The Mace Of Nunavut

A ceremonial mace is a decorated staff, used to represent a leader's authority and prestige.  That leader could be a monarch, military commander, or civil servant.  The design of the mace is based on the original mace, an ancient blunt weapon with a heavy head to deliver powerful and fatal blows.  In their early history, a ceremonial mace was also a practical weapon, used by a Sergeant-at-Arms to defend the leader it represented.  Today, that is no longer the case.

            

In Canada, every provincial and territorial legislature has a ceremonial mace representing its power and authority.  Nunavut's Legislative Assembly received its mace on April 1, 1999, when the territory officially came into existence.  The mace is crafted from narwhal tusk; the animals on it represent the connection between land, sea, and food.  The crown is made from Nanisivik silver and carved to show four common loons coming together.  The loons come together over a large blue lapis lazuli ball that was taken from Kimmirut.  The cross on top of the crown represents the British Crown.  At the tip of the mace is a 2 ¼ carat diamond from the Jericho Diamond Mine.  The mace was collectively made by six Inuit artists: Inuk Charlie (Cambridge Bay), Paul Malliki (Repulse Bay), Simata Pitsiulak (Kimmirut), Mathew Nunqingaq (Iqaluit), Mariano Aupilardjuk (Rankin Inlet), and Joseph Suqslaq (Gjoa Haven). 

            

When Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) meet in Iqaluit, the Sergeant-at-Arms carries the mace over their right shoulder, leading a procession of Pages, Clerks, and the Speaker.  While the MLAs debate, "the mace rests in the hands of a man and woman carved in granite and labradorite."

            

There actually exist two Nunavut maces: the original and a replica.  While the original remains in Iqaluit, the replica 'visits' northern communities with the aid of the Sergeant-at-Arms and an MLA.  On April 10, the replica and MLA Hunter Tootoo came to Arctic Bay.  Hunter Tootoo has represented the Iqaluit Centre constituency since 1999.  He has also held many ministerial positions such as, Minister of Education, Nunavut Housing Corporation, and Homelessness.  In May of 2011, he was elected to serve as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

            

Teachers & students of Inuujaq School filed into the gym after lunch for the presentation of the mace.  Also in attendance were the town's mayor, Frank May, and MLA Ron Elliott.  A large colourful banner with the greeting "Welcome to Arctic Bay" hung at one end of the gym.  Just in front of it were a line of tables where the mace would be displayed.  After the mace was brought in by Hunter Tootoo, the assembly began with introductions in English and Inuktitut, followed by a prayer.  Iga Muckpa's Inuktitut class had prepared a welcome display featuring throat singing, drum dancing, and the singing of a traditional Inuit song.  It was a great display of Inuit culture.

            

The assembly continued with Hunter Tootoo introducing himself and the mace.  He gave a brief autobiography then continued with a more detailed biography of the mace.  He spoke in English and Iga translated in Inuktitut.  At the end of the presentation, he took questions from the audience.  From my observations, his answer to the first question, posed by an elementary student, stunned everyone.  In English, the student asked if he could speak Inuktitut?  He replied that he couldn't.  A short but awkward pause followed.

            

Students & teachers lined up to view the mace after the Q&A session.  No one was allowed to pick it up.  They were all excited to see a piece of Nunavut history.  When it was my turn, I took as many pictures as possible because I had afternoon recess duty.  I ran out of time before I could get a picture of myself standing behind it.  Thankfully, there is always another time.  I found the craftsmanship of the replica mace to be very impressive.  I think this was the third Canadian ceremonial mace I saw up close.  The first two were the maces of the House of Commons and the Senate at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

            

Several days after the assembly, Iga's Inuit Culture class posted two large, hand-drawn posters of the mace in the high school area.  The posters were in English & Inuktitut, explaining the parts of the mace and the artists who crafted it. 

The First (Many) Days Of April

Being the workaholic that I am, the last two days of the long Easter Weekend were spent preparing lessons and correcting school work.  Since I devoted Friday and Saturday to rest & relaxation, I didn't want to fall behind in my work.  The long weekend made the transition from March (maatsi) to April (iipuri) smoother . . . or unnoticeable, depending on the person you ask.

