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AROUND THE NORTH: South Slave leaders protest narrowing of airport

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1807food#_pix HED: Family business PHOTO: 1807food#.jpg Aaron Hemens/NNSL photo Chelsea Lennie, left, Samantha McDonald and Alison McDonald have been busy all summer serving food at Alestine’s. Both Samantha and Alison are the daughters of Pam and Brian, who own the local restaurant of five years. Alsion left for Calgary on June 30, while Samantha will be heading to the University of Augustana in Alberta on August 24. -30-

South Slave
Community leaders from Fort Smith are speaking out against plans to narrow the runway at the airport. Five representatives, including Salt River First Nation Chief Frieda Mastelos, Metis Nation president Ken Hudson, Smith Landing First Nation Chief Gerry Cheezie and Fort Smith Mayor Lynn Buckley-Napier, sent a letter to Infrastructure Minister Wally Schumann, informing them of their concerns on June 17.
Work on narrowing the runway from 200 to 100 feet began in May of this year. The territorial government initiated the change to reduce operational and maintenance costs related to activities like snow removal and repaving.
In their letter, which was made public to the media on July 10, the five leaders stated they were concerned a narrower runway will make a quick evacuation difficult in the event of a forest fire or other natural disaster.
In the letter they argue that the move could negatively impact local business and create challenges for new pilots at the local flight school. They also raised concerns about plans to change the lights to brighter LED lights, claiming that they might not work as well in winter.

— Cody Punter


Family business

Chelsea Lennie, left, Samantha McDonald and Alison McDonald have been busy all summer serving food at Alestine’s. Both Samantha and Alison are the daughters of Pam and Brian, who own the local restaurant of five years. Alsion left for Calgary on June 30, while Samantha will be heading to the University of Augustana in Alberta on August 24.

Aaron Hemens/NNSL photo

Parks Day
Tuktoyaktuk
Parks Canada was set to celebrate Parks Day in Tuktoyaktuk on July 20.
From 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., a number of events took place at the Pingo Canadian Landmark.
The day was to begin with a Pingo lesson from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., as well as a free barbecue from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Residents were invited to hike to the boardwalk from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., while free airbrush tattoos will be offered from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The day will conclude with a campfire on the beach from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
A shuttle bus will transport community members from Tuk to the landmark every half hour between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. A boat shuttle will also take community members to the boardwalk during that time period.

— Aaron Hemens

Car Seat Clinic inspects installations
Liidlii Kue/Fort Simpson
The Health and Social Services Authority wants to make sure you and your little ones are buckled up properly.
The organization was set up in the Catholic Church parking lot in Fort Simpson for a Car Seat Clinic July 11 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to educate and give safety checks of car seats.
"Did you know that over 90 per cent of child car seats are installed incorrectly? Could yours be one of them? Find out by coming to our FREE child seat safety check!"stated a bulletin on social media advertising the clinic.
The overall purpose of the clinic was to provide education on the proper use and installation of car seats, booster seats and seat belts, stated the bulletin.

— Erin Steele

Summer literacy concludes
Inuvialuit Settlement Region
Summer Literacy Day Camps happening in all six communities within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region wrapped up earlier this week.

From July 2 to 19, youth between the ages of five and 12 in each community engaged in various literacy activities revolving around reading and writing.
"Any games associated with literacy. There are lots of arts and crafts and outdoor sporting activities as well,"said Britney Selina, the youth program organizer with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC).
She added that the goal of the camps were to help bridge the education gap between the end of the school year and the fall season.
Actua, a Canadian charitable organization that delivers science, engineering and technology educational (STEM) programming to youth, also visited each camp during the three weeks.
All camps were free to participants and were hosted in each community's respective schools or community centres.
More than 230 youth in all six communities had registered for their community's day camp, which were held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

— Aaron Hemens

Snap your Liidlii Kue
Liidlii Kue/Fort Simpson
Time is running out to enter a photo in Fort Simpson's July 2019 photo contest.
The contest's theme is Celebrating Liidlii Kue (Fort Simpson).
Community members are asked to submit a digital file by email, or drop it off at the Liidlii Kue First Nation office by July 31.
Up for grabs is a Samsung tablet and cash prizes, according to a bulletin advertising the contest on social media.
There is no limit to entries, so long as they are submitted within the deadline.
The contest is organized by the Liidlii Kue First Nation.

— Erin Steele

From-the-land cooking class
Hay River
The Northern Farm Training Institute is holding from-the-land cooking classes on Wednesday evening throughout the summer.
During the classes, participants will cook bulk meals with food from the farm and the lake, while learning cooking skills.
Each participant will also get to take home a portion of healthy prepared food for their family.
Examples of some of the menu items that will be taught include breakfast muffins, fish recipes, pizza pockets, rhubarb and zucchini cakes, and all kinds of preserves and canned foods.
Anyone interested in joining a class is requested to contact the institute on the Friday ahead of the class. The classes are scheduled to run from 6 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday until the end of October.

