The Puppy on The Porch

On the second last day of my trip to Cambridge Bay, the temperature dropped to about -60C with the wind chill. It was a miserable night, not only cold, but the wind was blowing and it was overcast with blowing snow.
At about 8:00PM there was a knock at the door and a local was trying to sell me some Inuit Paintings. I declined on the paintings, however as he was leaving he asked if the puppy on the porch was mine? I looked out and sure enough there was a cute little puppy shivering in the corner.

Let me tell you a little bit about about the motel where I was staying. The Motel is one of two in Cambridge Bay. It has a number of efficiency units with a fridge, stove and 2 bedrooms. In the picture below, the unit I was staying in was the first unit on the right.

The unit itself is modern and in very nice condition. Below are a couple of pictures of the inside of the unit.

Anyway, getting back to the puppy. The first thing I did after talking to the vender was go back inside and call the front desk. Unfortunately there was no answer, which actually was the case most of the time I called the front desk. Perhaps the only little complaint I had about staying in the Green Row Inn in Cambridge Bay. The next thing I did was call Jacquie since she is the most knowledgable person I know about puppy dogs. She said I should bring the little puppy inside out of the weather. So, I put on all of my outside gear and went out to get the little guy and carried him into the unit. Each unit has a heated front porch equipped with an independent thermostat. It was my plan to turn the heat way down to make it comfortable for the puppy and then let the dog stay in the front porch for the night. I really hadn't thought much past that since I was supposed to leave the next night, however felt it was the best thing to do given the circumstances.
I went and picked up the little fellow, he was the loveliest little ball of fur that I had ever felt. I carried him into the porch, set him down and while I turned around to shut the door, he ran out before I could stop him. I went out to get him but he was gone. Hopefully he ran home.
See pictures of the little guy below - he's so cute!!!!

The High School in Cambridge Bay

One of the tourist attractions in Cambridge Bay is the High School which has a wonderful cultural centre in the library.

While I was there I was encouraged to look around and was given strict instruction not to photograph any of the children. The centre had some interactive displays, a small theatre that spoke about the history of Cambridge Bay and the Inuit culture.

The High School houses about 200 students from grade 7 to 12. Although the design seemed somewhat unique with the circular exterior and an open concept inside, it was not different than any other - students playing basketball in the gym and studying in the library.

I toured the facility for an hour and so enjoyed the experience.

The DEW Line

While visiting Cambridge Bay, I had the opportunity to visit one of the remaining operational DEW line sites. I was told that it was run for the most part by non-military personnel and made up of about 60% American and 40% Canadian. There were approx. 30 people on location at any one time and only a few of them were military. The facility is completely self-contained with residences, dining facilities, gym, workout room and even stores. My understanding is that people working go in for 3 month rotations and would work one of 2 shifts. I was also told that the function of the facility is to track movement of aircraft, satellites and anything else moving around in the atmosphere. The person that was giving me a tour of the town was a former employee of the facility, otherwise I may not have been allowed to take a look at this very interesting DEW line site. Below I have included a brief history of the DEW line from the internet.

The DEW Line - short for Distant Early Warning Line - was an integrated chain of 63 radar and communication systems stretching 3,000 miles from the northwest coast of Alaska to the eastern shore of Baffin Island opposite Greenland. It is within the Arctic Circle over ts entire length and for much of the distance crosses country hitherto unexplored.

The DEW Line grew out of a detailed study made by a group of the nation's scientists in 1952 - the Summer Study Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The subject of their study was the vulnerability of the US and Canada to air attack, and their recommendation was that a Distant Early Warning line be built across our Arctic border as rapidly as possible,

The Secretary of Defense asked the President of AT&T if the Bell System would undertake the job of building the line. The assignment was accepted, and the responsibility for the overall management of the design and construction of the line was given to Western Electric. Immediately, Western started recruiting a team to do the job from the Bell Telephone Companies, the long lines Department of AT&T, Bell Laboratories and from Western Electric's own divisions. Before the job was completed, men with the necessary knowledge, skills and experience were drawn from Bell telephone companies in every state in the US. Much of the responsibility was delegated under close supervision to a vast number of subcontractors, suppliers and US military units. It has been estimated that by the time the DEWLine was completed, some 25,000 people had been engaged directly in planning and building it.

The Muskox

Nunavut Muskox
Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) have inhabited the Canadian Arctic for thousands of years. A survivor of the last ice age, these magnificent animals are perfectly adapted to survive the winter conditions of Canada’s North

The Inuit refer to them as the “Umingmak”, meaning bearded one. They have been an integral part of the Inuit lifestyle for centuries as one animal that can provide a great amount of meat, a warm versatile hide and soft insulating fur.

The muskox have endured great fluctuation in their numbers over the last few hundred years, mainly due to predators, harsh winters and over harvesting by early explorers. However, today their population numbers are plentiful and thriving, allowing local residents to once again rely on these valuable creatures.

