HANSEN ROAD
PO BOX 120
AKLAVIK, X0E 0A0
Monday â Friday
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Phone: (867) 978-2536
Fax: (867) 978-2829
 A Brief History of Aklavik and Moose Kerr SchoolÂ
Moose Kerr School (MKS) has a rich and culturally diverse history. Built in 1969, under the guidance and support of Arnold J. (Moose) Kerr (a teacher and administrator in Aklavik between 1952 and 1961), MKS was built on the premise of inclusive and culturally infused education. To support, part of the first employed faculty at MKS included Indigenous Instructors and since then, have had a number of Indigenous educators providing their wisdom and leadership; one of which was Velma Illasiak, a principal of MKS from 1999-2018.Â
Today, Moose Kerr School is home to more than 125 students and employs 35 faculty and staff â 17 of whom have been born and raised in Aklavik; the longest standing has been with the school for 47 years (Margo McLeod). If you were to visit MKS today, youâd soon realize that the school is active in its academic deliveries, but also in its belief that culture must be the driving force behind what students learn and experience. Besides delivery of Indigenous units on drumming, languages, jigging, Welcoming Back the Sun, and the ever-popular Muskrat Trapping, Moose Kerr School also ensures that each child experiences everything from on-the-land activities to processing wild meat to annually participating in the NWT Indigenous Games. It is, as most would say, a school built for the community. Of course, this is a testament to the ancestral elders who set the platform from which Moose Kerr was built.Â
As for Aklavik, which has been established as a Hamlet since 1974, it began existence in the early 1900s when the Pokiak and Greenland families settled by the then, Trading Post. Shortly afterwards, in and around 1920, the Hudson Bay Company set up shop to purchase the many furs coming to Aklavik from throughout the region. At the same time, the Anglican Church (1919-1936) and the Roman Catholic Church (1925-1936) set up schools for children. Aklavik was now becoming settled and was in fact, such a desirable representative of the north that soon after the 1920s, interest in locating in Aklavik had spread throughout Canada. Some of the organizations making their way included the RCMP building its Western Arctic Headquarters in 1922; the All Saints Anglican and Immaculate Conception Hospitals being established in 1925; and, in the same year, the Canadian Corps of Signals Station opened. In fact, by 1929 air mail was being delivered; with C. H. Dickens landing the first cargo airplane in Aklavik.
However, as it was in the north at the time, there were those who did not appreciate the growing community and encroaching interference. One such individual was Albert Johnson, a.k.a. the Mad Trapper of Rat Creek. After a trapping license dispute, Alberta Johnson began what would become the largest manhunt in the north, when he did not cooperate with the RCMP and fired warning shots after they questioned him about it. In response, and over a distance of more than 137 km in some of the roughest conditions on earth, the RCMP hunting party eventually tracked Alberta Johnson down and killed him after an intense shoot-out; he was later buried in Aklavik. In the end, Alberta Johnson was responsible for killing Constable Edgar Millen and injuring one other officer. To this day there continues to be an investigation of who he was and where he came from. Â
Aklavik and Moose Kerr School have come a long way since their earlier days. Even despite the new transition program initiative (beginning in 1953) which in 1958 resulted in attempts to relocate community members to the now-known town of Inuvik, Aklavik and Moose Kerr School persevered. In fact, it was from this that in 1980 Aklavik adopted the motto of Never Say Die.Â
At Moose Kerr School we endeavour to have students, school, families, and community members work together with a common understanding of the past, present and future. It is what fosters the foundation of âNever Say Die!â It also ensures that all students and representatives of the school remain in a loving and accepting environment while students acquire the necessary skills for lifelong learning.
Mahsi cho and quyanainni to Ms. Shayla and Ms. Prairie for sharing their talents … 1 Comments
Parents are invited to come out to enjoy the afternoon events! We are also looking for volunteers to help run some games in the gym. Please reach out to Heather Evans or Janine … 3 Likes
Ms. Shannonâs high school Land Stewardship students put our new dehydrator to the test this afternoon! Students will tryout their dry meat tomorrow. Mahsi cho and Quyanainni to Courtney Charlie for sharing her expertise … 39 Likes
Thank you to all those you made today possible! Enjoy your long weekend and we will see you back at school on Tuesday, October 15. 1 Comments
Heather Evans will be available directly following the feast for portraits of non-school aged … 8 Likes
Thanks for helping us today MKS team!!Dean-Anna Lee McLeod Your thoughtfulness is always appreciated đSally Anne Kasook Thank you for thinking of our children.
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2022-2023 News and Updates
Students in Inuvik are getting a higher education this week.
Drone training has been happening for Grade 7 and 8 students at East Three Secondary School.
Students are being taught regulations, safety rules and the different things drones can be used for.
Once they learned the rules and what is legally allowed, they were able to fly mini-drones in their school.
The groups were also able to assemble their own drones and fly them inside the classroom.
Maverick Aleekuk-Lennie is a Grade 7 student who is really interested in technology and was eager to pilot a drone on his own.
"We're seeing through the eyes of a non-living thing that we control and it goes a lot faster than us," he said.
The one-day program is being hosted by Indigenous Aerospace, a group that promotes and educates drone use in remote communities across Canada.
Jacob Taylor is the CEO of Indigenous Aerospace and was in Inuvik to help facilitate the event.
Taylor said bringing drones into the schools and giving students first-hand knowledge is the first step in starting careers in that field.
