Re: Tuktu and Nogak Project: A Caribou Chronicle STUDY DIRECTOR RELEASE FORM The above publication is the result of a project conducted under the West Kitikmeot / Slave Study. I have reviewed the report and advise that it has fulfilled the requirements of the approved proposal and can be subjected to independent expert review and be considered for release to the public. Study Director Date INDEPENDENT EXPERT REVIEW FORM I have reviewed this publication for scientific content and scientific practices and find the report is acceptable given the specific purposes of this project and subject to the field conditions encountered. Reviewer Date INDEPENDENT EXPERT REVIEW FORM I have reviewed this publication for scientific content and scientific practices and find the report is acceptable given the specific purposes of this project and subject to the field conditions encountered. Reviewer Date BOARD RELEASE FORM The Study Board is satisfied that this final report has been reviewed for scientific content and approves it for release to the public. Chair West Kitikmeot/Slave Society Date Box 2572, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2P9 Ph (867) 669-6235 Fax (867) 920-4346 e-mail: [email protected] Home Page: http://www.wkss.nt.ca The Tuktu and Nogak Project Final Report: A Caribou Chronicle Copyright for this report is held by the Qitirmiut Elders and the Tuktu and Nogak Project, 2001 All photos are Natasha Thorpe unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of the authors. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is intellectual property. All Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is protected by international intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples. As such, Qitirmiut Elders of the Tuktu and Nogak Project reserve the right to use and make public parts of their Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit as they deem appropriate. Use of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit by any party other than Qitirmiut Elders and Hunters does not infer comprehensive understanding of the knowledge, nor does it infer implicit support for activities or projects in which this knowledge is used in print, visual, electronic, or other media. Credits: Authors: Natasha Thorpe, Naikak Hakongak, Sandra Eyegetok, and Qitirmiut Elders Contributor: Margo Kadlun-Jones Writing Committee: Bobby Algona, Jack Alonak, Mary Kaniak, Jimmy Maniyogina, Paul Omilgoitok Principal Researcher: Natasha Thorpe Senior Researchers: Sandra Eyegetok, Naikak Hakongak and Margo Kadlun-Jones Interviewers: Sandra Eyegetok, Naikak Hakongak, Nancy Haniliak, Eileen Kakolak, Myste Kamingoak, Eva Komak, Meyok Omilgoitok, Karen Ongahak, Natasha Thorpe Principal Translator and Transcriber: Mary Kaosoni Translators and Transcribers: Martha Angulalik, Sandra Eyegetok, Margo Kadlun-Jones, Mary Kaosoni, Eva Komak, John Komak, and James Panioyak Reviewers: Bobby Algona, Gerry Atatahak, Gord Comer, Douglas Fugger, Chris Hanks, Margo Kadlun-Jones, Gary Kofinas, Jimmy Maniyogina, Cristina Soto, and Doug Stern Illustrations: Qitirmiut Elders and Youth Cover: Laurie Campbell taken from The Nature of Caribou, Greystone Books, 1998, and Lynn O’Rourke of Rubber Boots Productions. A version of this chronicle has been separately published with the support of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Please contact [email protected] or the Kitikmeot Heritage Society to purchase a copy of Thunder on the Tundra: Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit of the Bathurst Caribou. Citation or reference to this report: Thorpe, N.L., Eyegetok, S., Hakongak, N., and Qitirmiut Elders. 2001. The Tuktu and Nogak Project: A Caribou Chronicle. Final Report to the West Kitikmeot Slave/Study Society. Ikaluktuuttiak, NT. 2001 i Dedication To Qitirmiut elders and hunters who have shared their valuable insights into Inuit traditions and their intimate relationship with caribou. Through the Tuktu and Nogak Project, they have provided a window into the Inuit ways of yesterday for all peoples today and tomorrow. Special thanks to Akana, Alligoknalok, Alonak, Analok, Angnaoyok, Angnaoyok, Ayalik, Ekvana, Hagialok, Kailik, Kaitak, Kakok, Kamaoyok, Kaniak, Kanuvak, Kaosoni, Keyok, Koihok, Komak, Kudlak, Maniyogina, Ohokmik, Omilgoitok, Pihoak, Tomnigitok, Tunik, Tunokahak, Nahok, Naikak, and Wikiak. We miss you Alligoknalok, Kuptana, Nahok, and Nalvana. Alice Anablak, Kugluktuk, 2000. The Tuktu and Nogak Project Final Report: A Caribou Chronicle Summary The Tuktu and Nogak Project was a community-driven effort to document Inuit knowledge about caribou and calving areas in the Bathurst Inlet region. The idea for the Project originated at the Kugluktuk1 Angoniatit Association (KAA) in 