Day 7: Blizzards and a walkabout

Tuni the mighty sled dog

We woke this morning in the home of Melanie and Andy our host family, who both teach at the local schools. We spent the morning talking to Andy and playing with Tuni, who is their immature sled dog (very cute). Tuni is short for “Tunirrusiaq” which means a “gift given” in Inuktitut. (Pronounced as Toon-E-ge-sa)

After breakfast at the school with the rest of the bunch we were able to talk Andy into leading us on the land. Unfortunately, a small blizzard arose and we were unable to build an Igloo or ski, so instead we went on a quick walkabout the land with Tuni. After visiting the dog kennels and looking at a few seal, I was able to ask Andy a few questions about the dog society.

The dog kennels kept by the Inuit typically are small and pretty rough, they allow them to run free in the summer/spring and chain them to the ice in the winter. Inuit peoples typically view their dogs as more of tools and equipment then “man’s best friend”. The dogs are allowed a certain amount of freedom but the dogs overall are used to transport and move food, community members, even whole families. Therefore the views of dogs are quite different from the western societies.




Pups in the dog yard.

The dog kennels were very rowdy and loud but were very fun to experience. Joe and I were able to look at and pet a few of the new puppies who had arrived earlier that year. Typically, the mothers and pups are allowed to be off the chains for the first few months then the pups are integrated into the team at about six months old. At an early age the dogs must learn to pull and pull hard! Besides learning to pull the pups must also learn the ins and outs of sled dog society. There is always a few alpha dogs on the team and there always a few omega or submissive dogs that typically are lower on the totem pole of life.

Joe with a narwhal backbone.


After the walkabout, Joe and I returned with Andy to his house and warmed up for awhile, we then went looking for the rest of the youth team. We found them at the Steger expedition’s house and talked to them for awhile before heading back to Melanie and Andy’s home. The rest of the team spent time at the dog yards then were met by Elizabeth and Abby to talk and share stories.


Polar bear skull in town

We (Joe, Mr. Johnson and I) all went to John the principal’s house for dinner, which consisted of chili and homemade bread. It was very delicious and filling and we learned many new things about the school and community. After dinner Joe and I went back to Andy and Melanie’s house and talked to them for a few hours. The possibilities are open for tomorrow though the community has been stricken with a death of an elder so the community events have been cancelled. Hopefully, we will able to go farther out unto the land and experience more things.

So until tomorrow,

Dalen & Jeff out