Heading to Old Crow again!
SO excited to get to return to Old Crow! We were invited to come back to work with the community to tell more stories - just in time for CARIBOU DAYS. This will be the first time to visit at this time of year….Cheryl, Sebnem and I, Lisa g are the mentors for this trip and we are VERY grateful.
SO, to get to Old Crow we get one night in Whitehorse. On the flight from Vancouver to Whitehorse we met a creator (she does not like the term ‘influencer’) and she gave us some instagram tips! Have fun, don’t take it all too seriously. She is a very hard worker, taking video and working on her laptop the whole time. @danimarielister
The day was clear so we had wonderful views and as usual on Air North food and drinks! Unlike other airlines nowadays ;)
Once in Whitehorse, it was so nice to walk around - still a bit windy but spring has sprung the storefronts are still so charming and the Yukon River was breaking up. We saw an incredible monument for Residential School Survivors with 9 swivel stools making a talking circle. The number nine represents the number of languages that were forbidden to speak in the school - Gwich’in, Han, Upper Tanana, Tahltan, Southern Tutchone, Northern Tutchones, Tagish, Kaska and Tlingit. You can sit there, share stories and move - the Elders remembered having to sit so still in residential school so wanted the chairs to be able to allow your body to move. It was an emotional monument. SO beautiful and so thoughtful.
We saw a beautiful mural of a Spawning Salmon and checked out a youth photography show at the Kwanlin Dunn Cultural Center. The photos were so amazing and the captions were such a wonderful part of this exhibit. The young photographers sharing part of their creative process or thoughts.
In another photo exhibit …upstairs beside a sporting goods store. We found some pictures of Gwich’in dog mushers! Paul Ben Kassi, Wilfred Charlie and John Joseph Kay. We also found a picture of a Gwich’in woman and child with their dogs packing their purchases to go back to where they were living outside of Whitehorse. At the Macleod Museum there was a lot to see, interesting to learn about Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack), a Tagish First Nation woman who was part of the team to discover gold in Rabbit Creek on August 17, 1896 - she maintained 1/2 her earnings (of 1.5 million $) even when she divorced and moved away. Shaaw Tláa seemed like one tough person and ahead of her time.
Also it was so nice to see the crosswalks supporting queer and trans and 2 spirit!!
Then the next day we hop on the milk run flight and stop in Dawson City, then Inuvik and finally OC! Again, more beautiful views on the blue sky day.
When we finally arrived …it is so light out 8pm seems like 12 noon! Megan picks us up on her ATV with her trailer so we filled it up with ALL our luggage.
So exciting to see the new visitor accommodation - The Porcupine, The Darius Elias Community Center and a new Elder residence…so much is happening here!
Also of note - there are massive puddles on the roads….from all the melting snow…I only brought runners…so be careful where you step!
Megan generously offered her family cabin (with a pair of complimentary rubber boots) - THANK YOU- and so we try to get some shut eye even though it is bright as day!
See you at the workshop tomorrow!