"The program is really great at inspiring young people to engage in science, technology, engineering and math careers as well as curriculums so it's a really positive retention tool," said Taylor.
The introduction to drone piloting is something that really interested Grade 8 student Thomas Wilbert Thrasher. He plans on starting a company that produces video games, and this technology is something he would like to use in the future.
"I just really want to start my own company. I really want to learn how to code video games, I have been learning about that for a while," said Thrasher.
Using a drone to scan and map areas is something of interest to Thrasher so he can integrate that into his video games.
Thrasher hopes to see more programs like this in the school soon.
"This is really interesting and they should do it more," he said.
Nicolas Kopot
Principal, Helen Kalvak Elihakvik School (Ulukhaktok, NT)
Graduate of the Bachelor of Education program (2010); Master of Education for Change program (2015)
âGrowing up in Thunder Bay, I had a predominantly westernized education that privileged linearity and results. As I have gained experience as a teacher and an administrator, I have been consciously decolonizing my mind and my practice. I am fortunate to be in a territory that is experiencing a curriculum renewalâshifting from outcome-based to a competency and skills-based inquiry model.
I am currently in my 8th year in the Beaufort Delta of the Northwest Territories. I am privileged to work and play in a small Inuvialuit hamlet called Ulukhaktok. Ulu, as it is commonly known, is on Canadaâs second largest island, Victoria Island. I am a teaching principal at a school of 120 mostly Inuvialuit students. As teaching positions in the Thunder Bay region were quite sparse following my BEd, I opted to continue in the honors year of my BA (French) at Lakehead. Throughout that year, I also worked as a tutor at Scholars Education, and taught many Kindergarten-Grade 8 French Immersion classrooms across Thunder Bay as a substitute. In 2011, I accepted a full-time teaching position in Nunavut. What a wonderful, eye-opening experience that was! I instantly fell in love with the North, the Inuit culture, and the reciprocal way of life. Many have heard the expression âit takes a villageâŚââI experienced this, first hand.
After some moves around the country, I returned to Thunder Bay in 2014. That summer, I had the fortune of sitting with a senior member of Lakeheadâs Faculty of Education. As we discussed our unique travels and shared experiences in the North of Canada, he inspired me to reflect deeply on my educational journey. With his encouragement, I chose to apply to the inaugural year of the Education for Change, Masters of Education program at Lakehead. This decision would forever change me. After working four semesters consecutively, I graduated in the summer of 2015 with my MEd, specializing in Indigenous Education. I can thank my Indigenous Education professor (among others) from my BEd year for inspiring me to take a path towards genuine community building.
I am inspired to lead a school through inclusion, collaboration, and co-regulation. Much of my time is devoted to promoting a healthy environment for my students to define success through their voice and choice. This enables our students to actively co-create meaningful learning experiences. My passion remains in place-based education where my communityâs values are not only reflected in the pedagogical practices of my teachers: they are the foundation for all programming. My advice for new teachers is to find a school system that fits your values. Remember: half of the equation is what you do; the other half is who you do it with. There are many teaching positions around the country; do not be afraid to find the right place for you!â
Beaufort Delta District Education Council (BDDEC) is aggressively working to improve graduation rates.
Superintendent Devin Roberts said the district has gone so far as to expand its team of mobile teachers.
âThis year new trades teachers were hired to travel the district and provide more high school courses to smaller schools outside of Inuvik,â he said. âThe plan is to improve graduation rates and reduce the number of students who enter grade ten but do not graduate. This has become a focus of the BDDEC vision which we hope to report on over the next five to ten years.â
As of the 2020/2021 year, the six-year graduation rate for the Northwest Territories is 60 per cent. Split between regions, the rate is 74 per cent in Yellowknife, 55 per cent in regional centres like Inuvik and 45 per cent in smaller communities. Graduation rates for Indigenous students is 49 per cent across the territory, compared to 81 per cent for non-Indigenous students. Roberts said BDDEC wants to turn those lower numbers around.
It is part of BDDECâs overall 2022 to 2027 vision, developed by a council with representatives from all eight Beaufort Delta communities. The vision will renew the districtâs focus on the Dene Kede and Inuuqatigiit curriculum, which teachers are expected to bring into lessons as much as possible. To help facilitate this, teachers are encouraged to bring in knowledge keepers and Elders to help students learn traditional skills, stories and languages alongside learning science, technology, engineering and math.
A renewed focus on trades education as well as mental wellness is also part of the new vision. Roberts said the vision follows a concept of three âIâsâ â Indigenized Education, Inquiry and Inclusive Schooling.
âDecolonizing the education system as much as possible within our local locus of control is a main priority for BDDEC,â he said. âThe efforts to advance truth and reconciliation can be seen with the Elders in the School programs and BDDECâs new vision which includes a focus on voice and choice for students. The voices of the youth in the region must be valued, fostered and supported throughout their education. BDDEC has asked all schools to develop a student council. These student councils will work together to provide youth more of a forum to bring forward ideas and concerns about their education system in real time.
âAlso in the day to day classes BDDEC teachers are providing students more opportunities for voice and choice using inquiry as the main method of teaching. Students become active in their learning. They are encouraged to practice and become more comfortable with oracy skills. This is supported through partner talks and small group work eventually building students up to become confident in public speaking, presenting, critical thinking and articulation. The students are the future leaders of the communities and thus BDDEC believes fostering communication skills will support the youth in becoming confident leaders.â
To help students feel more included, the district has re-branded its logo and purchased orange lighting to shine the message that Every Child Matters throughout the dark Beaufort Delta nights.