While I was in Cambridge Bay, which is located approximately 500 miles north of Yellowknife, I had the opportunity to visit a meat packing plant. About 2 weeks after I was there, on February 17th, the annual Muskox harvest was going to take place. The manager of the plant told me that the government has authorized up to 400 Muskox to be taken for harvest this year. They will all be taken to this plant for processing. During the harvest season, the plant has hired 14 hunters, 25 transporters (they transport the shot muskox from the site that they are shot to the plant) and 30 people to help with butchering, processing and packaging in the plant. I purhcased a muskox roast, which Jacquie and I are planning to eat next weekend.

Let's hear about the Muktuk!

Seeing as Larry has been posting most of the blogs of late I thought I had best at least attempt to post something. What better a subject than our night of Muktuk tasting. This will be a very short blog. :-)

As previously mentioned Muktuk can either be eaten raw or if you choose cooked. We did the only right thing - we tried both ways and tonight was the night. As soon as we got home the Muktuk was taken out of the freezer and allowed to thaw. I think the dogs knew there was something coming their way because their interest was definitely peeked. They were at the ready.

Larry cut off the first sliver, well really he just picked up a piece and starting in on it as if he had just picked up a rib and starting nawing on the meat. His reaction was neutral until I tasted my piece. I took a bite and immediately made for the sink for a quick discharge. Muktuk and me just don't agree. I couldn't get past the texture, it was like biting into butter, although the taste was not butter. I would say, at this point, it is non-descriptive - I couldn't put my finger on it. So, I asked Larry and he said it tasted salty, and "disgusting." We're really not doing Inuit tradition any favours. That was muktuk raw. Now onto it being cooked.

We put some into the frying pan and added some butter, and garlic to taste. We cooked it well and did the taste test. Muktuk is much better cooked than raw, however it's still suspect. It wouldn't be right to try the muktuk and not get the dogs reaction.

Girls in the house had similar reactions. Holly licked it but wouldn't eat it. Quinn on the otherhand, lapped it up like it was chicken. Then again, Larry thought it wasn't that bad cooked either.

Don't worry friends, we will be bringing some for all to try. Don't let our opinion spoil this opportunity of a life time. We've decided we will try it again but we must be in an environment that will motivate the taste buds. Admittedly we're not sure we are exeriencing it the way Inuit would and we will wait for Iqaluit's Toonik Time festival in April to experience true Inuit cuisine.

Inuit Throat Singing

Lois Locke, the same person that gave us the Muktuk is an Inuit throat singer (katajjag). She was one of the members of the group of Inuit throat singers that went to the Olympics in Vancouver. Also, late this summer she is going to Norway to give a number of concerts with her group.Inuit throat singing is generally done by two individuals but can also involve four or more people.In Inuit throat singing, two Inuit women would face each other either standing or crouching down while holding each other's arms. One would lead with short deep rhythmic sounds while the other would respond. The leader would repeat sounds with short gaps in between. The follower would fill in these gaps with her own rhythmic sounds. Sometimes both Inuit women would be doing a dance-like movement like rocking from left to right while throat singing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9YuVOnbvmo

Below is a picture of Lois sitting at her desk in her office with some beads that go on a head band that she often wears while throat singing. She has a number of songs on YouTube and a more detailed explanation can be found by googling her name.

Muktuk and Caribou

On my trip to Arviat, (Eskimo Point until 1989) I had the pleasure of meeting a number of interesting and amazing people. Two of the people I met were Jimmy Main and Lois Locke. Jimmy is the District Director. He has been in Arviat since he was very young and grew up there. His dad ran the local Hundson Bay company post for many years, retired in 2005 and continue to live in Arviat. Jimmy is fluent in Inuktituk the local Inuit language. Jimmy is also an avid hunter and fisherman. He goes out often to hunt caribou and keeps his family and neighbours stocked up with caribou meat. He gave me 2 large hunks of meat to take back to Iqaluit with me. Jacquie and I are planning to have a caribou stew, which we hear is excellent.

Lois Locke is a program officer for the Nunavut Housing Corporation. She was born and raised in Arviat. She is inuit and speaks Inuktitik as her first language. Her family hunts beluga whales and shares the harvest. Muktuk is the fatty meat that is found attached to the outer skin. Many of the locals eat this raw and it's considered a delicacy. Lois gave me 2 good size bags of Muktuk to bring home with me. Jacquie and I haven't tried it yet and when it was explained to us that it is best descibed as tasting like and having the consistecny of sweet butter, we are taking a few days to psyche ourselves up for the event. We will try it raw, just to say that we have experienced the taste, however I'm looking forward to trying it fried as I'm told it tastes a little like back bacon.

Jacquie and I want to thank Jimmy and Lois for their generosity and for the opportunity to try some of the local cuisine.