Camping on the NWP (con't)

The wind howled for 30 hours and we stayed in our tents and ate, drank gallons of tea and then a special thing happened. Word was passed down that a games time would take place in Ikeys tent. We braved the cold and made for his very large tent and settled in. We were like sardines but the closeness made us feel warm and secure. A small open space provided the place for people to perform. First was the shadow pictures. Inuit delight in shadow pictures and several made pictures on the wall of the tent by the light of the gas lamp.

Next came the string activities whereby strings were placed on the fingers in an intricate pattern and then like magic disappeared with a flick of the hand. I never caught on to this even after years when my Inuit kids tried to teach me. The girl who had the baby teamed up with her mother and did throat singing. This is uniquely Inuit and is an art or skill performed at all important social gatherings. The idea is to sing through your throat while looking into the eyes of the partner and continuing until one person is unable to go on because of laughing. Everyone clapped and shouted encouragement to the participants.

Next came the story telling and this lasted for over two hours. The elders are respected as the keepers of the wisdom and all pay close attention to the stories. Since everyone heard these stories before the children would shout out if a word was missed or the story changed. I was asked to tell a story and I did. I told of a Cape Breton Giant who was a distant relative of mine. They were impressed mainly because the interpreter embellished my story to make it better.

The highlight came when an elder took out an old fiddle and played some Scottish jigs. He was on the agenda for entertainment at Coppermine. He was not skilled but appreciated by all.

Ikey ended this fun by telling us we were leaving in five hours and to get some sleep. As predicted Ikey had us mount up in five hours and the storm was over. Our snow machines were clogged with snow and some needed encouragement to start. We warmed them up for 25 minutes. We would be in Coppermine in and hour and it would be at breakfast time so we had something to look foreword to.

As we left our camp I was a little sad as my trip was a real eye opener as to the lifestyle of my Inuit friends. The stars twinkled and the moon shone bright as we crossed the Coppermine River to enter the hamlet of Coppermine on the mainland. We were greeted by half the hamlet population when we arrived at the community hall and had our morning feast to begin our visit with our neighbours and friends, but that is another story.