Week 1
From the day we landed in Salluit we were met with nothing but warm greetings, we had a wonderful opportunity to bond with the townspeople over Canada Day celebrations which were in full swing! Of course it goes without saying that we had first day jitters, but we still shared a very enjoyable week with the local youth.
On the first day we began our day with a fan-facorite icebreaker called - POW. This was an instant hit, every game concluded with the kids wanting to go "again, again..." , before I knew it we had already played the game 10 times, and the day hadn't even begun yet! Having finished registrations we moved outside to take in the rare summer weather as we played a handball and soccer-baseball. Returning back inside we went ahead with choir, were the youth learnt some important singing excercises. Finally we ended the day with a creative and serene traditional beading session with a local woman by the name of Annie Kaitak, it was captivating to discover this other side of some of the most energetics kids I know. There were beatiful creations, some made them for their mothers and others for themselves. Suprisingly, the boys got involved too! It was great to see a little breaking of gender-barriers for what is normally an Inuit woman's activity. This was also the birth of the "what-craft-are-we-doing-tonight" crew, there every night to find out what we're making next!
The following day Myriam taught her first martial arts session for the camp. Being so far from Inuit culture there was a number unsure faces as she started the warm-up with toe flexing and breathing excercises. Curiosity grew as the kids began to ask - "is it Ninja?". It was not long before we had group of kids curious enough that were willing to try and ended up enjoying it, even later sharing conversations about secret martial arts moves that only they knew like the "monkey fist"! Fun had outside earlier in the day as we embarked on a little boys vs. girls competition, going head-to-head in the intense of games like tug of war! Later that day we converted old soup cans from the dump into beautiful candle holders, teaching the kids that there are many things that we throw which have the potential to still be useful and beautiful.
Day 3 brought around some very unique activities, starting with Myriam's version of tag called "The Princess and Monster" that left all the campers asking for more, again what should have been interesting for just 5 mins became another hit for 30 mins. We then moved on to the circus session, kids ventured into many new things, the biggest of them all being stilts! As daunting as it looks at first glance and despite some tumbles the campers kept going back, everybody making some real improvements. Later that day we headed out by the river to do the week's Pivallianiq Community Initiative. These activities re-inforce the mandate of Pivallianiq - a youth anti-vandalism organization. This week that activity was building a series of colorful inukshuks with painted rocks for the community at the picnic area by the river crossing. For those of you that don't know an Inukshuk is a traditional symol for the Inuit, it is used as a landmark to identify certain places in the land, it is built by piling rocks in the shape of a man. We brought our own twist to it by bringing in some color! It turned out beatifully as campers used a variety of colors to create inukshuks many color combinations!
Friday was a beautiful day as it was time for our first weekly excursion, this week it was the waterfall! Needless to say, the beginning was very challenging, mostly walking up hill and having to take a break every 10 minutes! It was also nice to see that it wasn't just the non-Inuits bothered by the mosquitos, thankfully we had some repellent at hand. Eventually the terrain flattened out and our hike became so much more relaxing as we took in the beatiful artic mountain range around us. We still met with the obstacel of small rivers to cross where the water was cold at first but quickly became more than bearable. Finally when we reached the waterfall I was in complete awe - it being my first time, the kids on the other hand had seen it many a time before and wasted no time in getting in the water and reaping the benefits of their 2 and a half hour hike! We bathed, we relaxed and made the most out of where we were, realizing that this is not something you get to do everyday. Our walk back was much less tedious as gravity was on our side with the descent. On our arrival back in town we were met with parents thanking us not just for the trip but for the wonderful of activities for their children, all in all it was a perfect day!
Week 1 was a week of discovery for the campers as they were introduced to many new and unfamiliar things, opening them up to new worlds and expanding their interests with things like martial and circus arts. There was learning as well, particularly with community stewardship as we re-purposed garbage and brought some beauty to the community. Of course this was also a week of fun as we took advantage of the beautiful weather playing games outside and exploring the beautiful landscape.