— Cody Punter

Rebates now applied to appliances
NWT
Arctic Energy Alliance is reminding community members in the Deh Cho, Sahtu and beyond that when they buy particular energy-efficient appliances at Northern or NorthMart, they'll now get their rebate immediately.
"If you buy an eligible fridge, chest freezer or washer at a Northern or NorthMart store … your rebate will now be applied right at checkout,"states a bulletin on social media.
"No need to send an application to us.”
Deh Cho communities where this applies includes Fort Simpson, Fort Providence and Fort Liard.
Sahtu communities this applies to includes Deline, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Tulita.
"Since launching point-of-sale rebates in April on ENERGY STAR certified appli

ances … we've already given out rebates on 32 appliances,"states the bulletin.
— Erin Steele

Language Revitalization
Somba K'e/Yellowknife
Aurora College will offer the first six courses of the Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalization in Yellowknife starting in the 2019-20 academic year.
The part-time program will be offered in a series of intensive six-day blocks of courses.
The program will be run in conjunction with the University of Victoria. The university's website states the goal of the program is "to support communities in language revitalization initiatives by strengthening understanding of the complex context and characteristics of language loss, maintenance, and recovery, and by developing knowledge of strategies and successes in language revitalization in communities.”
Anyone interested in applying should contact the college. There are limited spaces available. The deadline to apply is July 31.

— Cody Punter

New youth space 
Ulukhaktok/Holman
In partnership with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Ulukhaktok Community Corporation, ACCESS Open Minds is celebrating the opening of its youth space in Ulukhaktok with a community feast at the community hall before moving into the new space on July 25.
ACCESS Open Minds is a Canadian research and evaluation network that is designed to improve mental health care for youth across the nation.
According to its website, its mission in Ulukhaktok is "to provide the community's youth with connections to wellness programming and, if needed, mental health services, in order to improve the wellness of the community as a whole.”
Activities at the new space will be led by two ACCESS youth workers, appointed community members in leadership roles who will support youth and their families.
"Community members of all ages identified that it is important that such activities highlight connections to Inuvialuit culture and traditional skills and incorporate Inuvialuit-specific approaches to wellness," states the website.

— Aaron Hemens

Revitalizing language through mentorship
Dehcho First Nations
Dehcho First Nations is aiming to connect mentors with potential students wanting to increase their use of the Dene Zhatie language. Mentor Apprentice Program 2019-2020 connects those who want to learn to speak the language fluently with those who already speak it.
"Pair up with a mentor in your community, and receive financial support for the time spent learning Dene Zhatie,"states a bulletin on social media.
To participate you must be 18 or older.
The deadline to apply is July 14.
The goal is to help people "speak, converse in, and understand the language," according to the bulletin.
The program includes speaking only Dene Zhatie for a set number of hours each month.

— Erin Steele

 

 

Tourist of the week: Hidekazu Nishiyama

Hidekazu Nishiyama, left, was in town on July 15. Nishiyama is originally from Japan, and arrived in Canada for the first time last month. He touched down in Whitehorse, Yukon on June 21 and is currently completing his cycling trip from there to Tuktoyaktuk. Once he completes that trip, he’ll ride back to Inuvik to catch a flight to Calgary, where he plans to cycle along the Trans-Canada Highway all the way to Argentina. Here he is outside of the local library with Mayor Natasha Kulikowski. Aaron Hemens/NNSL photo

 

Vinyl cutting workshops
Tetlit' Zheh/Fort McPherson
In partnership with the Gwich'in Tribal Council, the Aurora College Learning Centre in Fort McPherson will be hosting a series of four vinyl cutting workshops starting on July 23.
The program will teach participants how to use design software and a vinyl cutter to make art, crafts and other products.
The first workshop will take place on July 23 and 24, where participants will learn how to design their own T-shirts.
The second workshop will run during the evenings of July 23 and 24, which will focus on creating decals and stickers
Workshop number three will run all day on July 25 and participants will be busy working on their own canvas bags.
The final workshop will be hosted on July 26, which will be dedicated to the creation of licence plates.

— Aaron Hemens

The NWT through a climate-change lens
NWT
Young people ages 18 to 30 have until July 25 to apply to join a "travelling camping trip conference through the NWT."
The conference, Young Leaders' Summit 2019, is put on by Ecology North and invites those from the Yukon, NWT and Nunavut to apply.
The goal, according to a bulletin on social media, is to "experience on-the-land learning about climate change.”
"We will be learning from scientists, elders and other community members,"it states.
For successful applicants, the cost of food and travel will be covered. Those interested are asked to send Ecology North a one-page essay on why you want to attend, as well as a letter of reference "from a respected member of your community.”

– Erin Steele

Rock Art workshop popular
Lli Goline/Norman Wells
A workshop where participants learned to create a unique kind of art filled up fast in Norman Wells.
Mackenzie River Rock Art took place July 13 at MacKinnon Territorial Park.
Participants learned from workshop host Loretta how to create art out of rocks.
The workshop, put on by the Norman Wells Historical Society, was free and open to the public, according to a bulletin on social media.
"All materials will be provided," stated the bulletin.
Due to interest from more community members than there was room for in the workshop, it's likely a second one will be provided.

– Erin Steele