Christmas Preparations In Ikaluktutiak ( Cambridge Bay )

The high Arctic has a geographic characteristic which makes it unique in Canada. The land is baron and free from ant trees. The Inuit were sheltered from any thought of Christmas until a short time ago when Christian Missionaries swept through the land and shared their propaganda with the naive Inuit. Churches were developed and some even flourished but the problem that came with the conversion proved to be costly. The white man brought disease and a way of life that changed the face of the aboriginal people.

Christian rules and cultural differences caused many to become confused and the warm glow of the missionaries turned into something else when the government placed the responsibility for education in the hands of the churches. Residential schools were designed to take the Inuit culture out of the children and a whole generation of Inuit were left with few of their cultural and linguistic abilities. This is a shameful legacy from the people and institutions who fostered such a damnable system.

The idea of Christmas was one of the features that caught on with the Inuit and from early days celebrations were common in the Inuit families. Hamlets celebrated and Christmas trees were flown in and usually a large tree was decorated in the Hamlet community center. In our hamlet we had a local airline that used to take a plane load of tree in to the hamlet and many families decorated them in their homes. Schools and public buildings also became involved so the tradition was established.

The decorations were mostly hand made and in the old days but now everyone has access to commercial decorations. Christmas is a happy time with special events and in the darkest month of the Arctic winter Christmas is a bright time. I saw children with smiling faces singing Christmas carols and the spirit of sharing was strong among the Inuit. I loved the atmosphere of Christmas in the Arctic and it had a distinct Inuit flavor which carried over to the New Year.