Dylan doing some breathing excercises, getting the campers lunges ready to sing!
Vanessa showing off her beautiful earrings from the traditional beading session.
Vanessa showing off her beautiful earrings from the traditional beading session.
Vanessa showing off her beautiful earrings from the traditional beading session.
The girls engaging in an intense game of tug of war against the boys!
The girls engaging in an intense game of tug of war against the boys!
Myriam having as much fun as the kids playing "The Princess And Monster"
Pamela taking time for a photo op during the circus stilt practice
Nile and Nora reaping the benefits of their 2 and a half hour hike to the waterfall
Group photo before heading back home
Week 2
Going into week two we had momentum from the first week with so many warm words from grateful parents and so many lessons learned. It was a rollercoaster of a week with a lot happening!
To begin with on Monday we got into martial arts, or as the kids like to call it - "ninja"! The campers had fund practicing some kicks and going through the movements, just like they saw in the movies. We then played many of the already popular icebreakers, and then brought in a new one involving blindfolds. It was quite amusing to see blindfolded kids so intent to win that they run without their partners in the completely wrong direction! Later that day we brought in a pair of local throatsingers to have a lesson with the campers, it was here that our drop-in/drop-out format worked perfectly as kids not already with us would pass by and the throatsinging would catch their ears, inviting them to join us. It was a wonderful experience as children sat down with them to learn for the first time or take on new patterns or rhythms. It was also here that I realized that there is a very different approach to learning than what we are accustomed to in the South. When I asked some campers whether they wanted to try the said no, but they still sat through the whole session listening to the teachers sing and the others learn, it was clear on their faces that they were absorbing everything.
Tuesday was a fun and creative day as we got into circus and making our instruments. Day began with the circus session with multiple activities running simulataneously as there is a variety of skills that the circus arts bring. In one corner we had campers finding their feet on stilts, in another we had children figuring out to spin and balance the chinese plates as well as balance practice on barrells. One child in particular - Ono, took a particular liking to balancing, practicing relentlessy until he could walk forwards, backwards and sideways on that barrell! . We then took a walk outside to a big open field in town that faced the westside mountains, with this beautiful back drop we engaged in a competitive game of ultimate frisbee! Yes, even this far up north we play frisbee, it was yet another favorite for the kids that we ended up playing more than once a day! Later in the day we moved onto something more crafty and musical as we turned PVC pipes into panflutes with nothing but but glue, tape, pennies and pipe cutters! The interest of the children was captured in how an instrument can be made so simply as each of them had a shy at blowing down the pipes. A big highlight of the day was the addition of a local youth - Maina Amamatuak to our team as an animator. She is a recent high-school graduate and one of the youth's best role models, she brings to the team a better connection with local youth, greater knowledge of the community, deeper sensibility of Inuit tradition and sustainability of the project. Her hiring was quite an easy decision
Wednesday was filled with fun and more creativity. We began the with a greatest hits session of the favorite games so far including ultimate frisbee and POW, as well as some new games. After breaking a lot of sweat, we all took a breather and then headed outside for the next Pivallianiq Community Initiative. This time around we took to converting disgarded tires and shoes into seats and flower pots respectively. Both of these will be donated to the local women's shelter. This day it was the first step of painting and designing the shoes and tires. The campers put their own touch on it, once they got past the awe of spray paint, making them unique pieces of art. Once again, this was a great activity in showing kids to be stewards of their town as they bring beauty to it instead of garbage.
On thursday we got into things a little more precise. Of course we still made sure to fill the day's quota of perspiration but also got into making our own thread bracelets. Once again, we took a small step in breaking gender-barriers as what is typically a lady's activity had plenty of boys enjoying it and getting creative. Later that day we put the painted tires together, which proved to be more difficult than anticpiated. Luckily, the community centre manager was well-trained in construction and helped us immensely to finish the seat. The day ended with multiple rounds of hammer-ball, and so yet another favorite was born.