Implementation of the new vision is already underway, after a motion at the annual District Education Council meeting in March set it in action. Roberts said the first step of that is community engagement to gather feedback on where the vision is going. Changes from said feedback will be announced this fall. After that, the plan is to partner with the Gwichâin Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to develop a 10-year plan for student success across the Beaufort Delta.
âIn the meantime staff have been trained using the Dene Kede and Inuuqatigiit curriculums learning how to Indigenize programming,â said Roberts. âPartnerships between schools, Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers are underway. An Inquiry network for teachers and principals meets monthly. The inquiry networks are supported by consultants and BDDEC senior management.
âBDDEC has a repository of lessons and strategies to support Indigenized Education, Inquiry and Inclusive Schooling through Google Drive available to staff. BDDEC senior leadership and a team of consultants travel the district supporting schools with the BDDEC vision.â
Every night since last Sept. 30, Beaufort Delta District Education Councilâs windows have glowed orange to remind the world that Every Child Matters. Photo courtesy of Beaufort Delta District Education Council
Beaufort Delta District Education Council (BDDEC) is aggressively working to improve graduation rates.
Superintendent Devin Roberts said the district has gone so far as to expand its team of mobile teachers.
âThis year new trades teachers were hired to travel the district and provide more high school courses to smaller schools outside of Inuvik,â he said. âThe plan is to improve graduation rates and reduce the number of students who enter grade ten but do not graduate. This has become a focus of the BDDEC vision which we hope to report on over the next five to ten years.â
As of the 2020/2021 year, the six-year graduation rate for the Northwest Territories is 60 per cent. Split between regions, the rate is 74 per cent in Yellowknife, 55 per cent in regional centres like Inuvik and 45 per cent in smaller communities. Graduation rates for Indigenous students is 49 per cent across the territory, compared to 81 per cent for non-Indigenous students. Roberts said BDDEC wants to turn those lower numbers around.
It is part of BDDECâs overall 2022 to 2027 vision, developed by a council with representatives from all eight Beaufort Delta communities. The vision will renew the districtâs focus on the Dene Kede and Inuuqatigiit curriculum, which teachers are expected to bring into lessons as much as possible. To help facilitate this, teachers are encouraged to bring in knowledge keepers and Elders to help students learn traditional skills, stories and languages alongside learning science, technology, engineering and math.
A renewed focus on trades education as well as mental wellness is also part of the new vision. Roberts said the vision follows a concept of three âIâsâ â Indigenized Education, Inquiry and Inclusive Schooling.
âDecolonizing the education system as much as possible within our local locus of control is a main priority for BDDEC,â he said. âThe efforts to advance truth and reconciliation can be seen with the Elders in the School programs and BDDECâs new vision which includes a focus on voice and choice for students. The voices of the youth in the region must be valued, fostered and supported throughout their education. BDDEC has asked all schools to develop a student council. These student councils will work together to provide youth more of a forum to bring forward ideas and concerns about their education system in real time.
âAlso in the day to day classes BDDEC teachers are providing students more opportunities for voice and choice using inquiry as the main method of teaching. Students become active in their learning. They are encouraged to practice and become more comfortable with oracy skills. This is supported through partner talks and small group work eventually building students up to become confident in public speaking, presenting, critical thinking and articulation. The students are the future leaders of the communities and thus BDDEC believes fostering communication skills will support the youth in becoming confident leaders.â
To help students feel more included, the district has re-branded its logo and purchased orange lighting to shine the message that Every Child Matters throughout the dark Beaufort Delta nights.
Implementation of the new vision is already underway, after a motion at the annual District Education Council meeting in March set it in action. Roberts said the first step of that is community engagement to gather feedback on where the vision is going. Changes from said feedback will be announced this fall. After that, the plan is to partner with the Gwichâin Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to develop a 10-year plan for student success across the Beaufort Delta.
âIn the meantime staff have been trained using the Dene Kede and Inuuqatigiit curriculums learning how to Indigenize programming,â said Roberts. âPartnerships between schools, Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers are underway. An Inquiry network for teachers and principals meets monthly. The inquiry networks are supported by consultants and BDDEC senior management.
âBDDEC has a repository of lessons and strategies to support Indigenized Education, Inquiry and Inclusive Schooling through Google Drive available to staff. BDDEC senior leadership and a team of consultants travel the district supporting schools with the BDDEC vision.â
Students from across the Beaufort Delta showed off their passion for knowledge at Beaufort Delta District Education Councilâs Wisdom Fest. The annual fair allows students to explore projects in science, passion or heritage and provides cash prizes for the best work in several age groups. Students learned about concepts are varied as the political spectrum to hunting and trapping techniques and beyond.
