Whale Cove is a tiny town in Nunavut's vast Kivalliq region, and these three youngsters are from there. I met up with them after the Alaskan High Kick event, and check out that tie. I'm one of those old fashioned guys who thinks that youth hockey teams should always travel in shirt and tie (says the guy who only owns one tie)... the old fashioned guys on Team Nunavut agree, and it looks sharp.
Darlene Hokanak is a coach for Nunavut's Inuit Games team, and hails from Kugluktuk in Nunavut's Western Kitikmeot Region. She was surprised to see that I knew how to spell Kugluktuk, but was not surprised by the success Nunavut has in all the traditional Games. She had high hopes for her girls heading into the Alaskan High Kick final.
Everywhere I looked this morning, I saw kids from Nunavut and Nunavik hanging out together. Inuktitut is the common bond between the regions. Dialect isn't as big an issue as some seem to think. From left are Margaret Tukkiapik, Madeline Annanack, Karen Weetaluktuk, Debbie Oyukuluk and Kristina Tulugak.
Here, I chat with Debbie -- from the Qikiqtani Region -- about speaking Inuktitut with Nunavik kids. There is a bit of an inside joke in there. I ask her if she can understand them better than people from the Kivalliq (the central region of Nunavut). She said yes.
Different dialects and regions are known for different things. I once asked a translator at the Nunavut Legislative Assembly the difference between the Qikiqtani (Baffin Island) dialect and the Kivalliq dialect. She said it was the difference between Paris French and Alberta French.
She also said it with a laugh. The translator was from the Kivalliq, guess where she thought the Paris French was coming from.
Then there are people from Sanikiluaq. They are known for speaking very quickly.
Me, I'm just happy I can ask her "How's it going" in her own language.
On the way to Dene Games this morning, I found a group of kids from Nunavut and Nunavik "harassing" employees at Canada Post, trying to find the Northern Lights...
As my caffeine kicked in, I asked them what they were up to.
SCAVENGER HUNT!!!! Put Northern Lights on the list, and see what the creative young minds come up with.
So I asked Larissa Annahatak (left) and Mary Tagalik about the hunt, and then about the bond between the Nunavik and Nunavut teams. Both speak Inuktitut, just in different dialects. They can communicate no problem, and just use English for the words that don't match up....
I also learned that Inuktitut for "HI" is "HI".... go figure.
Douglas Ollie is a hockey player from Arviat, a community in the central Kivalliq region of Nunavut (see, I told you about those people from the Kiv and their love of the puck). His AWG's were cut short, by taking a shot on his ankle during hockey. He is staying positive.
Douglas tells us a little about the town of Arviat, and along with hockey, they love Bingo.
Meet Richard Iyago and his mother Rosie. They are fom Baker Lake Nunavut, and were at indoor soccer to support the Nunavummiut competing. Check out Richard's Nunavut flag, signed by none other than Jordin Tootoo. People from the KIvalliq region love their hockey.
You can always tell the Nunavummiut at the airport. They are the ones with giant black plastic containers full of all the things they can buy in the south. Sheila Konana (left) and Pamela Angutingunierk are no different.
Neither am I, on my last trip to YK, I filled two "Action Packers" If you know what Action Packers are, you probably live in the North.
These two girls are a part of the Team Nunavut Women's Hockey squad, and both are from Gjoa Haven, a small community in the western Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. It is pronounced JOE-Haven, but spelled with a G.
These two came to Yellowknife to compete.... but they also came to shop.
Silaqqi Quvianaqtuliaq is the camera shy girl hiding behind the phone. In front is Debbie Oiukuluk, a competitor in Dene Games.
I met Silaqqi in Kinngait/Cape Dorset weeks ago. She was a member of their women's soccer team, but after her team was defeated at the regional championships, Baffin Island Champs Iqaluit invited her to join their team.
She was profiled on National News, and had to move to Iqaluit to get ready for the Games. Her parents could rest easy, she was staying at the Education Minister's house.... that's small towns for you.
She misses home a little, but watch out for her powerful shot. Iqaluit invited her for a reason, and this soft-spoken girl is all business on the floor for Indoor Soccer.
With a name matched with a boxer, allow me the II in the title of this post. Check The earlier parts of this blog for a look at Sarah and her very successful video. Sarah is the one in the middle. Sarah is joined on the left by Miranda Kirk, and Leetia Nuyalia on the right. All three are speed skaters.
Pia Tikivik is an 18-year-old table tennis player from Iqaluit. This is her second Arctic Winter Games, and she was also in the Canada Games. Her Dad was with her to send her off to Yellowknife, and we caught up to her as she was checking in at the counter.
Jutai Toonoo is from Kinngait (aka Cape Dorset) which is just about an hour by air west of Iqaluit. I first met him at the rec center in Dorset, when I was there for the QIA Truth Commission hearings. He was playing table tennis, and that is what he is doing at the AWG's.
Jutai is the youngest of 7 brothers, and they are all happy to see him playing any sport. He suffered from a form of Juvenile Arthritis as a child, but he took up table tennis just 6 months ago, and won the territorial championship.
Now he is off to Yellowknife, one of at least two Kinngait kids on the plane. When I first interviewed him, I was struck by his confidence, he is matter of fact about it, he thinks he can win. Just look at him in the photo, I was joking with him, saying, "Now give me your tough guy look." He was all business.
Fans of Inuit art, the display behind Jutai is one of several in the Iqaluit Airport, this one is from Clyde River.
So far, he really hasn't played a game against someone as skilled as himself. He likely will when he gets to the Games.
David Shooyook is a 16-year-old from Arctic Bay, and he is travelling to the AWG's to compete in Inuit Games. Arctic Bay has athletes in both Inuit games and Dene games (more on that later). We have a nice little video of David talking about what he is looking forward to in Yellowknife. You'll never hear a pro athlete give as honest an answer as David does.
Welcome to YFB. This bright yellow spacestationesque building is Iqaluit's airport, and where a large group of Nunavut Arctic Winter Games athletes met for a charter flight to Yellowknife, for the Acrtic Winter Games. It is one of the most distinctive buildings in town, and always draws a comment from first time visitors.
The Arctic Winter Games will begin March 9th to the 15th in Yellowknife, North West Territories Canada. APTN National News will be there. Check here daily for updates and new blog posts.
