Happy Nunavut Day!

Nunavut Day commemorates the passing of two Nunavut Acts, though Nunavut officially became a Canadian Territory on April 1, 1999.

We started off the day with a trip up the hill to Eva's house (my soon to be residence) for breakfast, delicious pancakes and bacon with maple syrup, yum! Then Becky and I went for a hike around town. When I was here in May for my interview I could see snow fences surrounding the town in some places. There was still a few feet of snow at the time, but they didn't look that big. Well, we got a closer look today and this is how you build a snow fence in Iqaluit...

They're huge!

Then we went down to the Legistlature Building to part-take in the Nunavut Day festivities. The celebration started with a bunch of speeches... kind of boring, but followed up with a free muskox burger! It was delicious.

Then... and this is not for the faint of heart... there was a country feast. Now what is a country feast, you ask? Well, I didn't know either until they brought out a selection of frshly killed seals and eider ducks. There was a skinning competition and the following pictures chronicle the event, so please don't scroll down if you don't think you want to see pictures of this facinating, cultural event.

The contestants for the seal skinning...

These were skilled hunters and skinners, and it was fast!

There was a real friendly competitive edge amongst the contestants and the crowd watching enthusiastic.

I love this pictures of the little guy eating his muskox burger right in front of one of the seals.

Then the women came out and skinned the ducks. As much as it was a fun competition, there was also an aire of seriousness about the whole event.

And they were really fast!

Now here's the part I wasn't expecting... Once the competition was finished, the crowd moved in to cut up and distribute the meat, but in the process everyone started to eat the raw meat. That's how they eat it when it's fresh. People were coming up and asking for a piece, and someone would cut off a rib for them and they would wander off with their uncooked rib meat. Others would take a big piece of meat, put it in their mouth and take their knife and cut a piece off. The only part I struggled with was watching people cut open and eat the eyes. Apparently the eyes are a delicacy.

It was a really. facinating cultural experience. I felt so inspired that I decided to be a part of it. Check it out!

I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't enjoy it very much. Seal is very fishy, especially raw, but I was proud of myself for taking part!

Following the "Country Feast" there were games and other events, and now I am back in my room taking it easy. I'm tired! This weekend I will be busy moving all of my boxes to my new place, and then next week I get to do some travelling, so it should be a busy week!