This yearâs medallists are:
Science
Grades 4 to 6
East Three Elementary School â Rita Garaba â first
East Three Elementary School â Atticus Willkomm â second
Moose Kerr School â Yehya Ayache â third
Grades 7 to 9
Moose Kerr School â Maryam Ayache â first
Mangilaluk School â Owen Whynot â second
Grades 10 to 12
East Three Secondary School William â Rogers and Rylan Wainman â first
Harmonie MacLeod-Lennie and Chloe Frost were second place in the passion project category. Eric Bowling/NNSL photo
Heritage
Grades 4 to 6
Chief Paul Niditchie School â Payton Inglangasuk and Cruz Blake Storr â first
Chief Paul Niditchie School â Sydney Van Loon â second
East Three Elementary School â Claire Letendre, Bristol Pidborochynski, and Avery Cardinal-Blake â third
Grades 7 to 9
East Three secondary School â Bea Dhungel â first
Chief Julius School â Diezel Blake, Aubrey Francis Norman, Alexis Koe, Jathena Vaneltsi, Krystal Firth, Adrianna Koe, Kiedyn Nerysoo, and Leah Vittrekwa â second
Chief Julius School â Aliayah Alexie and CJS Grade 8 Class â third
Grades 10 to 12
Moose Kerr School â Husineh Ayache and Sarah Meyook â first
East Three Secondary School â Alexandria Ruben â second
East Three Secondary School â Daniel Hartley â third
Passion
Grades 4 to 6
East Three Elementary School â Valerie Salloman â first
Chief Paul Niditchie School â Harmonie MacLeod-Lennie and Chloe Frost â second
Mangilaluk School â Trent Wolki â third
Grades 7 to 12
Moose Kerr School â Sydney McLeod â first
Mangilaluk School â Izaak Cockney â second
Moose Kerr School â Kylar Irish â third
Grades 10 to 12
East Three Secondary School â Rowan McInnes and Dezso Garaba â first
Chief Paul Niditchie School â James Arey-Cardinal â second
Mangilaluk School â Alex Wolki â third
Harmonie MacLeod-Lennie and Chloe Frost were second place in the passion project category. Eric Bowling/NNSL photo
At this yearâs Arctic Winter Games, the NWT had two wrestlers on its team. Both of them came from Ulukhaktok.
Ben Inuktalik and Hunter Kitekudlak, both 13, were coached by fellow Ulukhaktok resident and Arctic Winter Games alumnus Jacob Klengenberg â and by school counsellor Monique Smith.
Smith was a university wrestler and had a good friend, Leah Ferguson, compete for Canada at the London 2012 Olympics.
Ferguson has since worked to develop Indigenous coaches and wrestlers in northern Manitoba. When Smith was contracted to work in Ulukhaktok, GamètĂŹ and WekweètĂŹ, she borrowed from Fergusonâs playbook and persuaded territorial sports agency Sport North to help find money for wrestling mats in each of the three communities.
âIâm up there anyway, why not volunteer wrestling?â Smith said she thought at the time.
âTherapeutically, when you create connections with kids â even outside the office â you have such a cool opportunity to meet the kids on their level.
âWe do a lot of the therapeutic skills: we do mindfulness grounding, we do deep breathing. The things Iâm trying to teach in the office, I can teach them on the wrestling mat.â
Klengenberg competed at the 2016 and 2018 Arctic Winter Games in snowshoe biathlon, a sport he took up following the efforts of an iconic NWT coach: the late Pat Bobinski.
Bobinski, who passed away in 2017, famously and tirelessly established biathlon as a sport in a wide range of northern communities, earning renown for the dedication with which he supported both his sport and young athletes.
Klengenberg said he sees some of that in Smithâs approach to wrestling.
âAs somebody who has experienced somebody coming into the community and pretty-well dropping their impact, so to say, itâs sparking interest in the kids and the kidsâ lives,â he said.
âTheyâre getting to know themselves as people, and I really think thatâs awesome.
âMonique Smith has been amazing for not only the mental health side of things for our community, but also physical health and stuff like that.â
Monique Smith with Jacob Klengenberg
Monique Smith with Jacob Klengenberg. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
At the Arctic Winter Games in Fort McMurray, Inuktalik and Kitekudlak were cheered on and offered support by other teams at their first large wrestling event of any kind.
Inuktalik told Cabin Radio he had only been wrestling for about three months before making the trip. He admitted being âa little bit scaredâ of the level of competition, but added it was âcool how big it isâ in the giant sports centre that hosted this yearâs wrestling events.
âI just had fun wrestling. Itâs so much fun,â added Kitekudlak.
âThe biggest thing is character,â said Smith. âItâs about integrity, and weâve just watched these kids grow and their character, so to me, thatâs a success.â
Smith wants the program to expand, but first it has to survive the personnel churn that is a common threat to sports in smaller northern communities.
Often, no sooner has a program taken hold than the person running it ends up elsewhere and momentum ebbs away.
In this case, Smith is no longer contracted to work in Ulukhaktok and Klengenberg is soon joining the RCMP, leaving the new teamâs future uncertain.
âMy whole mentality is: letâs find people at the local level who we can train to be coaches, because thereâs only one of me and at the end of the day, we want to create a sustainable program,â said Smith.
The North American Indigenous Games, being held in Halifax this summer, are the next milestone. Smith is hoping to find a way to train up some female wrestlers for selection to Team NT alongside the boys, and âhopefully build up some coaches as well in the meantime.â
To anyone who wants to become a wrestling coach, she said: âLetâs do it, letâs get it started.â
Currie, Crook and Kilo: NWT names its first music award winners
MEGAN MISKIMAN AND OLLIE WILLIAMSLAST MODIFIED: SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 AT 5:39PM
Miranda Currie, Crook the Kid and Kilo November were among the winners as Music NWT staged its inaugural awards ceremony in Yellowknife on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Yellowknives Dene Drummers, Ted Wesley and Norm Glowach entered a newly formed NWT music hall of fame during a combined awards and induction ceremony at the Explorer Hotel.
