Winter Storm

Today Nahanni Butte was hit by a rare winter storm. Perhaps it's for the best that the school camping trip to Yohin Lake was canceled this weekend. Having the kids out in these conditions would have been...interesting.

Yes We Con

It is encouraging to see how the North is increasingly looking to renewables to meet its energy needs. There is an exciting proposal to convert the defunct Con Mine shaft, just outside Yellowknife, into a geothermal plant. If this were to go ahead, it would provide enough power for all the buildings in the downtown core and the emissions reductions would be the equivalent of taking half the vehicles in the city off the road.

Yellowknife will have to borrow money in order to proceed with this, and in March a referendum will be held on the matter. I have become involved in the "Yes We Con" campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the project's benefits and secure approval on the big day. Wish us luck!

Image © Ryan Silke

World Events

Every school day starts with the news: we spend about 20 mintues watching the CTV morning headlines and catching up on world affairs. It is a bit of a strange feeling, sometimes, to be in a place so far removed from mainstream society yet still have this regular window into the outside world.

Before coming here I was on track for a globalized life; a career in the diplomatic corps, maybe, or a branch of the United Nations. My eyes always looked outwards, and growing up in a city like Vancouver meant I was constantly immersed in a vast array of cultures, peoples, languages and religions. Travel defined me, be it cruising the museums of Paris or finding my way through the jungles of Myanmar. I was set to join the international citizenry, equally comfortable in Dubai or New York or Toronto.

But now I live in the heart of one of the last true frontiers on Earth, a place so different from what I knew before that sometimes the rest of my life feels like it could only have been a dream. Pitted against the immensity of the taiga plains, or the limitless rows of nameless mountains, the glitter and rush of the urban world shrinks into irrelevance. I am often left wondering how I could have ever been at home anywhere else. And I suppose that's the heart of the matter - I never really was. It was a latent dissatisfaction with it all that led me here, and in doing so freed me discover who I really am.

But if it is difficult for me to relate to the morning news, how is it for the kids in my school? What, really, do revolutions or disasters or scientific breakthroughs mean for them? This is not like the rest of Canada, where migration in pursuit of work or school is commonplace. Most of the children I work with will likely live out their days here or in one of the other communities of the Dehcho, and rarely set foot outside the NWT. The rest of the world, and to a large extent the rest of the country, is essentially one big question mark. And yet these same children live and breath for TV shows like "Jersey Shore", dress and act like their Southern peers, and otherwise carry on like regular teenagers. They've built a tenuous bridge between worlds that exist in uneasy parallel, but I can only wonder what the future holds for them.

Wolf

This morning Raymond shot a wolf lurking out on the river ice, and invited the school over to have a look before he skinned it. This one was an adolescent male, weighing in at about 110lbs. Wolves as large as 200lbs have been shot around here. I suspect this one was responsible for the tracks I've seen while out hiking lately.

Up close you can see just how formiddable they are: legs thick with muscle, paws that can spread like snowshoes, fangs the length of finger digits and razor sharp. Being alone in the forest with a pack circling truly is the stuff of nightmares - never mind that actual attacks are rare. Around Nahanni most of the stories are of the 'almost' variety:

"Boy, if I hadn't had my rifle with me I would have been done for!"

"Good thing I had that fire going!"

"Damn thing looked me straight in the eye and figured I didn't look too tasty."

Wolves are a fact of life around here. You'll often find their tracks out at the garbage dump, but occasionally they'll head into town. Last year the local pack effectively solved Nahanni's stray dog problem, eating a dozen or so over the course of the winter. It's unfortunate that this one had to be shot, but wolves that spend a lot of time close to people do become a concern, especially when there are so many small children running around.

Beauty

Last night Nahanni Butte was graced with a lovely display of aurora, thanks to a sizeable solar flare. I headed down to the river and watched the sky for about an hour. It was cold, touching -40, giving the air a razor-sharp clarity. The full moon was beginning to set but its silver light was still enough to ignite the snow.

Solar Power

After more than a year of research, planning, and hair-pulling, my renewable energy project is finally finished. Working with the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Arctic Energy Alliance, and the Naha Dehe Dene Band, I have been able to acquire a 5kW photovoltaic array for Nahanni Butte. We are officially the first community in the Dehcho to incorporate solar power into the community grid - but hopefully not the last.

The array and work crew arrived over the weekend, and they have spent the past 4 days installing it on the roof of our community gym. It is great to finally see the product of my labour, not to mention the satisfaction of being able to make a tangible contribution to a place that has given so much to me. Once the school returns from March Break this array will form the centerpiece of a series of climate change/energy efficiency seminars I have prepared for the students, which will be a lot of fun.

Over the course of this project I have often been asked: why solar? It might seem counter-intuitive, but the North is actually an excellent location for this sort of renewable energy. While it's true that efficiency drops during the winter, this is more than compensated by the 24 hour sunlight of summer. Additionally, the newest generations of photovoltaics are so sensitive that they can generate significant current even from moonlight, as well as ambient light reflected from the snow. With proper energy discipline this particular array should be able to power the entire gym from late May-August, and over its lifespan (~25 years) will save more than $300,000 in electricity costs.

What's next? Now that I have gained some experience in project management it is exciting to think about the possibilities that exist in these small communities. It would require a comparatively small capital investment to make these remote villages effectively self-sufficient in terms of energy.

Lost On The Tundra

Today I came across a remarkable story on CBC North:

A 15-year-old Inuit boy is recovering in a Montreal hospital and risks losing some of his toes from frostbite after he and a friend were lost on the tundra in northern Quebec for four days. Isajah Nastapoka, who goes by the name of Wille, and 17-year-old Kasudluak Kasudluak, who was found in good shape, were separated while hunting for polar bears earlier this month near their village of Inukjuak.

