The end of Tôdoo Zaà

The Tåîchô (Dogrib) word for May is Tôdoo Zaà, which means “month of melted ice along the shore.” There couldn't be a better name / description for this time of year. I can't believe how the city has transformed over the course of these four weeks: when I first arrived, there was snow on the ground and ice on the lakes; today, people are wearing shorts, there are leaves on the trees and the ice has all but melted from the lakes. And of course, the sun keeps on shining later and later (or earlier and earlier)...

I wear my sunglasses at (mid)night. Seriously, this picture was taken at 12:30 a.m. people!

A shorter (because of the long weekend), and eventful, week at WMS: I continued with the grade 8 SmartFocus group, morning runs with the track and field team and after school track and field practice, and taught grade 7 and grade 8 poetry classes.

I also had the opportunity to spend a day with a couple of the grade 6 classes at Moose Camp. As part of the Dene Kede curriculum, WMS students participate in Learning on the Land district culture camps (through the Aboriginal Culture Experience, or ACE, program). Dene Kede facilitators organize these grade by grade camps, which are related to specific Dene Kede themes, follow the Dene seasonal calendar, and use elders as resource people.

This week, all YK1 grade 6 students participated in Moose Camp to learn about traditional preparation and uses of moose. Located just outside of Dettah (across the bay from Yellowknife), the camp was led by Bobby Drygeese, who is from Yellowknife Dene First Nation, was born and raised in Dettah and lives the traditional way of life.

After a half hour bus ride to the trail head, we were greeted by Sheila, the camp coordinator. After a quick review of what to do in the case of a bear sighting (gather together and make ourselves look as big as possible, no sudden movements) we hiked into camp.

Hiking into Moose Camp

Moose camp. The moose hide we'll help prepare is in the foreground.

Throughout the day, students participated in five activities or stations (making bannock, helping to prepare moose hide, preparation of a muskrat fur, taking a nature walk, and preparation of a beaver hide) led by elders.

I went with the first bannock group, because since coming to YK I have realized that I am in love with bannock and want to try making it myself.

The amazing Adeline makes baking bannock look easy. Her mother's trick: don't measure the ingredients.

Students also tried their hand at preparing a moose hide - and all came away realizing the amount it work that goes into it. 

WMS students work with elders to prepare the moose hide for tanning. It will take two weeks to prepare this hide.

On the nature trail Bobby showed students how to cut down a tree and...

Bobby explains how a tree can indicate which way is north and which way is south.

... gave the students the task of working together to carry the tree back to camp.

WMS students carry a tree back to camp.

Students also had the opportunity to see the first step of hide preparation.

Preparing the beaver hide.

It was great to spend time with the grade 6s outside of the classroom in such a beautiful place.

My hours for this week were:
Tuesday and Wednesday: 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.
Thursday: 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday: 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 a.m.

For my last weekend in YK, Claudine and I went on a tour of Buffalo Airways, which is also the set of Ice Pilots NWT. A friend from my old film and TV days is a writer and director on the show, and helped arrange the visit. For those unfamiliar with Ice Pilots, it's a reality documentary series that follows the happenings at Buffalo Airways, an airline based in YK. Buffalo flies vintage WW II-era propeller planes year round (including extreme conditions) to remote communities in the Canadian North.

In the hangar of Buffalo Airways.

Buffalo Airways was founded in 1970 by northern aviation legend "Buffalo" Joe McBryan, who began his career over 50 years ago as a bush pilot.

In the background: the DC-3 (c. 1930) - also known as the "Gooney Bird" - makes return flights from HayRiver to Yellowknife Monday through Friday.

The cockpit of the DC-4.

Inside the DC-4.

Joe's dog Sophie keeps guard (well... sort of... she may just be suntanning).

(And yes, we did meet Joe, who came up to us and asked, "Who are you?")

Then is was off to a workshop at Old Town Glassworks, a workers run co-op that has been in operation since 1994. Founder Matthew Grogono started Glassworks as a way to remove waste glass from the landfill (in YK 300,000 glass bottles are put into recycling each week -  a lot for a town with a population of 19,000).

Inside Old Town Glassworks.

Old Town Glassworks cuts bottles, grinds rims and each piece (drinking vessels, vases, bowls, jewelry) is individually polished, stencilled and sandblasted by hand. In the workshops, members of the public can stencil and sandblast their own pieces of glass.

It was interesting to see how the vessels are made and that the machines that cut, grind and polish are also made of reused and recycled parts. For example, the machine that grinds the glass rims is constructed from a 1950s clothes washing machine.

Our glasses before...

Pretty, but boring.

... with the northern design stencils...

... being sandblasted....

I don't know why, but this kind of reminds me of the TV series Lost.

... and the finished product!

We made this! The blue one is mine.

Speaking of the finished product - I can't believe my internship at WMS is almost over and this is my last week in Yellowknife. I wish I could spend more time here, but there's more studying to be done... next week I'll be doing my Tribes training and studying and planning for my TA position on the Ancient World Odyssey trip to Turkey, Greece and Italy with MEI Academy, an international school based out of Caledon and part of the Upper Grand District School Board.