Drummer Cody Drygeese said the award demonstrated the health of Dene drumming.
âIâm very happy to say that right now we have many people in our First Nation who are still participating in this ancient cultural practice,â he said.
Guitarist Ted Wesley passed away last December. Sister-in-law Heather Pritchard, appearing on his behalf, said Ted was âa wonderful musician with a very large rangeâ who obsessively studied songs he heard.
âHe didnât do music for money or fame. He mostly played for free,â she said. âAnd he missed his chance for fame when he went to the Juno Awards, because they really wanted to sign up this wonderful young talent, but he would have to move to Toronto. And who the hell wants to leave the North to move to Toronto?â
Mayor of Yellowknife Rebecca Alty, introducing Norm Glowach as the nightâs final inductee, noted he had spent decades focusing his immense skillset, from musical ability to audio engineering, on the Northwest Territories.
âIâm lucky,â said Glowach. âI get to record people. I get to work with my bandmates, who I have been playing with in Priscillaâs Revenge for 15 years. This is a pretty good life, Iâd recommend it to anybody.â
Currie, named the NWTâs Indigenous artist of the year on Saturday, recently released an album designed to help children learn their traditional language.
âEvery time I hear Miranda play, her music plays in my mind for the next six hours,â said the ceremonyâs host, Inuk author and throat-singer Tanya Snow.
âIt feels really nice that folks are recognizing my music,â Currie told Cabin Radio.
âWe played a lot of shows this week and kids are singing the songs and the lyrics, even for the new album. Thatâs the thing that always touches me the most, when you see parents and kids singing along to stuff.
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âYouâre like, yay, because I write this music with a message to change that Indigenous narrative in Canada, starting with young people and their families.â
Gnarwhalâs Deep Spaced was crowned the best new single of the past year. The award for best new album went to Al Beeâs One From The Other.
Kilo November, the teenage DJ who sensationally closed the Cabin Stage at Folk on the Rocks 2019 and returned in 2021, was honoured for the territoryâs best live performance.
âIâm still shocked. I kind-of donât believe it,â said the 14-year-old, adding he discovered he had been nominated after his mom received the call while he played video games.
âShe came into my room and said, âSomething crazy has happened.â Iâm like, âWhat?â And sheâs like, âYouâve been nominated for this music award thingy.â And Iâm like, âOh no way, thatâs awesome.â
âI decided not to get my hopes up because I didnât honestly think I would win.â
Fort Good Hope rapper Crook the Kid, who performed on the night, won the songwriting award of excellence. âI canât believe someone in this room thought it was OK to give me an award,â he told the audience, laughing, following his set.
Other performances at the gala, opened by the Yellowknives Dene Drummers, included Nara, Johnny Cole, SkyFire Taiko (a form of Japanese percussion), Munya Mataruse, Five Thirds Mad, and Brenden MacIntosh, who won best debut release for Coffee Break.
David Doweâs Double D Studios won 2022âs music industry award, while Inuvikâs Great Northern Arts Festival won an award recognizing its work as a venue. Inuvik resident Abe Drennan collected that award on the eventâs behalf before picking up the nightâs fan choice award.
Saturdayâs ceremony, the first such awards night ever staged by Music NWT, took place in a gold-bedecked banquet hall with two stages and a live online broadcast.
The event was masterminded by Music NWTâs president, Trevor Sinclair, in the hope that a dedicated and, by Yellowknifeâs standards, lavish annual awards night will help to give the territoryâs industry a higher profile.
The winners, in the order they were announced:
- Songwriting:Â Crook the Kid
- Music Industry:Â Double D Studios
- Venue:Â Great Northern Arts Festival
- Live Performance:Â Kilo November
- Music Video: Keith Robertson for Thin Ice, by Andrea Bettger
- Fan Choice:Â Abe Drennan
- Indigenous Artist:Â Miranda Currie
- Debut Release:Â Brenden MacIntosh
- New Single: Gnarwhal for Deep Spaced
- New Album: Al Bee for One From The Other
See the full list of nominees in our earlier coverage.
Abe Drennan canât say enough thanks to his fans.
He was named the first-ever NWT Music Awards Fan Choice at the first-ever gala Sept. 10 â edging out other big-name artists like Leela and Jay Gildayâs project Sechile â Sedare and the band Welders Daughter â for his music video Way Up North, which he filmed with local video-pro David Stewart. The video was also nominated for Music Video Excellence.
âIt was amazing. It was an exhilarating feeling,â he said. âRight before the nominees are announced, you get this whole build-up and all of a sudden my name came up. I was just so happy.
âThe Fan Choice award is a great award to win. All the awards are great, but I think the Fan Choice is great because youâre chosen by the people who listen to and like your music. And that matters most, because without our fans as artists weâre just folks making music in our basements. The fans are the ones who appreciate and value what we do â how could I not be more grateful.â
With 20 years of work put into his music, Drennan said being named the fan favourite felt like an acknowledgement of the time heâs put into his craft. But more-so he said it was the result of the many friends heâs made through music along the way.
âFor years and years I have been sharing my music with people,â he said. âFrom my hometown in Bancroft, Ont. which I know is always supporting my music and what Iâm doing, and folks from here and family and friends. Itâs just a culmination of time. That adds up and those relationships build.
