In This Issue....
ISDI Launches New Partnership in Nunavik
Qimmiit Utirtut's First Litter
Update: Sledge Dog Memorial Fund
Recollections of the Doggy Man
Sledge Dogs of The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1947-50
Video Reviews:
Secrets of Antarctica
Wolf Dog
Return of the Qimutsiit
Dogs That Changed the World
Product Review: Leather Mittens by Sterling Glove
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Editor-in-Chief: Sue Hamilton
Webmaster: Mark Hamilton
Print Edition: Imaged and distributed by the IPL students of the Ulluriaq School, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik
Print subscriptions: in Canada $20.00, in USA $23.00, elsewhere $32.00 per year, postage included. All prices are in Canadian dollars. Make checks payable in Canadian dollars only to "Mark Brazeau", and send to Mark Brazeau, Box 151 Kangiqsualujjuaq QC J0M 1N0 Canada. (Back issues are also available. Contact Sue Hamilton.)
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The Inuit Sled Dog International
The Inuit Sled Dog International (ISDI) is a consortium of enthusiasts whose goal is the preservation of this ancient arctic breed in its purest form as a working dog. The ISDI's efforts are concentrated on restoring the pure Inuit Dog to its native habitat. The ISDI's coordinators welcome to your comments and questions.
ISDI Coordinator Canada:
Geneviève Montcombroux, Box 206, Inwood, MB R0C 1P0; gmontcombroux@gmail.com
ISDI Coordinator USA:
Sue Hamilton, 55 Town Line Road, Harwinton, CT 06791, mail@thefanhitch.org
"Once again this year Daniel Annanack and the IPL students are running dog team excursions for the classes at the school. The excursions are going great! The teachers and students have provided so much positive feedback--the students just love it. The parents in the community and especially the Elders are really supportive of the outings. Following her excursion by dog team, Eva Obed wrote a poem for her English class. The poem was very touching. Reading Eva's poem made Daniel and me feel that all our hard work is really worth it!"
Mark Brazeau
Eva Obed, age 18, is a secondary 4 student (grade 12/fourth year in high school) at
the Ulluriaq School, Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik. photo: Maïté de Hemptinne
A Real Inuk
by Eva Obed
Travelling over the snow
Pulled by a team of dogs
I felt something strange and new:
I felt like a real Inuk.
The snow smelled fresh-
Just fresh
When we stopped to rest,
The tent smelled like spruce
Sharp and sweet.
I've spent my life in the North
but this was my first dogsled ride
For the first time
I felt something
Incredible
Enter my life
I thought about how hard it must have been
For our ancestors.
Running with the dogs.
Hunting for their food.
Fighting for the cold.
Running with the team
I couldn't go far.
My boots too big and heavy
In the past
It would've been harder
How strong my ancestors were
I felt like a hunter
Running with his team
I felt like a real Inuk.