Friday brough much sorrow as one of the local youth comitted suicide. The whole town was hit hard by this loss and was in mourning. Needless to say we cancelled the remaining two days of activities for the week in respect of her passing. She was a wonderful young girl with so much left to live, it goes without saying that she will be sorely missed.
All in all, week two was one of highs and lows. We had many a good time playing a diversity of games. Campers brought out their creativity in a variety of formats. However remembering all of this also means remembering the loss of one the town's bright youth.
Final stance at the martial arts session
Mary brushing up on her throatsinging with the Throatsinging instructor - Vilisie
Ono working relentlessly on his balance at the circus session
Trying out our PVC pipe pan flutes
Sarah getting creative and crafty with the tire
A big game of hammer ball!
Week 3
This week was a fun-filled week, packed with awe and wonder. We spent plenty of time out on the land and pulled of some amazing community initiatives!
Monday began with bang as we started out with circus. It was nice to step back and see such a variety of youth taking part in this activity, all trying their hand at different things - stilts, chinese plates, devil's sticks, juggling, unicycling, etc. We then moved outside to play some soccer baseball, which was already a favorite with the kids. Despite the chilly weather our Inuk campers could not be stopped from playing their hearts out. We then spent the latter half of the day to remember the recently deceased youth by making letters and drawings for her family. I had initially planned to package all the letters and drawings into an envelope to hand over to the family, but the youth liked the idea so much that they had to give them right away, so that's exactly what we did! The family was pleasantly suprised and found a little comfort in these endearing youth.
Tuesday was the make-up day for the lost boat excursion of the previous week due to the passing of the young local girl the past Friday. All the campers were filled with the excitement at the threshold of this voyage. We were lucky enough to blessed by the generosity of a one Mr. Michael Cameron with a free boat ride. The boat ride was amazing and so peaceful, it was almost a universal pacifier as every kid sat in that boat in quiet admiration of their surroundings. Once Michael dropped us off our first order of business was to take a hike and take in the land around us. Campers were unsure of this "activity", thinking it would be uneventful but they were very wrong as we spotted 8 caribou! So many regretted that they didn't have guns to cash in on these sightings to put some delicious food on their tables. We then bumped into an elderly couple by their cabin and observed them drying generous portions of caribou and beluga . We helped them out as they needed to collect water from the stream close-by and we were about to swim in that stream anyways. It's not enough that we're in Canadian waters, but Northern Canadian waters! Even in July there is no love lost here as the streams are still cold, even for the cold-resistant Inuks. Again, this didn't stop the kids from having the times of their lives, taking turns running in and out of the water laughing and shouting "ikki" (Inuktitut for cold)! We ended the day with a quaint bonfire of hotdogs and marshemellows which gave everybody the chance to take a breath and take-in the beatiful wilderness around them, all while having some smoked snacks.
Wednesday was more of a calm day with focussed martial arts as well as arts and crafts. Martial Arts has been progressively gaining steam with kids, we've less raised eyebrows and much more giving it a try! We then moved onto ultimate frisbee at the beach. Then we decided to take a short walk around the land for a change, it was quite calming and peaceful. On our return we had an interesting arts and crafts activity waiting for us - the 2nd phase of the shoe flower pots. Now that they had been painted the next step was to put on the flowers. Campers came up so many varieties of designs for each shoe, there could have been a gallery just for these works of art!
Thursday was a big day with a huge community initiative and a bunch of fun games! We started the day with a slew of games from ultimate frisbee, to soccer, to handball, and the list goes on. After working up more than our fair share of sweat we took our snack break to cool off before our next big task. We then arrived at the local women's shelter for our next Pivallianiq Community Initiative, taking our shoe flower pots and fastening them to the outer wall of the building to beautify it and the community as a whole. Brenda, the shelter director was kind enough to give us permission. It was amazing the way the campers were focussed and worked hard together, drilling the shoes into the wall, holding the ladders for each other. The end product was a site to behold as the shoes formed a footpath with" follow your dreams" written beneath them with colored chalk. I was truly beautiful to see how different campers were involved in different stages of painting shoes, putting flowers and drilling, all contributing to this wonderful piece of community art.
