It didn’t take
long for people to notice my windburn tan when I arrived at Inuujaq School on
Tuesday, May 24. The tan wasn’t the
extreme “raccoon face” kind, but still noticeable. Everyone wanted to know how my trip to
Ikpikituarjuk turned out. I shared some
stories and showed some pictures in my classroom. Some of my students shared their stories
about participating in the fishing derby.
The award ceremony was at the
community hall at 7pm. A feast would
precede the award ceremony. The fish
that were entered into the contest were displayed at the front while the middle
of the hall was completely covered with pieces of various country foods. (Large tarps were placed on the floor and the
country food was placed on top). The
food consisted of raw seal, narwhal, and walrus. A large audience sat around the country food.
I walked up to the tables at the
front to photograph the fish that were entered into the contest. Each fish was labelled with the lake they
came from and the person who caught them.
The arctic chars on display were really big, measuring two feet, at
least. The judges probably had to
measure each fish at least twice because they all looked the same length. There were 3rd, 2nd,
and 1st cash prizes for the longest fish from each of the chosen
lakes. I don’t think there was a prize
for having the largest fish overall.
 |
| Country food up close. |
The feast began once the majority of
people were sitting down. Everyone was
welcomed in Inuktitut and English. An
elder said a quick prayer and then everyone “attacked” the country food with hungry
hands and plastic bags. I still had some
country food at home so I didn’t help myself to any.
I was hoping the award ceremony would
happen first because I couldn’t stay for the whole thing. One of my classes had written their final
exam today and I needed to get them corrected.
Two more would follow during the week.
The last full week of May was all about final exams & report
cards. I had to get everything done
before the next weekend because of another commitment (more on that in a future
post). In the end, I didn’t stay for the
winners to be announced. The cash prizes
ranged from a few hundred dollars to three thousand. I was told that in other communities, the
cash prizes are even higher.
Congratulations to all those who won
this year. Maybe I’ll participate in
next year’s fishing derby and try my luck.
End of Fishing Derby
& Camping Trip mini-series.
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