            

With the arrival of April, the days have been getting longer and longer.  People are breaking out their sunglasses to protect their eyes from the shining sun.  Night is turning into constant dusk.  The Inuit teachers & students tell me that by May, it will be the period of the 'midnight sun'.  I'll have to make sure the window in my bedroom is covered by dark curtains, otherwise I won't fall asleep.  I remember experiencing 24-hour daylight in the Yukon back in 1997.  It was tough to fall asleep as well as surprising to see kids playing outside at 1am.  In the land of the midnight sun, the concept of time is lost. 

            

The temperature is still cold but getting more manageable.  I'm surprised by how well my body has acclimatized.  Wearing snow pants is no longer a necessity but an option.  I find it humourous to hear my southern friends complaining about the negative temperatures in the single digits.  Up here, that's summer weather!  As long as there's no wind, the cold is more than bearable.

            

The Science Fair was still in the minds of students as school continued on April 2.  In English, my students reviewed characterization, flashback, and foreshadowing.  I also included some grammar lessons in sentence writing.  The main challenge my students find is remembering to add prepositions to their sentences.     

            

In Social Studies, we were nearing the end of the Staking The Claim Module.  My students watched the third (also last) documentary that explained the federal government's settlement of the four major land claims agreements for Nunavik (1975), Inuvialuit (1984), Nunavut (1993), and Nunatsiavut (2005).  Focusing on the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, I used a PowerPoint presentation to summarize the nine major guaranteed rights.  It would have taken too long to go through the entire agreement because it's over two hundred pages broken into 41 articles.  Plus, the legal wording of the document would be too difficult for my students to understand.

            

During the first two weeks of April, my guitar students had two performance tests.  The first was a review of basic open chords and the second was playing 'Ode To Joy' while reading traditional notation.  Both tests were challenging so I made sure they had enough time to ask for help and to practice.  They all did very well.  My students also looked at two pieces they requested: 'Joy to the World' and 'Jingle Bells'.  I guess Christmas will be coming early this year.

            

The week of April 8 - 12 was my second time on morning & afternoon recess duty.  Just like the first time a month ago, I was the only qallunaaq teacher on duty.  Nothing really serious happened.  The elementary kids still played on the play structures and slid down a hill using pieces of cardboard, and the high school kids still smoked.  However, the sun was much brighter.

            

Arctic Bay is home to many skilled artists and carvers.  The students of Inuujaq School are no exception.  With the arrival of spring, the windows in the high school wing have been decorated with sun catchers, all painted by Paulette's art students.  They all look really nice.

            

Speaking of creativity, two young Inuit boys decided to impress me in the late afternoon of April 9 while I was walking home after a hard day's work.  Using their arms & heads, they stood against the sun and created two eye silhouettes.  

Out For A Walk

Since coming to Arctic Bay I had always wanted to explore the surrounding area.  However, time and transportation kept getting in the way.  There was work to be done and I didn't have a snowmobile to get around.  Finally, after two months, the long Easter weekend gave me a chance to go out for a walk.  On the morning of March 30, I decided to walk over to Victor Bay, directly behind the town.  Many locals have fishing & hunting cabins there.  I dressed warmly and armed myself with a camera, binoculars, and a compass.  The Arctic sun shined brightly as I stepped out of my home.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky.      

            

What's over that hill?

A winding dirt road grants vehicular access to Victor Bay.  I followed this road, imagining the Arctic landscape I was going to see for the first time.  About halfway up the road, I stopped and faced the town.  The view was great.  There wasn't any activity in town, prompting me to assume that everyone was sleeping in.  The road peaks at the top of a small hill.  Crossing the peak, I walked past a long wooden qamutik.  In the distance, there were snow covered ridges.

            

I continued walking along the road, the tough snow crunching beneath my boots.  When I stopped several minutes later to take a photo of frozen plants, my ears were overwhelmed by the sounds of silence.  Complete.  Deafening.  Silence.  It was everywhere.  I had to snap my fingers several times to convince myself that I still had my hearing.  I also checked my ears to make sure I wasn't wearing earplugs. The silence added to the reality that I was in the far north where human activity is restricted to very small pockets.  For someone who grew up a city boy, (where there is always a sound of some kind), I found the silence to be relaxing.  And as a musician, the silence was 'music to my ears.'  (In music, silence is just as important as sound).  I like the sound of silence. 

