Hibernal Nanuq & Return Of The Sun

A cadet instructor cadre (CIC) officer from Whitehorse travelled to Arctic Bay to run a weekend training activity for the army cadets of 3045.  The activity was given the name Hibernal Nanuq and occurred on February 15 & 16.

The activity began in the afternoon in the school gym and featured sports & drill.  The captain led the activities, and I assisted.  The focus was teamwork, problem solving, and having fun.  There’s not much else for me to say for this part of the training activity.  The cadets did have fun.

The next day began in the early morning with marksmanship.  The cadets shot Daisy air rifles in the gym.  Their paper targets were placed on custom made backboards that also stopped lead pellets from hitting the gym wall.  The corps runs an active weekend marksmanship program.

Lunch was provided & delivered by the local hotel.  Thank you!  The menu was quite delicious.

The captain led the cadets in a team building activity called the Tallest Paper Tower Challenge.  Cadets work in groups to build the largest paper tower using limited materials & time.  This activity encourages teamwork, creativity, problem solving, and time management.  I stood back and took photos of their creations.  The winning group received bragging rights.

The captain & cadets had another drill session/lesson, followed by another game.  The cadets were given a short break before returning to the gym for the final activity: the canon obstacle course race.  This game is based on military field gun competitions where teams must transport a field gun through an obstacle course in shortest time possible.  The gun can be disassembled during the relay but needs to be in one piece at the finish line.  You can view an example here on YouTube.

The captain made two makeshift cannons & obstacle courses using sports equipment.  The cadets were divided into two teams and learned the rules.  I watched from above when the race began.  It was quite interesting to see the cadets quickly figured out ways to move their “cannons” through the obstacle course in pieces.

I took a photo of the captain & cadets.  I gifted him a corps t-shirt as a way of saying thank you for coming to Arctic Bay to meet & train the cadets.  He returned to Whitehorse the next day.

The sun returned to Arctic Bay in early February.  Inuujaq School usually organizes a Return of the Sun Assembly at the same time, but circumstances forced us to postpone the event until February 21.  Classes made decorations and wore bright colours to school.

The assembly began in the afternoon with a short welcome address by the principal.  This was followed by an Elder lighting the school’s ceremonial qulliq (oil lamp).  The qulliq is a very important tool & cultural piece to Inuit, especially during dark, cold winter months, because it provides light & warmth.  The Elder explained this to the audience and shared a story of how the qulliq kept her & her family warm when she was growing up and how it brings people together.

The Grade 1 class sang You Are My Sunshine in Inuktitut & English.  Two high school teachers performed an Inuit song.  One teacher sang while the other played the Inuit drum.  A few students were given the opportunity to play the Inuit drum to the delight of the audience.  The assembly concluded with an Inuit drum dance from a community member.

Everyone in the community is glad the sun has returned.  The temperature is still cold until April but at least there’s light.  People just have to remember to wear sunglasses to avoid snow blindness and put on sunscreen to prevent sunburn.