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In this activity students will study the fur trade in one of three main eras to begin to understand what life was and is like for Inuit. The three main eras are;
· Traditional (prior to European contact)
· Transitional (during the time period of Stephen Angulalik’s life)
· Modern
Traditional Era
The Inuit of the Kitikmeot participated in Inuit networks of contact and trade for centuries before the arrival of European fur traders. News, ideas, raw materials, items of Inuit manufacture, and later, European goods spread through these networks. Adjacent regional groups traded raw materials such as animal skins, driftwood, flint, soapstone and copper that were available in their home territory. These materials would be traded unaltered, or sometimes as completed items such as clothing, bows, pots or snow knives.
Information on traditional trade networks prior to European arrival can be found on the site by going to Angulalik’s home page at http://www.kitikmeotheritage.ca/Angulalk/angulik.htm.
Also visit http://www.gov.nu.ca/cley/english/vmuseum/textiles/T1.html
for wonderful photos of art, textiles, tools and other traditional items found in Nunavut.
Transitional Era
During Stephen Angulalik’s life many things changed for Inuit. As more European goods and people came to the north Inuit adapted. Using the stories of Angulalik’s life students will be able to depict was resources he had available to him.
Modern
Today Inuit still trap, hunt, and fish and spend time on the land. Most Inuit eat country food (food hunted or gathered by themselves or by other community members) as the major part of their diet. However, Inuit also live in the modern world, enjoy the Internet, play sports, watch TV, enjoy pop music and have a lot in common with others around Canada. Viewing the photos of Cambridge Bay in 2005 and clicking on some of the websites listed students will gain an appreciation of what life is like today for people in the Kitikmeot. To find out more about life in the Kitikmeot today simply do a search for any of the community names and sites of the schools, sports groups and much more to help you.
1. Each student should pick one of the eras mentioned above. Using information and images from the KHS website and other sites the goal of this activity is to have students make a scrapbook of what a day in the life of an Inuk would be in each of those eras.
2. In the scrapbook students should show what people are wearing, how they are traveling on the land, what they are cooking with and eating and what they are doing for fun. Students should use their imagination to think about what they are talking about and what language they are likely speaking.
3. In the Opener and Connector students learned that life changed with the seasons. Encourage the students to capture what was happening in each season for their chosen era.
4. For those that may not be interested in the scrap-book have them research the drum dance, or arctic sports or songs that interests them and present the material in a different format.
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