Spring Camp for Staff

The first week of June revolved around the annual spring camp and the last day of school.  There was still plenty of snow & ice out in the bay.  It wouldn't be until early July when all of that would melt into liquid water.  Only the snow in town and on the land was melting at a rapid pace.  Unfortunately, this turned much of the town's gravel roads and walkways into large mud puddles.  Everyone had to frequently look down at the ground so as not to get their footwear dirty.  Wearing my new sealskin kamiks were out of the question.

            

Inuujaq School organizes a spring camp every year as a field/cultural trip for all students.  Staff & students are taken to a designated camping location and learn about traditional Inuit hunting, sewing, and arctic survival.  If there is enough snow & ice, the elders in charge may also teach how to build igloos.  The spring camp is only for four days, but still an expensive endeavour.  The school pays for drivers, elders, gas, oil, tents, qamutiks (sleds), equipment, and food.  The final bill easily runs into the thousands of dollars.  Regardless, I think the spring camp is an important component of Inuit education and a great way to finish off the school year.

           

I sat on the Spring Camp Committee this year and was tasked with setting aside the right amount of food for each day.  Two other teachers would assist me.  I quickly found out how much food was needed to feed 250 people over four days.  I forgot to take pictures but let's just say the entire seating area in the school's home economics room was full.  We created four separate piles for each day & group.  The four groups were: high school & grades 9 - 8, grades 7 - 4, grades 3 - kindergarten, and school staff.  The menu consisted of healthy food & drinks, and country food.  Country food means traditional Inuit food, such as, seal, arctic char, caribou, walrus, narwhal, etc.  The assigned rations were collected every morning and carried out to the frozen bay in large cardboard boxes.  The food would then be loaded onto waiting qamutiks.  Overall, being in charge of ration distribution was a piece of cake.

             

Thursday, June 4th was the last day of spring camp and an the entire day was reserved for Inuujaq School staff.  Naturally, regular classes were cancelled.  I didn't wear my heavy Canada Goose clothing because the weather was hot and sunny.  The temperature hovered around the single digits above zero degrees Celsius.  I left my shotgun at home because only hired elders and hunters are allowed to bring firearms for spring camp.  The only defensive weapon I brought was my machete.        

We all assembled out on the ice where a convoy of skidoos and qamutiks were waiting for us.  It was the early morning and everyone was excited.  The convoy left after all the food was loaded and attendance was taken.  I hopped on my skidoo and caught up with the convoy.  We passed over some large cracks in the ice by driving fast. 

            

The convoy arrived at the camp site twenty minutes after departure.  The camp site is located 12 kilometres to the southeast of Arctic Bay, past the airport and the First Bridge.  The school has camped here for many years.  Before us were a long row of eight tents and several people waiting for our arrival.  Boxes of raw seal & char, and plastic plates & utensils lay stacked next to one elder tent.  The camp had been set up by the high school students on the first day.  Several of them had chosen to remain for the entire camp to assist the elders.  This wasn't a problem because final exams & report cards were finished.  Once everyone got off their skidoos and qamutiks, a snack break was held.  Hot chocolate, tea, juice, bannock, and soup were served.

            

Raw seal meat.

Once everyone's appetites were satisfied, the time had come to go seal hunting.  Several teachers chose to stay behind to learn sewing and to hike the surrounding hills.  The hunters hopped on their skidoos with their rifles slung across their backs.  The teachers piled into the many qamutiks set aside for the hunt.  I think every qamutik carried a niksik, a large sharp metal hook attached to long wooden stick.  Several high school students also joined us on this excursion.  One of my English students wanted to act as my guide.  I accepted the offer and Andy hopped on the back of my skidoo.  (Not to be confused with Ranger Andy).

            

Niksik

Stopping to check out the seal traps.

Seal trap.

We drove out into the bay, turned left, and circled around Holy Cross Point.  We continued driving deeper into the southeastern waterway looking for seals.  The convoy first stopped at an area where traps had been placed over several seal holes.  The traps are simple in design: a hook is attached to a fishing line and lowered deep into the seal hole.  The fishing line is attached to a wooden board that lies across the hole.  The hope is that when a seal comes up to breathe, they'll get stuck by the hook.  Unfortunately, no seal was caught.  After waiting several minutes, everyone climbed back onto the skidoos and qamutiks. 

