I was once again very fortunate to have a great local family to stay with. I think this is the most sense I’ve had of Inuit family ties, impromptu and frequent visits, as well as an ethic of sharing in terms of people coming in and out of the house, joining into dinner, watching a movie, etc. It was quite a dynamic household, and a very neat experience.

This trip was fascinating in that I could watch the rapid changes in ice conditions during the formation stages. I was there during freeze-up, which was very important for me to witness. When we flew in at the beginning of the trip it was open water, except for a bit of ice that had begun to form along the tidal flat areas, between tidal cycles. Over the first few days in town, it was a little cooler, and the ice was slowly beginning to form. I seem to have gotten a reputation around town as being the “ice lady”, so it was kind of ironic that the ice began forming just after I got there! Anyway, with a thin layer of ice formed, and the last of the boats pulled out of the harbour, I figured we might just be able to get out on the ice by the end of the first week. However, after two days of overcast, slightly warmer weather, the ice was once again dark – much thinner – and thus still quite unsafe to attempt any type of travel. It was kind of funny to see people walking on the ice to take their boats out of the water (ice), but that was as much ice travel as I had seen so far.  Taking pictures every second day, showed a rapid transformation towards freezing, and then almost melting again, and then freezing up quite quickly after the clear skies returned – along with the cold. So, after about a week and a half we managed to get out for a brief “ice trip”. I could hardly call it a trip, as a local outfitter just took me by snowmobile out of the harbour area, over the rough ice onto the new smooth ice, and then down the shoreline not far past town. However, even that little jaunt was challenging, since the rough areas along the edge of the tidal zone are continually flooded with each tidal cycle, creating a jumble of rough ice that is as slippery as a newly flooded skating rink!! So as he gunned the snowmobile over it, I tried to walk over the large chunks of rough ice – or rather I should say slide. If I actually tried walking I would have fallen in no time…I just shuffled along, and slid down the steeper parts. However, getting out onto the new, thin ice – which was actually quite a bit thicker than it seemed (6” or so), we were able to drive along it no problem. Joavee pointed out different ice conditions, different thicknesses, and little patches of water kept open by currents. It was very useful for getting pictures, since it’s just not the same as taking them from my usual break-water vantage point.

Working with Andrew on the interviewing side of the research was wonderful. I’ve been working with him the longest out of any of the interpreters – since my very first trip to Pangnirtung, and he also does all the written translation that is required for the project – and it’s always enjoyable working with him in an interviewing context. He helps so much in terms of identifying key people to interview, setting up interviews, and planning future trips. He is excellent in simultaneous translation, and although we don’t do that in the interviews, he interprets so smoothly that it often feels more like a discussion than an interview. In Pangnirtung we managed to interview 12 new people, and we conducted 13 interviews total. It was also very interesting to interview some of the fishermen this time – the commercial turbot fishery is quite important in the local economy, and is very dependent on ice conditions in Cumberland Sound. I look forward to the February trip, in hopes of getting out to see the fishermen in operation.

On my last evening in town, it was a treat to attend a community concert put on by the high school. A lot of classes put together a song or a skit, and the gym was packed with community members. It was also quite neat to see one of the teachers who is renowned for his accordion playing accompanied by a government worker/fiddler. On top of all that, the husband of the family I stayed with was rocking away with a little band of his own, and even allowed his Scottish flare to show through with his bagpipe playing. It was a great concert – even with kids running around everywhere throughout the show!!