Canada's Northwest Passage
An exclusive charter expedition for the Canadian university alumni community
NWP Trip Blog – Day 11: Cape Dorset
Posted on 21. Sep, 2011 by michelle in Blog
We awoke to much calmer seas with a nice light roll. The movement now feels more comforting that disconcerting. The sky is grey with a light rain. We are determined to get to land today and have quickly put together a visit to Cape Dorset. It certainly gives us the opportunity to see a town that is both famous for its carving and print making traditions and perhaps a better representation of a town that has experienced both boom and bust.
We beelined from the Zodiacs to the art studio and took advantage of the opportunity to buy some wonderful art pieces. Some joked we were like locust buying up the store and leaving its shelves barren. This was in fact true and the source of many jokes about our passenger’s shopping prowess.
For me personally I have had the opportunity to see many pieces of Inuit art over the past twenty years and it was a real pleasure to finally visit Cape Dorset a place where many of the pieces were made.
I think it also brings a bit of reality to our group. The town obviously has its challenges, and yet it is a place where so much beauty and creativity is born and nurtured. Because our visit was organized at the last minute, we did not have time to organize for the town to bring out their guides and cultural leaders. Instead we were simply visitors to their town like any others and in some respects this was a refreshing change and a good opportunity to see first hand what living in Northern communities can be like.
To put some context to this, Elizabeth our intern gave a talk about contemporary culture and arts for the Inuit. She gave a very interesting presentation about the challenges that face the communities but also the resurrection of Inuit culture amongst the youth. As Shelagh commented rather astutely, she is seeing a tsunami of youth who are combining the modernity of southern culture along with a pride and rediscovery of Inuit tradition and new and exciting collaborations are popping up all over. Elizabeth said that she hadn’t heard throat singing until she was 16 years old and didn’t learn to do it herself until her early 20s — today she sees girls as young as 5 years old singing.
On a final note, tonight we celebrated Dorothy Butler’s 86th birthday! Can you imagine spending yours on an expedition cruise in the Arctic? Way to go Dorothy – you are an inspiration to us all!
