WATCH — Here's how some Inuit teens are keeping their cultural traditions alive
Students in Northwest Territories explain how to use these traditional tools
Have you ever been to Canada's North? Like North of North?
CBC Kids News visited Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, at the beginning of April to learn more about how the youth there are keeping their traditions alive.
Ulukhaktok is an Inuvialuit settlement on Victoria Island. It has a population of around 400 people, according to the 2021 Canadian census.
A group from CBC Kids News partnered with the students and staff at Helen Kalvak School to help document a journey they took across Canada to Ottawa, Ontario.
Our team met up with them in Ottawa, and followed them back to their community north of the Arctic Circle.
What is an ulu?
They showed us how to use an ulu, which is a tool used by Inuit across the northern hemisphere.
It is a sharp tool that comes in a variety of sizes and is used for everything from cutting meat to snipping sewing threads.
One of the community elders, Adam Kudlak, said that the tool was traditionally made by Inuit men and used by Inuit women.
He also told us that the name of the community — Ulukhaktok — loosely translates to the 'place where one finds material to make ulus.'
Click play to watch 17-year-olds Alyssia Irish-Memogana and Krissy Kitekudlak explain how this traditional Inuit tool is still used today.⬇️⬇️⬇️
Ice fishing, the traditional way
The staff and students from Helen Kalvak School also invited us to join them for an ice-fishing field trip.
Everyone on the trip travelled on snowmobiles, with some people packed into the back of wooden sleds.
Teachers and students stand on a frozen lake during an ice-fishing field trip. The ice that day was between 1.5 and 1.8 metres thick, so there were no worries about falling through, even with heavy snowmobiles. (Image credit: Lisa Fender/CBC)
The temperature that day, April 2, was around -25 C.
The holes that were drilled in the ice were around 1.5 to 1.8 metres deep.
Everyone used what the locals call an aulatit, which is a short stick connected to a line and hook.
The field trip lasted a few hours and we only caught one fish: a lake trout!
Click play to watch 17-year-old Keir-Anne Joss demonstrate how to jig to attract fish. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
How to make a fire starter
We also learned how a traditional Inuit fire starter works.
Earlier this year, Grade 7 students Bella Irish and Jimmy Memogana took home a prize for a fire starter they made. They won first place for the Passion Award at the Beaufort Delta Divisional Education Council's Wisdom Fest.
Wisdom Fest brings together eight schools in the Beaufort Delta region to honour science, trapping and other traditional and modern-day skills.
This fire starter was made out of a softwood block with four holes in it and a bow-like tool that comes from a muskox rib bone.
Click play to watch Bella demonstrate how to use a fire starter. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Have more questions? Want to tell us how we're doing? Use the 'send us feedback' link below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
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