            

I continued my walk, the silence being replaced with the sounds of crunching snow.  Several minutes later, my foot crunching was drowned out by a skidoo approaching from behind.  The Inuk driver raced passed me, dragging a small qamutik.  It was a safe bet that he was heading to his cabin.  As he passed me, I stopped walking, wanting to know how long it would take for the sounds of his roaring skidoo to disappear.  It took less than a minute.                        

            

A young hunter walks home empty-handed.

Victor Bay slowly came into view with every step I took.  In the far distance, I could see the frozen bay, an iceberg, and many mountaintops.  Walking in the opposite direction was a young Inuk hunter (between 9 - 12 years old) with a rifle slung on his back.  His hands were empty; he hadn't shot anything.  We exchanged greetings as we passed.  He was all smiles.  I guess he was staying positive and feeling certain that he would catch an animal on his next trip out on the land.  I envied him; I never got to fire a rifle when I was a kid.

            

When Victor Bay came into full view, I stopped to take several pictures.  Naturally, the silence returned.  The only sounds I heard were the clicks of my digital camera.  What I immediately noticed about the bay area was its similar layout to Arctic Bay.  One could build an entire replica of the town facing to the north.  At the moment, there are around six cabins in Victor Bay.  I spotted the snowmobile that passed me by earlier, parked next to a large wooden cabin.  

            

Out in the frozen bay stood a tall pinnacle shaped iceberg.  To the left of it stood a more tabular shaped iceberg.  I photographed both.  Looking through my binoculars, it looked like each iceberg had to be at least five stories tall.  I estimated that it would take me around an hour to get to them on foot.  However, doing such a thing is risky due to dangerous wildlife (polar bears).  Best to get there by skidoo.

            

I moved off the dirt road, walking eastward, creating my own path through the untouched snow.  I snapped a few more pictures of Victor Bay before heading back towards Arctic Bay.  I followed Arctic Hare tracks so that I wouldn't get stuck in deep snow.  If the snow is good enough for the local wildlife to walk on, then it's good enough for me. 

            

Industrial Area, aka 'Gas Station'.

The jagged hills that split the two bays are populated by many small inukshuks.  I emerged on top of a hill located somewhere close to the centre of town.  I was able to see the entire town and frozen bay.  I moved over to a taller hill to my right to get a clearer view.  Instead of an inukshuk, the summit is marked by a tall wooden post surrounded by rocks.  (There were two small inukshuks sitting on the right edge of the hill).  From here, I snapped pictures of the town, airport, industrial area, and the bay.  I also observed these places through my binoculars.  By this time, there was activity happening in town.  The silence had been replaced with the sounds of trucks, skidoos, and barking dogs.  There was also a cold wind, prompting me to pull up the hoodie on my Canada Goose parka.

            

Arctic Bay Airport

After enjoying the breathtaking views for some time, I slowly began my descent to the dirt road I used to get to Victor Bay.  I took my time, making sure I didn't slip and fall.  I wanted to take more pictures but the battery on my camera was drained.  When I arrived at my place, I transferred all the pictures I took to my laptop, and charged my camera.  While my camera was recharging, I prepared Arctic char for lunch.

            

The lone qamutik I passed by earlier.

Overall, I enjoyed my walk to Victor Bay and the surrounding area.  The excursion took about 3 & a half hours.  If I had more time (and possibly a skidoo), I could have explored more.  But that will have to wait for next time.  I'm not sure when that will be or where it will take place.  Perhaps the summit of King George V Mountain?   

    

Easter Fun

The four-day Easter Weekend (March 29 - April 1) was the next big event after the conclusion of the science fair.  Many would spend the long weekend with family and friends.  I didn't have any big plans for the Easter weekend.  I would just take it easy and enjoy the time off.  When I was teaching in Iqaluit, school was dismissed for an entire week.  This enabled teachers & students to do some out-of-town travelling.