âIâm all about connecting to people and building meaningful relationships. Thatâs who I am. And you know, I know my people have my back, but this was just a further confirmation of that. It just felt so good.â
His own recognition aside, Drennan said it was an important milestone for the NWT to host an Music Awards Gala and the effort to bring it about has been underway for a long time.
Put on by Music NWT and initially pushed by Trevor Sinclair, the awards ceremony was the first of its kind.
âItâs was an important step in establishing our musical community in the NWT,â he said. âIt was good for artist recognition, good for community building and great connecting with everybody.
âMany of the award winners and such were people I havenât had the chance to meet face to face, but I have been collaborating with people around the NWT virtually for over a year now and finally we came together. It so special that way.â
Now that heâs earned his mantelpiece, Drennan is back to his lifeâs work, with plans to put together a new single and album over the winter.
He said heâs working on an EP with Bell Rock recording out of Fort Smith, but didnât have a release date yet. So stay tuned.
âIâm honoured and grateful to be chosen for the fan choice,â he said. âShout out to Trevor Sinclair and the NWT Board of Directors and to all the award winners and nominees â it was such an honour to be a part of it all.â
Ulukhaktok mural reflects life in a new land for Muslim teen from Ontario
For 17-year-old Ruqaiyah Noor-e-Zahra Naqvi, living in the small N.W.T. hamlet of Ulukhaktok means muskox hunts, snowfalls like she's never seen before, drum dances and ravens.
Naqvi, a Muslim student at Helen Kalvak School who recently moved to the community of about 400 people, brought all those concepts together with the help of fellow student Alison Klengenberg-Kuneluk for a mural that now hangs on a wall at the school.
"It's definitely [an] interesting thing for me to try, because I never worked on a project that big," said Naqvi, who is in Grade 12.
"I think definitely because of the friends I've met here, I was able to try new things and kind of open myself up a bit."
Naqvi and her family moved to Ulukhaktok in 2020 when her mother took a job as a junior high teacher at the school. It was an unplanned move for the family, who had been living in Burlington, Ont.
"When we were going to move to Ulukhaktok ⌠I almost felt like I get to see another view, another side of my brothers or sisters in humanity," said Ambreen Zahra Bokhari, Naqvi's mother. "We are all part of the same light."
Though out of her comfort zone at first, Naqvi soon settled in. She began to meet people, make friends, and started her own creative arts club. She joined a muskox hunt with other students, took part in a drum dance and learned from elders about what they experienced at residential schools.
"It broke my heart," she said of hearing those residential school experiences. "But I think the point of them sharing it was to remind people of how far they've come in what has happened in the past, so you don't forget."
She wove those emotional and special experiences all together with paint. She's thankful, she said, for the history, culture and knowledge people have shared with her.
"If you told me two or three years ago that I would go hunting for muskox for nine hours in deep snow ⌠I would be like, 'Are you crazy? I would never do something like that!'" she said.
"That's an experience you don't forget."
The mural is one of 33 funded by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and commissioned by the Inuvialuit Community Economic Development Organization back in March as part of the Inuvialuit Mural Project. The project aimed to support artists across the Inuvialuit Settlement Region with a stipend for their work.
Though most of the artists for the other murals are Inuvialuit, school principal Nicholas Kopot recommended Naqvi and Klengenberg-Kuneluk for this one â an unusual opportunity for the new student.
Alexandrea Gordon, communications manager for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said in an email that individual community corporations selected the various artists.
She wrote that the decision to allow a non-Indigenous student to be one of the painters "demonstrates how inclusive our people are."
Gordon said the idea was to give artists freedom to express empowerment, culture and self-pride.
"This allowed the artists to create art without boundaries," she wrote.
Naqvi's finished product features a pink-cheeked girl with an ulu-shaped earring, breathing on her mitts to warm her hands. Three hills rise amidst clouds, and a baby raven takes flight over the silhouettes of a woman and a child holding hands. The silhouettes represent the important message of Orange Shirt Day.
"I thought, there's a lot of great things, but you shouldn't forget about the sad things that happened as well," she explained.
Copies of all the murals will be displayed down the streets of Inuvik early this winter.
With files from Karli Zschogner
The latest GNWT satisfaction survey suggests life at the territorial government is, for an increasing number of staff, as appetizing as a gentle slap in the face with a wet fish.
While a majority of employees are broadly happy, results published on Tuesday show morale has dipped since a 2016 survey and pride in the NWT government is slipping.
Sixty-five percent of people said they are proud to work at the GNWT, a drop of six percent since 2016. Sixty-six percent of people said theyâd recommend the GNWT as a great place to work, also a six-percent decline.
Seventy-four percent of staff responding to the survey said they agreed with the phrase: âOverall, I am satisfied in my work as a GNWT employee.â That figure had dropped just under one percent since the last survey and has essentially remained unchanged for a decade or more.
Overall, the survey reported a 3.4-percent drop in GNWT morale since 2016. High turnover rates and an inability (or disinclination) to take annual leave were highlighted issues. The report containing the results stated that the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated travel rules were probably factors.
A GNWT press release about the results on Tuesday avoided mentioning any of them, though there were some bright spots among a general sense of mild decay.
âThese results provide the GNWT with the information needed to improve employee engagement and satisfaction across the public service,â said finance minister Caroline Wawzonek, whose department oversees human resources.
The good news? NWT government staff think some aspects of diversity at work are going well.
