name given is Tamar, given by my father who chose this name from the bible, referring to King David’s daughter. But my Inuktitut name is Pittau after my mom’s mom.
My father is a Pallirmiut and…
ᑭᓇᐅᕗᖓ ?
ᐸᓂᒃᑖᕆᔭᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᖓ ᑏᕕᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᔫᓐ ᐅᕕᖓᔮᕐᒧᑦ, ᐊᖓᔪᒃᖠᖅᐹᖑᑦᓗᖓ ᐃᓚᒻᓂᒃ. ᖃᑉᓗᓈᑐᑦ ᐊᑎᕋ ᑕᒫᕐ, ᐊᒃᑎᕐᓂᑯᐊ ᐊᑖᑕᒪ...
Truth and Reconciliation: Getting an Education
frankjamestester:
ESKIMO POINT MISSON SCHOOL, 1940s
ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᑦ, 1940 ᐅᑭᐅᑦ ᐊᑐᖅᑎᒃᖢᒋᑦ
Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is having an event in Winnipeg celebrating Aboriginal survival and strength in the face of what happened with residential schooling of Aboriginal children in Canada, we thought we would say something about Inuit residential schools.
ᓱᓕᓂᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐅᑎᖅᑎᑎᕆᓂᖅ...
Rocks and the Anglican Mission: A Lot Going On
frankjamestester:
THE ANGLICAN MISSION, ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT) [about 1945]
I can hardly keep up! There is a lot of energy in our group and I confess to being really exhausted; downloading film in the evening, and trying to keep up with a long list of other things that need to be done. But it is also fun and we are all learning a lot. I won’t post any more photos about the radio show...
Hivulivut: Phone In Show →
The participants had a phone in show last night, apparently I was not there but I did listen to it.
The callers who remember the ‘times’ were fun to listen to. There were some memories that they’ve shared and some made us smile. There are still people who were living back then that can…
INUKTITUT WORD of the Day
himngaaq:
I would like to tell you a word in Inuktut - meaning in Eskimo.
Today’s word is Kinauvit, meaning “who are you?”
Pronounced KEE - NAU - VEET
”Who are you?”