Friday was the planned weekly excursion and for this particular week it was the second due to the postponed excursion of the previous week. Fishing was the theme of the day as we walked a little outside town to the docks - probably the most popular spot within proximity of the town. Of course fishing is an activity of patience but after an hour you start to wonder if it'll pay off. An adult from the town was arrived later to fish as well and within 10 minutes he caught two fish, meanwhile here we were for an hour with nothing! I was jealous but the kids took it as a que that fish are coming! Within the next hour 3 different campers caught a fish each! It was thrilling and exciting. We then moved to one other spot that was not fruitful but it didn't matter as kids still enjoyed each other's company. We finished the day with another quaint bonfire to relax and enjoy some grub.
All in all it was a big week with two amazing excursions, a great community intitiative and plenty of learning as well as games. This week we were unable to hold activities on Saturday due to the incoming cheques from the Raglan mine that were to be distributed to the community at our usual space for activities - the community centre.
A foggy and chilly game of soccer baseball
Jeanot and Lucassie observing the drying of a lot of beluga and caribou
Akumalik and Willie enjoying the cold stream full of smiles
Donna with her beautiful flower pots made from used shoes.
Pivallinaiq Community Initiative - decorating the women's shelter wall with our shoe flower pots!
A great day fishing we caught us a hat-trick
Week 4
This may have been our best week yet with the camp firing on all cylinders. Campers had maximum fun with a slew of games, were able to learn new things as well as be engaged creatively.
Monday was a very mixed bag of activities as we enjoyed the wilderness, worked with our hands and beat the heat having some fun with water. This day started with what would become almost a daily routine of water-balloon games. There was much excitement and laughter as the campers partnered up, tossing the balloons between themselves until just one was left unpopped. We then moved onto martial arts, this time with a twist as we did it on the beach. It was quite a serene and calming experience for all. As the beautiful weather persisted we decided to do a short hike to the Inukshuk. It was much harder than it looked but when we made it to the Inukshuk at the peak of the mountain it was all worth it as we took in the breath-taking view. Our descent was less challenging as we had gravity on our side. We ended the day with sock puppets, every camper took their own approach - some with thread, some with beads and some with paint, they all turned out quite nice.
Tuesday was a day of community engagement as we beautified the town and physical activity as we played many a game and got into circus. Back by popular demand we replayed our water-balloon game, this time adding some water balloon dodgeball - the closest thing to a water-balloon fight that we could have! It was not any less fun the 2nd time around. We then moved onto our Pivallinaniq Initiative where we used a stencil of a beluga and spray paint to beautify less attractive areas and buldings of the town! It was a first for many kids in handling spray paint, so there was a learning a curve, all ended well with some well-placed symbols.Our last item for the day was circus, once again kids were learning a variety of things from juggling, to aerobatics, chinese plates, etc.
Wednesday was definitely a fun-filled day as we learnt from local history and beat the heat with some serious water fun. Seeing as how water balloons were immensely popular we prepped a whole lot of them. We had a blast playing more water-balloon toss and water balloon dodgeball. The games didn't stop there we continued for a long while, almost exhausting our entire list of games and sports. By the time we finished it was time for our the week's traditional session which was traditional inuit percussion. Jimmy Kakayuk the local community centre manager was our local expert, he so easily captured the attention of the youth as he explained the history of this instrument and how to build it. Our campers were intrigued and learnt something new that they didn't know about their culture. The ended with a swim in the town river. It's not an understatement to say that it was a magical time with the beautiful sunshine, the serene river and laughter of the children completely enjoying themselves.
