The Fan Hitch Volume 13, Number 2, March 2011

Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog
In This Issue....

From the Editor

British Antarctic Survey Monument Trust

Mistaken Identities

Piksuk Media’s Nunavut Quest Website

Product Review: Servus Boots


Tip for the Trail: Ice 'Fishing'


IMHO: Are We There Yet?

Navigating This Site

Index of articles by subject

Index of back issues by volume number

Search The Fan Hitch


Articles to download and print

Ordering Ken MacRury's Thesis

Our comprehensive list of resources

Talk to The Fan Hitch

The Fan Hitch home page

ISDI home page


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Editor: Sue Hamilton
Webmaster: Mark Hamilton
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Pond Inlet's Niko Inuarak is ready to harness his team for the running
 of the Nunavut Quest.                                           Photo: Piksuk Media

Piksuk Media's Nunavut Quest Website
 
The Nunavut Quest website, still under development, will comprise of three parts: about the traditional dog team race itself, the Knowledge Base and an interactive video game.

The Nunavut Quest portion will cover the event's history, past routes and participants and will talk about the Piksuk documentary. The Knowledge Base is being developed in conjunction with Clyde River's Ilisaqsivik Society. It will be a collection of short video interviews with Elders presenting their experiences and advice about living on the land and traveling with Inuit Dogs. Some topics to be covered are: merits of different country foods, how to put together a dog team, the best way to deal with physical and environmental challenges when traveling. Participants in the Nunavut Quest will also provide their insights. This section will be in Inuktitut with English translation. The Knowledge Base will be an open-ended resource, with more material being added in years to come.

The third component of the website will be the video game. It will be downloadable in two editions: a free trial form and an enhanced for-fee version. The intuitive game, in which players participate as mushers in the Pond Inlet to Clyde River Nunavut Quest, will require strategy, skills and decision-making to overcome various challenges during each of the five "days" of the race. Players will have to decide how to build a team based on their dogs' ages and experience levels. They will also have to deal with confrontations with polar bears and choose between crossing a lead (open water) or taking the long way around. Players will have control over their dogs’ direction, speed and behavior using dedicated keyboard keys. The "mushers" will be able to seek help on the fly from Elders by hitting a Knowledge Base keystroke. Scores will be cumulative on a per "day" (shortened to minutes for the game) basis and will also include other factors such as the "musher's" support team and any infractions they might incur for leaving refuse behind at the overnight campsites.

Completion of the website will be incremental, with the Knowledge Base and then the game following the first part about the Nunavut Quest itself. The much anticipated website is currently scheduled to be available in the next few months.
 
A fifty-two-minute French-only documentary entitled La Quête de Philippe will be aired on Radio-Canada Television in Ontario and all four western provinces on March 26. Six 30-minute documentary episodes are scheduled for broadcast by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in the Fall of 2011.
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