Learning from the Elders Enlightened by our experiences at Red Earth, we resolved to learn more about Canadian Indigenous culture. Do you know that there are more than one million First Nations Peoples in Canada who live in 700 unique Indigenous communities, each with its own traditions and history? First Nations Peoples speak more than 50 languages. Our first encounter was with Mary Okatsiak, an Inuk Elder from Arviat, Nunavut. We, and some other visitors, met her inside a tent that Mary had made from more than two dozen caribou skins. “A family-sized tent is almost half the size of this tent,” explained Mary, noting that Inuit don’t live in caribou skin tents anymore. “We stopped living this way in the 1940s and 1950s. I was born in an igloo, but I don’t remember living in one. By the time I was old enough to remember, the Canadian government had built houses for Inuit homes, so we all started living the modern way.” Mary showed us a knife made from caribou antlers. “Men used these knives to cut snow to make igloos.” We admired the fine workmanship, noting that the blade was attached to the handle with sinew (dried caribou tendon), which was threaded through holes and tied. How Inuit lived in the past As she held up a bundle of sealskin strips, Mary explained that men used to make rope for sleds and dog harnesses by braiding dried strips of sealskin. She described her caribou skin clothing and explained that if it were a baby-carrying outfit, the hair would be on the inside. Pockets on each end of the shoulders allowed mothers to feed their babies inside the garment when it was cold in the igloo or tent. “Only a few Elders still wear caribou clothing. Nowadays, Inuit prefer down-filled clothes. For thread, they used to sew with sinew. I use new and improved wax thread,” said Mary, eliciting laughs. Mary circulated some snow goggles, handmade from a caribou antler. Little slits kept the bright light out of the wearer’s eyes. A strap of caribou skin, with the hair removed, wrapped around the head to hold the goggles in place. A teenager in our group tried them on. “Young Inuit today prefer UV-protecting sunglasses,” noted Mary. Someone asked if the snow goggles came in different colours. “No, just basic beige,” she quipped. One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is that caribou is still the mainstay of Inuit diets. Traditionally, families ate the meat, used the antlers for tools and the pelts for clothing, shelter and mats. But what did they do with the teeth? Perhaps they created the same thing that Mary made when, years ago, her grandson gave her some caribou teeth. She fashioned them into a necklace with braided sinew and a grizzly bear claw. Our short time with Mary gave us a much better understanding of Inuit lifestyles, both now and in the past, and motivated us to learn more about Indigenous cultures. 16 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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