Seventy-five percent of respondents agreed that âthe GNWT promotes cross-cultural awareness opportunities for employees,â a whopping nine-percent increase on 2016âs figure and the largest improvement across any aspect of the survey. The reportâs authors concluded GNWT initiatives in this area are having âtangible impacts.â
On top of that, 90 percent of respondents said they have good relations with their coworkers. More than 80 percent find at least some of their work âchallenging and interesting.â
Yet despite this, only 52 percent of people responding agreed with the statement: âI would describe our workplace as being psychologically healthy.â (This was a new question for 2021 and doesnât have a previous result for the purposes of comparison.)
Only 57 percent said they felt valued as a GNWT employee.
If you work at the GNWT, you may find some of the lowest scores telling.
Just 37 percent of respondents, the surveyâs lowest score, agreed that âthe GNWT has adequate reward programs in place to help celebrate and acknowledge individual and team efforts.â (The report recommends, as one solution, that âemployees may be given pay-for-performance as a reward for work well done.â
Forty-nine percent agreed that âessential information flows effectively from senior leadership to staff.â Those were the only two scores below 50 percent.
You can find report cards by department and agency on the GNWTâs website.
Students' caribou hunt in Aklavik provides meat for entire school
Social Sharing
6 students teamed up with 6 skilled hunters for an on-the-land experience
It was an all-new experience for Jordan Archie.
"My brothers and them would go, but for me, this was my first time ever going caribou hunting," said Archie, a student at Moose Kerr School in Aklavik, N.W.T.
Archie was part of a group of students from the school that teamed up with some local hunters this month to harvest some caribou. It was organized as a one-on-one learning experience on the land, with six students and six experienced hunters.
"I think of it as a great opportunity and I was thankful of going," Archie said.
Megan Lennie, a regional youth coordinator with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC), helped organize the event along with another teacher at the school. It was organized through Project Jewel, an on-the-land wellness initiative run by the IRC.
Lennie said the original idea for the hunt came from a student.
"They wanted a community harvest but they had no knowledge on how to get up there, and what the terrain was going to be like," Lennie said.
"So it was a perfect way to encourage knowledge sharing, and to provide meat to the entire school."
She said it all came together quickly.
"The idea came on Wednesday and we ran it ⌠we decided to run it the next Monday. So then the boys went out on Monday to harvest," she said.
It was a cold day â around â27 C with the wind chill, Lennie said. They packed up some sandwiches and snacks for the six students and off they went.
The Porcupine caribou herd was not far from the community, so it was possible to do the excursion as a day-trip.
Some of the students had been hunting before, but Lennie said it was still a good learning experience for them.
"We were explaining to them, you know, it's important to learn from different people so you could get a couple different tricks up your sleeve, and share that to your own family."
The group returned to town just as it was getting dark, Lennie recalled. She was waiting for them at her in-laws' house.
"It was kind of beautiful ⌠we saw the lights of 10 skidoos coming down off the hill."
The next day, the harvested animals â six of them â were taken to the school to be skinned and butchered. Lots of people from the community, including parents and elders, came to watch and participate. Everyone went home with some meat.
Archie missed that part, though â he was still worn out from the hunt. There wasn't a lot of snow yet on the land so the travel had been rough and exhausting.
"I was still at home sleeping, stiff and sore. That's why I didn't have a chance to get any skinning or butchering of the caribou," he said.
With files from Wanda McLeod
POSTED BY: IAN DOWNÂ NOVEMBER 24, 2022
Inuvik singer-songwriter Abe Drennan remembers the fear that gripped him in the first weeks of the pandemic.
âI went out to buy groceries at Stanton for the first time since we shut down,â he remembers. âAnd I remember feeling a real fear that I have never felt before â Iâve felt fear before, but not like this. And it was going to the grocery store.â
âWhenever I feel something like that, something that powerful, I have to work it through it, through song and through writing.â
Almost two-and-a-half years later, that writing process turned out âUnknown Road,â a modern folk tune that reflects on the resilience of the Inuvik community in the face of pandemic adversity.
Gradually, the community was able to come back together as restrictions were lifted and life returned to normal. âTrying to see the light at the end of the tunnel was really hard sometimes, right?â says Drennan. âBut when the mask mandates were lifted, and we could actually gather, I was like, âNo, we need to do this as a community, we need to come together.'â
The accompanying video is also a tribute to Drennanâs home community: It opens with a shot of him walking across the ice road that connects Inuvik and Aklavik, and features shots of the inside of East Three Secondary School and a crowd of local students.
At the climax of the video, âWhen the community joined me on the walk down the road, it was the opportunity to symbolize that, here we are, having come out of this horrific experience,â says Drennan. âAnd here we are back together again. And it was a reason to celebrate.â
Drennan, who is also a teacher, won this yearâs Fanâs Choice award at the NWT Music Awards. âUnknown Roadâ is part of a planned new EP that should be released sometime next spring. A new Christmas song, âLight of the Season,â will also be released on Dec. 17.
âUnknown Roadâ and its accompanying music video are now available to stream on YouTube. The single is also available to stream on Apple and Spotify.
Grade 9 teacher in Inuvik is Sport North's Coach of the Year
'When you hear from teenagers that they appreciate you ... it kind of makes it all worth it'
Stephanie Parkes didn't previously play basketball.
But recently, she was named coach of the year by Sport North, in honour of her efforts coaching the boys' basketball team at a school in Inuvik, N.W.T.