Thursday was a day of creativity with arts and crafts, as well as plenty of sweat with many games and sports. We continued with the water-balloon games and an extra long session of other games and sports. The next activity for the day was to turn dump material (that had been cleaned) into a man-like figure. Using a bucket, broom sticks, discarded shoes and an big old rubbermaid box we managed to create a very artistic figure as the kids used handprints, different patterns and different colors. Afterwards we returned to games with some intense ultimate frisbee as the campers had become quite adept and competitive with this camp staple, we even argued about calls just like professionals! Finally the day came to an end with a more calming activity of making flowered hair pins, it was suprising again to see even the boys engaging in the activity - albeit it was prefaced with the suggestion of gifts for mothers and sisters. All quite enjoyed this activity and were happy to flaunt their new hair pins! Once again with the sizzling hot weather we decided to take yet another swim in the town river, this time spending even more time there with even more kids joining us, we had some memorable moments.
Friday was a nice day out as we ventured to pick some mussels. As mussels need to picked on the shore it is always best to go when the tide is low and out. Due to this we had to part earlier than our regular after lunch time. This much earlier time brought a lesser number of campers than expected however it made for a very pleasant and relaxing day for all, as it was even one camper's first time picking mussels. We had to hike for 1 hour to reach our spot , once we reached the spot time flew as we picked away not realizing that we spent more than 3 hours going at it. The kids took home an ambundance of mussels that their families quite enjoyed. We spotted many other creatures as well including a crab, a jellyfish and some regular fish. It was quite a nice day.
Saturday was quite a big day as we engaged the community with another project and of course there was still many a fun game. The day began with our last repetition of water balloons which still did not lose its appeal. Afterwards we took our painted figure made from re-used dump material and proceeded to hang him on the local FM station wall. It took hard work and was no easy task, but despite all the challenges we succeeded, bringing a little more beauty to the community. Next we played some more games and found a new favorite in "what's the time Mr. Wolf" or our version - "Sunshine"! After sufficiently exhausting ourselves we fittingly had some quiet time of board games and drawing to end the day, giving a campers a chance to take a breath and relax.
It was a wonderful week as we truly made the best of the summer sun and the mesmerizing nature around us. We also found our creativity and channeled it to beautify the community in more ways than one.
Week 5
Week 5 was our last week, it was a nice way to end our wonderful summer in Salluit. In addition to our regular schedule we also embarked on a youth-adult exchange trip and held an end-of-camp exhibition-feast to end the program on a high note.
Monday was a nice day as we continued to enjoy the outdoors and got handy with making some fishing equipment. We started the day like any other with icebreakers and sports. Afterwards as the searing heated persisted we returned to the river for a couple of hours of swimming, the campers enjoyed it so much that we stayed for almost 2 hours. We then returned to work on our own fishing rods, making them simply and with easily available material so that campers could do it themselves even after the conclusion of the program.
Tuesday was an active day as we continued to enjoy the weather and did a lot of a particular community-engagement activity. Beginning with icebreakers and games we went with old classics and made things more competitive by giving out prizes to the winners, of course this amped up the energy of the kids and made for a very fun time! We then continued one of the community initiatives from the previous week - positive community graffiti, although this time with a new beluga emblem. This went on for quite a while as we scoured the town looking for negative graffiti and delapidated buildings to paint over. Campers really enjoyed this activity and were able to see the beauty they were bringing to their community. We then returned to the river for yet another cooling swim. For the end of the day there was an Inuit Tatoo session that was planned however at the last minute the local expert was unable to be present. So with no protest from the campers we continued our beautifying of the community - this time focusing on the community centre.