1996. Since this time, the Project evolved into a regional effort led by an advisory committee called the Tuktu and Nogak Board. This Board consists of elders and other community members, mostly from Umingmaktuuk (Bay Chimo) and Kingauk (Bathurst Inlet), although Kugluktuk (Coppermine) and Ikaluktuuttiak (Cambridge Bay) were also included so that people who used to live, travel, hunt and/or trap in the study region were also consulted. The study area is defined as the historical and current hunting grounds of the communities of Umingmaktuuk and Kingauk. Individuals from Kugluktuk and Ikaluktuuttiak are also consulted so as to include former residents of these primary communities and people who have hunted, trapped or traveled in the region. The project officially began in the summer of 1997 and was finished in 2001. The goal of the project, as defined by the Board, was to collect and share Inuit knowledge of caribou and calving grounds to improve caribou management in the Bathurst Inlet region for present and future generations in Nunavut. This knowledge will assist northerners understand Arctic environments, improve wildlife management, and assess possible effects from use of Inuit lands and resources. Results from this regional project could easily be applied to other areas in Nunavut and the Slave Geological Province. Inuit knowledge of caribou and calving grounds was collected through interviews with elders and hunters. Community members suggested that trips on the land would be the best place to record stories because this where people hunt and observe caribou. As a result, an elder-youth camp held on the Hiukkittaak River during the summer of 1998 provided opportunities for researchers to record traditional stories and observations of 1 Other than this official name, please note that within this report Inuinnaqtun place names follow the new language system. Instructors from Nunavut Arctic College provided place names for Kugluktuk (Kugluktuk), Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktuuttiak), Bathurst Inlet (Kingauk) and Bay Chimo (Umingmaktuuk). i The Tuktu and Nogak Project Final Report: A Caribou Chronicle caribou. It also brought together elders and youth from different communities to strengthen Inuit culture. Information collected through interviews with 37 elders and hunters is recorded on over 100 one-hour audiotapes. Words on these tapes were copied (or transcribed) onto paper and translated into English and Inuinnaqtun. Next, those people who were interviewed checked the information on paper to make sure that the words were right. This was to make sure that they were accurate so that they can be used in the final report and a computer database that links words and stories with places on the map. While members of agencies like to have reports, people in communities prefer videos of their work. Accordingly, videos and photographs were taken and returned to communities throughout the project. A collection of slides and photos was burned onto a CD. Videos, audiotapes, transcripts and reports are kept in the communities to be used by elders, youth and other community members. All information from the transcripts has been entered into an interactive textual and spatial computer database system so that regional Inuit and Nunavut agencies can use it to make decisions about lands and resources. People who were interviewed have made all decisions related to how, where and when the information that they shared will be used in the future. ii The Tuktu and Nogak Project Final Report: A Caribou Chronicle Acknowledgements Qitirmiut elders and other community members have taught us a lifetime of stories in our moments sharing muqpauyaq (fry bread) and mipku (dry meat). Quana (thank you), for your laughter, brilliance, patience, forgiveness, graciousness, and compassion. You have shown us a glimpse of the ocean through a crack in the sea ice. On behalf of the Tuktu and Nogak Board, we wish to thank everybody who shared their knowledge and experiences with the Tuktu and Nogak Project. We are grateful to the elders and other community members who gave us the faith, and support we needed to make the Tuktu and Nogak Project a success. We hope that we have made you special people proud. The Tuktu and Nogak Project relied upon a unique collaboration between elders, hunters, youth, researchers, and academics from the initial stages of community consultation to the production of this final report. Such co-operation would not have been possible without the enormous camaraderie, trust, and dedication demonstrated by many people. Interviews with hunters and elders were led by Sandra Eyegetok, Naikak Hakongak, Nancy Haniliak, Eileen Kakolak, Myste Kamingoak, Eva Komak, Meyok Omilgoitok, Karen Ongahak,