They had few supplies, and it was –35 C.

Nastapoka and Kasudluak left Inukjuak on a snowmobile, but got lost. They travelled 30 kilometres before the snowmobile ran out of gas. They had no food or water, and the temperature plummeted as night fell.

Nastapoka's mother, Martha, said she telephoned for help.

"I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I was worried. Scared … you can freeze easily your hands and feet, and nose and ears in a matter of minutes if you're exposed to the wind," she said.

Dr. François Provost, who works at the Inukjuak dispensary and co-ordinated the search, said he kept in radio contact as local Inuit rangers fanned out on snowmobiles.

"After three days, I have to say my worries for them were very high. I thought maybe the cold had taken them. The chances to survive in those situations are extremely low," said Provost.

But a bush pilot spotted their abandoned snowmobile and searchers followed the tracks. They found the boys had tried to walk to find help and became separated.

Provost soon heard an excited voice on the radio.

"The team was always talking to each other, and then suddenly we hear that voice, saying, 'We found them, we found one!'" said Provost.

When they found Nastapoka four days after he went missing, he had walked 80 kilometres south.

Suffering from hypothermia, he had taken off his jacket and was lying down in a hole he had dug in the snow.

Nastapoka was flown to a hospital, where he saw his mother, who was overcome with emotion.

"I was crying, sobbing and thanking everyone, and thanking God … I couldn't talk. I was too happy, we were all crying and screaming, and thanking every one," she said.

Kasudluak was later found still walking, having faced his own ordeal. He said at one point, he fought off a pack of wolves, shooting one. Nastapoka was airlifted to Montreal, where doctors are trying to save as much as they can of his blackened, frostbitten toes.

The soft-spoken teen had little to say about his ordeal, but remembered how it felt.

"Scared, a little bit," he said.

Traditional Games

Today we had some athletes from the Canada Winter Games team come in to demonstrate some traditional Inuit and Dene games. It was very impressive, especially the Inuit High Kick!

These games are very old, and were originally developed both as a means of entertainment and maintaining physical conditioning during the long winter months. For example: the stick-pull game, where competitors battle to pull a wooden stick slick with moose fat from their opponents hand, develops the tenacity needed to pluck slippery fish from the rivers in the spring. The stick is even tapered on both ends to resemble the tail of a fish.


The kids really enjoyed themselves, and even though for most of them it was their first time trying these games out they did really well!

By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, but eager to continue practicing. We're going to incorporate some of these games into our PE class, so who knows: maybe there's a future high kick champion in our midst!

The Land

Today Sam Gargan, Grand Chief of the Dehcho First Nation, was in town to update the community on the ongoing land claims negotiations, border disputes, and other issues.

During his talk he said something that stuck in my mind. A major part of the land claims centers on traditional useage and 'ownership' of particular regions, but he mentioned that in the time of his grandfather the term used to describe a people of an area - got'ine - was an idea that translated not as "I own this land" but "This land owns me."

I think that is a beautiful concept, even if it does create some legal ambiguities.

Mukluks

A few weeks ago Lena, one of my friends in town, made me a pair of mukluks. Along with my drum they are some of my most prized possessions here in Nahanni - especially given that these were made from the hide of a moose we shot during the fall hunt last year. You can comfortably wear them down to -25, but when it gets colder I have some liners that I can put inside.

Perhaps their nicest quality is how quiet they are when walking in snow. Compared to my big winter boots, which are about as subtle as a snowplow, they are almost silent in fresh powder.

Aurora

One of the joys of living in the North is seeing the aurora most nights. Normally displays occur closer to the horizon beyond the mountains, but last night it drifted directly over town. I was able to grab this shot of my cabin under its glow before it faded.

Isolation

It's not always easy living in these small communties, especially one like Nahanni which is home to less than 100 people. This year my organization has seen a high turnover, with volunteers throwing in the towel and leaving projects in Wrigley, Fort Providence, and Hay River. I am something of an oddity in that I have returned for not just a second year, but a second year in the same community.

I am more comfortable with solitude than most, but every so often the collected little annoyances and hardships associated with living here whirl together and leave me feeling... not upset, exactly, but definetly fatigued. 'Shopping' - be it for new DVDs, clothing, outdoor gear - involves waiting for weeks. Fresh food is expensive and difficult to come by. I obviously miss my friends and family, and contact with them can be sporadic.

And then there is the village itself. Like many Nothern communities, Nahanni Butte struggles with high rates of unemployment, widespread alcohol abuse, and various other social ills. It creates an environment that wears away at you day after day.

There are compensations, of course. The children are a delight, and it is such a privilage to live in the heart of one of the last true frontiers on Earth. Despite the considerable amount of time I've spent on my own, I've never felt bored. There's always something to look forward to, be it an excursion with the school, or something as gradual as the changing of the seasons. I believe in the work that I am doing here, and have never regretted my decision to return. It just might be nice to be able to go out to a pub with my friends for a change!

Survival Shelters

This week the kids have been practicing camping skills and learning how to build survival shelters. Today we took advantage of the warm weather and sunny skies to go out and do a practical exam. The results were impressive!

Chinook

It is remarkable how living in a place like Nahanni makes you adjust to the cold. Walking to work at -40 is simply part of your daily routine, and it becomes bewildering to listen to Southern weather reports advising people to hide inside when an 'extreme windchill' of -25 hits a city.

That said, there is much to appreciate about warmer days. This morning saw a chinook blow through town, bumping temperatures to a blissful -10 and and offering a reminder that winter doesn't last forever. It is amazing to be able to take a deep breath without feeling it burn, and to wander about town without gloves or even a jacket. To top it off, the chinook has conjured some beautiful cloud formations.