Wednesday was jam-packed with plenty of activities in music, cooking and more swimming! As it was our last day of regular activities we did a greatest hits of all our our favorite games - POW, hammer ball, ninja, ultimate frisbee, handball, etc. After this montage we moved on inside to make some simple but cool drums from balloons and re-used cans and tins. Campers were intrigued and surprised with the sound that could come from such a simple construction that they could easily do ont heir own! Then we headed over to the river for one last swim, it was a pleasant surprise to see many other kids and people from the community. So we jumped and had our fun in the sun together with them. To end the day we made our way to the local high school who made an exception for us on that day to use their kitchen as we were to make bannock with the kids. It was a nice quiet activity with a little less kids as some decided to stay with their families in the river. It was especially special to see one of our younger regular campers- Patrick, who sometimes has difficulty to participate because of a disability, have a big smile on his face as he mixed the ingredients together and joined in with everyone.
Thursday, so came the day of the End-of-Camp Exhibition-Feast. The day was spent preparing the community centre as we setup 5 tables, each displaying photos of every week's activities. In addition to this we hung a hand made banner of the camp's name as well as that of the donors on each of the tables. Finally there was food offered, most of which had been prepared or caught by the campers, namely the bannock, mussels and fish. It was a quaint event as people strolled in, enjoyed the food and took in our wonderful summer as they took notice of every photograph.
With Friday came the last day of programming and it was well worth the wait as well as an amazing way to end the program. Initially this was planned to be a 3-day Youth-Adult Exchange Trip but due to unforeseen circumstances and budgetary limits the excursion had to be shortened to a day. That being said we made full use of the day as we left bright and early and in the morning and came back at night, spending more than half the day boating. We started off the morning in great fashion as we spotted an suprisingly early flock of geese lounging in the bay, off course this meant that the hunt was on. It was thrilling as we chased them down, finally being able to hunt one down. It was quite mesmerizing to see the kids in an environment that is very natural to them and brought out a very different side of them. We then took a little stop as our guides pulled out their portable mini-stove to have some hot tea along with our sandwiches as we sat and fished for a while. It was amazing to see how quickly we caught fish here compared to the town docks, within 15 minutes we had already snagged two! Later we made our way to the fjiord to take in the awe-inspiring landscape, we then started to make our way back to the the cabin of our guides until we spotted two beluga! Everybody stopped in their tracks as our guide brought the boat to a standstill, every one of our eyes diligently surveyed the waters for the beluga to resurface as our guides had their gun and harpoon ready. Unfortunately the beluga were onto us and stayed beneath the surface. We then continued on our way to the cabin to get warm and relax for a little bit, our guides generously offered us some dried beluga as we played some card games and watched a part of a movie. Then half of the group went back out to look for the beluga while the other half walked around on the land searching for caribou. Both parties came back empty-handed, but that was alright as we started a nice-warm bonfire for our hot dogs and marshemellows. Once everyone had their fill we headed for one last trip on the water together to make an effort to see the island. The water ended up being too rough and we couldn't make it all the way out to the island, however we were lucky enough to spot a rare lone murre floating on the water. We took a few shots at it but missed, we were all still lucky to come across it.
Week 5 was great as we engaged the community plenty with the positive graffiti, we kept on enjoying the beatiful outdoors, interacted with the community with a photographic review of the summer and presentation of food by the campers, and finally we ended the program with the best day of all - boating the way that Inuit do, seeing all the life of this beautiful land as well as seeing the campers in their most comfortable environment.
A great day fishing we caught us a hat-trick
PIVALLIANIQ COMMUNITY INITIATIVE - Our figure made from refurbished dump material used to decorate the local FM Station
Kelly's first time mussel-picking!
Everyone's getting in on the flower hair pin action!
Painting our re-used dump material to build our figure
Jimmy teachningus aboutold traditional Inuit percussion
Working on some acrobatics with Timangia in Circus
Myriam helping Elisapie find her balance with Martial Arts at the beack
Water baloon toss!
Our new daily routine of taking a dip in the river
Our new daily routine of taking a dip in the river
Our beliuga emblem for the positive graffiti activity
Kulluaiyuk picking the road for his spot
Patrick working hard on his bannock
Kulluaiyuk catch after just his second cast!
Found an early flock of geese and managed to get one!