National Geographic

-12 with a few clouds in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 11:14 and Sunset at 17:01.
19 more minutes than my last blog.  My winter coat is too hot for this weather!

I have been up at 9:00 am and back to the hotel at 9:00 pm.
Too exhausted to make an intelligent blog!

See some of the sights.  The town, greenhouse, hospital and above ground pipes that run to and from the houses.
 
This week is orientation.  Some boring administrative stuff and other fantastic information on the northern culture.

Eskimo is the Chippewayan word for, "eaters of raw meat."
Inuit means, "all of the Eskimo people."
In the Inuvik area there are two main cultural groups.
Inuvialuit and Gwich'in.  I am learning to read and spell some difficult words!

Other Inivaluit regions include Nunatsiavut in Labrador, Nunavik in northern Quebec, and the territory of Nunavut.  The Inuvialuit live on the coastlines of the North and the Gwich'in live on the mainland.

The groups in the NWT have both made land claim settlements of their traditional hunting/fishing grounds.
It is an amazing story we heard yesterday form one of the leaders who assisted in the process.

Inuvik is a thriving town and there are opportunities for all sorts of recreational activities.  The high food prices and minimized selection are facts but they are not as bad as the reputation they earned preceding my visit.

Here is some amazing crafts that are sold at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.  The centre overseas the management of the Land Claims Settlement through the preservation of natural resources and providing educational opportunites for people interested in pursuing those goals for themselves.  The craft store does not take any money from the artisans who make the items they sell.

I will be working with the Gwich'in people in Tsiigehtchic.  The Gwich'in Tribal Council is committed to the preservation of cuture and the management of their natural resources.

Drin Gwiinzii