Backstage with dynamic throatsinging duo Tarniriik

By Courtney Edgar Originally published at Nunatsiaq News Cailyn usually wins. When she throat sings, all she’s thinking is, “who’s gonna win, who’s gonna win.” Samantha finds it harder to keep a straight face. The two girls, Cailyn Degrandpré, 11, and Samantha Kigutak-Metcalfe, 12, who now perform as the throat-singing duo Tarniriik, have performed traditional …

Ottawa Inuit share traditional and new art forms at solstice festival

By Courtney Edgar Originally published at Nunatsiaq News Barry Pottle, an Inuk photographer, used two million Zeller’s ClubZed points to purchase his first 35mm Canon film camera. Inspired by Cape Dorset’s Jimmy Manning, Pottle chose photography because he says it remains an art form that few Inuit artists have explored, at least in comparison with …

Building consent culture

By Courtney Edgar Originally published in The Algonquin Times Otters hold hands in rough waters so they don’t drift apart. They are self-care advocates and they are a symbol for what is needed to do the work Farrah Khan does. Khan, who was the keynote speaker at the FREE TO LEARN: Confronting Sexual Violence at …

Inuit 101: Ottawamiut school southerners in Inuit history, culture

By Courtney Edgar Originally published at Nunatsiaq News It was almost 53 years ago that Sytukie Joamie, now an Inuit traditional knowledge researcher, sat in his first kindergarten classroom in Niaqunnguu and was told by his teachers not to speak his language. He’s been living in Ottawa almost two years now and he says that …

Ottawa feast draws Inuit, presentation on bullying, child rights

By Courtney Edgar Originally published at Nunatsiaq News The basement of Ottawa’s Knox Presbyterian Church drew crowds May 19 for the sweet comforts of country food and the even sweeter lure of community. Once a month, Tungasuvvingat Inuit holds a community feast where friends and family can gather to stay in touch, enjoy a hearty …