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AROUND NUNAVUT: A qamutik, a $4,000 donation and four great films

Student builds his own qamutik

Sanikiluaq

Shops class at Sanikiluaq’s Paatsaali School is generating many creations, but one is a stand-out.

Qinnaujuaq Iqaluq built himself a qamutik.

Paatsaali School student and avid hunter Qinnaujuaq Iqaluq proudly stands next to the qamutik he built in shops class.
photo courtesy Paatsaali School

“It’s part of our regular shops program, hands-on activities. It’s culturally relevant. He gets to bring it home. He gets to keep it,” said principal Tim Hoyt, adding it took Iqaluq roughly two weeks to make his qamutik.

“We’re expecting him to graduate next year. He’s been in our construction program. He’s done trapping with us. He’s an avid hunter.”

Students at Paatsaali can enjoy the shops class every day. The shops teacher teaches shops throughout the day, and students from Grade 7 to 12 attend. Other creations include harpoons, harpoon heads, scrapers and scraping boards.

“This morning they went down to the harbour and drilled holes in the ice so they could do some ice fishing,” said Hoyt.

 

Qajuqturvik receives $4,000 from Northwestel

Iqaluit

Northwestel employees descended upon the Qajuqturvik Food Centre April 26 to serve up some lunch and donate $4,000 to the food centre, which feeds Iqalungmiut in need.

Executive director of the Qajuqturvik Food Centre Wade Thorhaug, centre left, holds a $4,000 donation cheque with
Northwestel’s vice president of business markets Paul Gillard. Northwestel staff also attended the donation event, which celebrates the telecom company’s 40th anniversary. From left: Scott Wylie, Frank Morgan, Bill Stanzeleit, Carmen Kootoo, Thorhaug, Gillard, Gabby Morrill and Andy Kaszycki.
photo courtesy Northwestel

This donation and a similar $4,000 donation to the Food Bank Society of Whitehorse in the Yukon is to celebrate the company’s 40th year.

“We’re celebrating 40 years in the North by saying thank you to the communities we serve,” stated Northwestel president Curtis Shaw.

“In 1992, Northwestel began serving many communities which would eventually become Nunavut. Today, every community in the territory is connected to a broadband network over satellite. I want to say thank you to our employees, to our partners, and to our customers for helping to make this possible.”

Qajuqturvik Food Centre Executive Director Wade Thorhaug, who accepted the donation, stated the organization makes Iqaluit stronger, through support for those who need it and through the volunteers who help.

“We rely on volunteers not just for their help but also to build community,” stated Thorhaug.

“Our aim is to have an inclusive space that strengthens connections and breaks down divisions. We are grateful for Northwestel for their donation and support.”

Shaw says the company’s 500 Northern employees spend time volunteering with local community groups.

“Northwestel will match our employees’ volunteer time with donations toward the group they volunteer with,” he said.

 

May movies at the visitor’s centre

Iqaluit

Movie nights at the Unikkaarvik Visitor’s Centre in Iqaluit continue with a May 9 screening of the 2008 documentary Martha of the North.

Martha of the North, screening at the Unikkaarvik Visitor’s Centre in Iqaluit May 9, tells Martha Flaherty’s High Arctic relocation story.
photo courtesy National Film Board

The story belongs to Martha Flaherty, and tells of her relocation and separation from her family in the High Arctic.

“In the mid-1950s, lured by false promises of a better life, Inuit families were displaced by the Canadian government and left to their own devices in the Far North. In this icy desert realm, Martha Flaherty and her family lived through one of Canadian history’s most sombre and little-known episodes,” according to the synopsis.

For the rest of the month, expect three Isuma films: the famed, award-winning and voted the number one Canadian film of all time by the Toronto International Film Festival, Atanarjuat – The Fast Runner screens May 16; The Journals of Knud Rasmussen May 24; and on May 31, Before Tomorrow will screen.

All three films come with a parental discretion advisory for mature themes which may be frightening to some viewers.

Films begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, and includes popcorn and a drink.

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Martha of the North, screening at the Unikkaarvik Visitor's Centre in Iqaluit May 9, tells Martha Flaherty's High Arctic relocation story. photo courtesy National Film Board
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Executive director of the Qajuqturvik Food Centre Wade Thorhaug, centre left, $4,000 donation from Northwestel’s vice president of business markets Paul Gillard. Northwestel staff also attended the donation event, which celebrates the telecom company's 40th anniversary. From left: Scott Wylie, Frank Morgan, Bill Stanzeleit, Carmen Kootoo, Thorhaug, Gillard, Gabby Morrill and Andy Kaszycki. photo courtesy Northwestel