            

Just before school was dismissed for the long weekend, Easter themed activities were organized for March 28.  After afternoon recess, all students were instructed to assemble in their spirit teams outside.  My spirit team was Team Rabbit.  Light snow fell to the ground as Iga Muckpa, an Inuit teacher in charge of Spirit Team activities, addressed everyone with a bullhorn.  The first activity was an Easter Egg Hunt.  Hundreds of colourful eggs made out of cardboard paper were hidden on the other side of the school and the challenge was for teams to collect the most.  When Iga said 'Go!' everyone ran to the other side of the school and snatched as many eggs as they could.  Unfortunately, real chocolate eggs couldn't be used because they would have been eaten by ravens.

            

The hunt lasted around five minutes.  Everyone reassembled in front of the gym where Iga counted how many eggs each team collected.  Team Rabbit collected 40 eggs but another team somehow managed to collect 56 eggs and win the challenge!  They were given candy for their achievement.

            

Students get ready for the
egg-n-spoon race.

The activities continued out on the frozen ice in the bay.  Stepping out on the ice for the first time felt somewhat surreal because the distances between natural and man-made landmarks were amplified.  When you look out towards the distant mountains, you really get a sense that you're in the middle of nowhere.  I even felt like I was on the planet Hoth in Star Wars.  As well, everything is much further than it appears.  As for the thickness of the ice . . . it was still thick enough to hold up trucks. 

            

Once everyone had made it to the designated area, all spirit teams lined up to partake in an egg-and-metal-spoon relay race.  Students had to try their best not to drop their white eggs because finding them on the snow covered ice would be difficult.  There was a lot of cheering throughout the race, as students raced back and forth with an egg on a metal spoon.  Of course, there were plenty of moments when eggs had to be retrieved from the snow.  I stayed off to the side and took pictures and short HD videos.  Team Rabbit came close to winning the race.

            

Snow continued to fall as the spirit teams got ready for the next relay race, a combination of running and hopping.  Preschoolers and kindergarteners had to run to a pylon and back while holding a balloon.  Everyone else had to do it while hopping with the balloon between their legs.  The loud motivational cheering was still there but this time there was some laughter sprinkled in.  At the end of the relay race, candy was distributed and consumed.  Several teachers and students stayed behind to clean up while everyone else headed back to school to collect their belongings.  I wished all my students a happy Easter and that I would see them on Tuesday. 

            

Overall, the activities were a nice way for the school to celebrate Easter and to let everyone have a break from the routines of classroom learning.      

Science Fair - Part 2

The science fair festivities continued the following week with an after school laser tag event in the school's gym on March 26.  From what I heard, participants got quite a workout running around obstacles and zapping their friends with laser guns.  Compared to paintball, laser tag is much less dangerous and painful.  When you get 'shot', your vest just vibrates for a few seconds.  When you get shot playing paintball . . . ouch!

            

The next pair of workshops for high school students took place on the morning of March 27.  Just like on March 22, the English and Math classes attended the workshops as a group.  The morning began in the school's gym, looking at the science of force & motion.  Marni from Elephant Thoughts led the workshop.

            

Teacher & students having fun with
small spinning tops.

She started by talking about the importance of gravity, how its immense force keeps us tied to the Earth.  She also talked about Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist and mathematician, who formulated the Theory of Gravity.  Of course, it wouldn't be a lesson on Newton if it didn't include the famous 'Apple Incident'.  According to legend, Newton's Theory of Gravity was inspired by an apple falling from a tree.  The more comical version is that the apple fell on Newton's head.  And then there is the argument that the event never took place.  Whichever one is true is anyone's guess at this point.

            

The first gravity demonstration Marni presented to students was Galileo's Beads.  A long piece of string runs through all the beads, creating one long chain.  She simply tugged on one end, letting a few beads fall out of the cup.  Surprisingly, this motion created a chain reaction, causing the entire chain of beads to fall out in a fast but steady stream.  To see if distance plays a part in determining the speed of descent, Marni had a 'beads race' with a student volunteer.  Naturally, Donathan was the first to volunteer.  The only difference was that Marni stood on a chair.  In the end, all of Marni's beads fell to the floor first.  "The higher an object, the faster it falls," she explained, "because there is more gravity pushing it down . . . [The beads] have more time to speed up."