            

Distant hunting party.

Grade 6 teacher Greg takes a photo.

The convoy broke off into small groups so that we could cover more ground.  We began crisscrossing the ice, going from seal hole to seal hole, hoping to catch something.  I felt we were like birds circling our prey, just waiting to pounce the moment they appeared.  Andy pointed me towards the seal holes.  Sometimes we followed an elder.  We spotted several seals in the distance but they escaped whenever we raced towards them.  It was a time consuming game of cat-and-mouse.  I could only imagine how much more difficult it was for Inuit hunters many decades ago before the arrival of the snow machine.

            

We stopped next to a group of elders who were watching two Inuit teachers standing still over a seal hole waiting for a seal to surface.  They had been instructed to stay far back so that the sounds of the skidoo engines would not scare away the seals.  While we watched from a distance, I took the time to photograph the my surroundings.  In the end, the teachers called out saying that no seals were coming and that it would be best to head back for lunch.  We all felt disappointed driving back to camp with nothing to show for our time out on the ice.  Andy explained that coming back with nothing happens a lot.  Thankfully, there was food at the camp site.  Coming back with no catch during traditional times, (before 1950), could spell disaster for an Inuit family.

            

Lunch time

My lunch.

The lunch menu consisted of country food, bannock, soup, caribou stew, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and any food people brought themselves.  I decided to be more acculturated by eating only country foods.  I walked over to where elders were cutting pieces of raw arctic char and caribou.  Holding my own ulu (knife) in one hand and a cutting board in the other, I cut off large pieces of the raw meats and placed them on my cutting board.  I then walked over to where an elder was preparing bannock bread and took some freshly baked pieces that were just finished.  I was offered a bowl of soup but I declined.   

            

"So you're just going to eat country food?" an Inuit teacher asked me.

"Yes," I replied.  "It's pretty good.  I could get used to this stuff."

            

Me enjoying my lunch. Seriously, I am
enjoying it.  The picture was taken right
when I was chewing.

I sat down on some rocks and began to enjoy my lunch.  Everyone else did the same after receiving their meals.  The sun was out and the temperature was warm.  While I was eating, I got this strange feeling that I was being watched by everyone.  I guess it's not every day you see a qallunaq (non-Inuit) eating so much country food.

            

"Do you want some soup with that, Adrian?" asked a southern teacher, referring to the many Ramen Noodles that were brought on this trip.

"No," I answered with a shake.  "This is all I want."

            

Cooked caribou liver.

When I was done, I was called over by an Inuit teacher to try cooked caribou liver.  The meat tasted alright but I should have plugged my nose because the gamey odor was unpleasant.  I was just glad that my stomach kept everything down.

            

During lunchtime, an elder gave all the southern teachers a short lecture on fish parts and what the Inuit would use the bones for.  The elder spoke in Inuktitut and Kataisee, the high school Inuit culture teacher, translated into English.  It was quite an informative lesson; we all learned some new things about traditional Inuit food culture.  (Detailed explanations forthcoming).       

            

Rations divided for elders.

We began taking down the camp site after lunch.  Some of the tents were left standing because a few elders would be staying behind.  The Spring Camp Committee members divided the remaining rations for the elders as a way of saying thank you for successfully running the spring camp.  The qamutiks were then packed with tents, garbage bags, paper cups, plastic utensils, Coleman stoves, ground sheets, sleeping bags, and other camping supplies.  Once the all-clear sign was given, everyone hopped onto a skidoo or jumped into a qamutik for the ride back to town.  I drove back on my personal skidoo with one extra passenger.  We were given the rest of the day off but I chose to go back to school to begin cleaning up my classroom. 

           

Qamutik being packed.

The spring camp day for Inuujaq School staff was a lot of fun.  I got to experience a modern seal hunt and enjoy eating various country foods out on the land.