"I was shocked," she said. "Honoured. It's nice to have the recognition."
Sport North aims to develop and promote amateur sport in the Northwest Territories. It's responsible for providing programs and services for organized sport throughout the territory.
Parkes teaches Grade 9 math and is the boys' basketball coach at East Three Secondary School.
She said her journey into coaching began around 2008 when a friend needed her help chaperoning. It was a chance for her to hang out with the kids outside of the classroom setting â and she loved the experience..
"I see the kids a lot in the building. But it was really nice to get out of the school, make connections with the kids. Some of the students that maybe struggle academically â you really get to see a different side of them," Parkes said.
"You get to see them shine. I just fell in love with it."
For the last six or seven years, she's stuck with the same group of kids, who are now in Grade 12.
"It's been a journey for sure," she said. "A lot goes into coaching."
That includes five days a week in the gym, a lot of effort fundraising and travelling with the kids to Yellowknife.
"There's a lot to juggle," Parkes said. "It's time away from your own family. And my family has always been super supportive of me working outside of the house and chaperoning."
The time commitment, she said, pays off.
"We've had a pretty consistent team through the years. The kids are super dedicated," Parkes said.
"When you hear from teenagers that they appreciate you, and the things that you've done for their life, it kind of makes it all worth it."
'The long game'
The big reason she sticks with it, on top of her passion the kids, is to help promote staying in school.
"For some of our students, it's a reason for them to be in school, it helps to motivate them," she said of sport. "The ultimate goal here is graduation, right? So whatever we can do to help keep kids engaged in school, wanting to be there... we'll do what it takes."
While Parkes said she's seen the kids "through all the ups and the downs," she said she's confident "they're gonna get there."
"It's always been about the long game," Parkes said. "Sport for me has always been about a way to motivate kids, you know, to show up and to do the best that they can do so that they can have these opportunities."
What was perhaps most touching about winning the award, to Parkes, was getting to read the written submissions sent in by the athletes she coaches.
"They were pretty special, pretty emotional," she said. "[I'm] very grateful."
Our Youth of the Week is Noah Cormier, seen here with RKV Bladesmith Rory Voudrach. Noah has been participating in an on-the-land school program with his father, learning traditional survival methods. After watching others working with an ulu, Noah decided he wanted one himself and has been operating a lemonade stand and collecting bottles for the past several months to save up. He finally got his blade at the Christmas Craft Fair Nov. 25 to 27. Photo courtesy of Kimberlly Walters
When it comes to standing up to bullying, Beaufort Delta District Education Council takes an all-hands-on-deck approach.
Superintendent Devin Roberts listed 11 different programs active across the district, both in nurturing safe environments and addressing bullying when it happens. Among the programs he cited were the school districtâs Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) and the âWalk Away, Ignore, Talk it Out and Seek Helpâ (WITS) programs.
âGSAs provide a safe, supportive environment for students of diverse genders and sexualities to meet, discuss sexual orientation and gender identity issues, and form a community. GSAs also welcome straight, cisgender ally youth,â he said. âThe WITS Programs bring together schools, families and communities to create responsive environments that help elementary school children deal with conflict and peer victimization, such as discrimination and bullying.
â(A third program,) LEADS challenges students to become leaders in their community. It encourages understanding of different perspectives by using five problem-solving strategies: Look and Listen, Explore Points of View, Act, Did it Work? and Seek Help.â
Getting feedback from student councils and assemblies, Roberts said all BDDEC schools have a Safe and Caring School Committee, designed to ensure schools have healthy programming and were positive spaces for everyone inside them. BDDEC also commits to safe school plans that report, document and respond to incidents of bullying. Individual schools identify specific issues to target strategies, though Roberts noted preventing bullying is a community-wide effort.
Consequentially, the school district uses its programming to target the entire learning community to promote healthy relationships, as well as teach students proactive incident reporting skills and safe intervention tactics, as well as conflict resolution.
As part of the effort to promote a safe and healthy culture, two schools are going the extra distance in the lead-up to Pink Shirt Day, which is Feb. 22. Moose Kerr School in Aklavik will have an Acts of Kindness and wisdom week staying Feb. 27 to promote kindness among students. Meanwhile, an Random Act of Kindness month is already underway at East Three Secondary school.
Programming is administered with a holistic approach in mind. Roberts noted three healthy relationship programs were directly oriented towards stopping bullying before it starts, including the Fourth R Program, which uses a thematic approach to reduce aggressive behaviours in youth and substance abuse. A second program, the WiseGuyz program, targets teenagers and helps guide them through the chaotic world of dating.
âImportantly, many of these adolescent risk behaviours overlap because they occur in the context of relationships,â said Roberts. âThe Fourth R program addresses these adolescent risk behaviours by focusing on relationship goals and challenges that influence their decision-making.
âWiseGuyz is a healthy relationship, life skills program for male-identified individuals in grade nine. WiseGuyz is an evidence-informed participatory program designed to promote healthy relationships and prevent adolescent dating violence. The program provides a safe space for participants to reflect on the impacts of harmful gender stereotypes and build essential relationship skills.â
A Healthy Relationship Plus program is also in effect, which follows principles of skill building and awareness. It aims to prevent violence by promoting healthy relationships.
Roberts added that, in addition to the school boardâs anti-bullying and healthy lifestyle programming, in the event a situation spiralled out of control there is an Emergency Response Plan as an absolute last resort.