            

For the next demonstration, Marni dropped a ping pong ball to show that it would bounce back roughly halfway.  Adding more force, she threw it down, causing the ball to bounce back higher.  Taking it to the extreme, she placed the ball on a small rubber disk and lightly touched it.  The disk instantly inverted and launched the ping pong ball all the way up to the ceiling.  The students were surprised that the ball flew so high.  Ping pong balls and rubber discs were then handed out to the students and they played around for several minutes.  I caught some of the action on film.

            

The students needed to be careful for the next experiment because the items used were heavy.   In pairs, one student held a piece of paper while the other whacked it with two steel balls by bringing them together.  When the balls collide, the temperature between them increases to the point where it can burn through the paper and give off the smell of smoke & fire.  This works even when the paper is folded several times.

            

Jeremy, Marni, and Donathan get
ready to release an owl.

The fourth activity dealt with the center of balance.  Each student had to construct a paper owl sitting on a small wooden wheel.  Wooden weights on long sticks were attached on both sides using a glue gun.  In short, the students built owl trapeze artists.  Students then scrambled up to the gym's mezzanine to place them on a fishing line that led down to the gym floor.  Many owls completed the full descent while some fell off halfway.

            

The last and probably most exciting activity of the Forces & Motion workshop was the Body Zorb.  A large plastic ball filled with air, the Body Zorb surrounds a person's upper body, allowing them to run around and fall without being injured.  They can also tuck their legs in and let their friends roll them around.  The students had a lot of fun with the three Body Zorbs until the morning recess bell sounded.

            

Stevie introduces Light & Sound.

Looking through rainbow glasses.

After recess, the students in my group moved to the Home Economics room for the Light & Sound workshop.  Stevie, the other instructor from Elephant Thoughts, led the workshop.  She started by talking about light, its properties and extremely fast speed.  To show that visible light includes all colours of the visible spectrum, she spun a rainbow painted wheel on a stick.  Since the wheel was spinning really fast, the rainbow colours combined to produce white.  To see the reverse effect, Stevie handed out rainbow glasses for everyone to try.  When looking through the lenses, one can see rainbow lines coming from all white light emitting sources.

            

Stevie had also brought a black light to show students which objects display florescence, "the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation."  I forget the name of the liquid but it glowed a bright green under the black light.  The black light also affected the white t-shirts of several students, causing them to glow prominently.  

            

With the lights turned back on, Stevie instructed everyone to take a seat at a nearby row of tables.  Everyone was giving a piece of string and small collection of colour changing beads.  We made wrist bands.  The beads only change colour and remain that way when exposed to black light or the sun.  The change takes less than a minute.  The beads will change back to a clear white colour when they are no longer exposed to black light or the sun. 

            

The last activity dealt with sound and called on eight students to sit in a semicircle.  Stevie gave each student a sound tube, representing a musical note.  Being musically trained, I immediately noticed the tubes were organized into the C Major Scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C).  Stevie had brought several easy songs for the students to play like 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' and 'Old McDonald'.  When Stevie mentioned that she wasn't that good at conducting, I raised my hand and asked if I could take over?  She accepted my request without hesitation. 

            

I look over the music before conducting.
Picture taken by Paulette, the Art teacher.

Deviating from Stevie's prepared music, I showed students that it was possible to play many songs with just one scale.  I was able to get students to play 'Joy to the World', 'Jaws', 'Seven Nation Army', 'Top Gun', 'Hot Cross Buns', and 'Chop Sticks'.  When I ran out of songs, I reverted back to Stevie's prepared music.  From where I was standing, it looked like the students had a good time.                       

            

At the end of the science fair students and teachers were asked to fill out and submit review sheets so that Elephant Thoughts knew what worked well and what needed to be improved.  I'm not sure how everyone else felt but I know I was impressed by the variety of the workshops.  And I also got to dissect owl pellets!  I also added that I hoped Elephant Thoughts would come back in the near future.  Overall, I think the science fair was a success, exposing  young Inuit minds to the wonderful world of science. 

End of Science Fair mini-series.