Inuvik, NWT, Canada

I've spent the past few days here in Inuvik. I appreciate being able to take the time to get to know this little town and some of the people.

For an introvert, I've met a lot of people, and, as with any small town, I keep running into some of the same faces.

So...

Watching the dancers (I think this was the white people's bleachers, most were native)

Aboriginal People's Day

Jigging Contest
I did manage to get to see the last of the organized festivities: the jigging contest. As I mentioned before, people of all ages participated. The kids were adorable and obviously model their behavior on families and friends. Everybody's jiggy with it!

As the age groups got older, one could see that individuals found their own styles. Some had very still bodies and active feet in the manner of Irish dancing; some kicked up their heels; some covered lots of ground, sliding smoothly around the floor; some had a shuffle, shuffle, hop; others skipped. I think anything goes, but what counts is enthusiasm.

A couple jigging. Note her beautiful beaded boots, and his decorated leather jacket.
The MC is in the blue denim jacket; a couple of the band players can be seen in the rear.

Virtually all of the dancers wore special dancing shoes. Most were fur or sealskin, and many were trimmed with fur. Some were beaded. Some had fur cuffs, and one boy's cuffs fell off his feet, he was dancing with such vigor!

Dancers danced for increasing amounts of time: the youngsters for 20 seconds (which must seem like an eternity), up to 45 seconds for the elders. There were some jokes by the MC that the elders were going to jig for 90 seconds, but that got a good laugh. Some age groups had 10 couples, so the jigging took a while.

In between age groups, the band — made up of a fiddle and two electric guitars — played, and the public was invited up to dance.

Seeing the public dance was wonderful. Couples got up and danced, one grandfather or uncle danced a baby (presumably his granddaughter) in a pink crochet bonnet. Teens danced. While most were male/female couples, same-sex friends danced together, too. Jigging is very much a part of the community.

The stage — I think there might be tiny dancers on it, but can't see in the sun!

All that jigging was worth it: there were cash prizes for the older (teens, adults and elders) of $50 for third place, $100 for second place, and $150 for first place, in addition to the merchandize prizes. Pretty good earnings for 45 seconds of "work!" Prizes were donated by a local oil and gas company, and the Gw'chin Tribal Council and some other local merchants.

I saw Jaime and Quino, they were glad I'd made it. They were staying at the "Happy Valley Park" campground in town. 

There was food for sale: hamburgers with all the trimmings, Eskimo "doughnuts" ($7), cupcakes, and various drinks. They seemed to be doing well.

By 8pm, the wind had picked up, and the sky was overcast and drizzling a bit, so there was less and less enthusiasm for staying. Even the people who were in tank tops and t-shirts were putting on sweatshirts or wrapping themselves in blankets. I think after the distribution of prizes, much of the audience went home. They had probably been celebrating most of the day, and the kids — who had been having a fine holiday running and biking all over the place — probably needed to be put to bed, and their parents needed a rest.

I stayed in the car a bit and made some phone calls. I am SO PLEASED with Verizon. Calls are clear and FREE (with my unlimited plan). I'm taking full advantage of it, and it feels great to be in touch with people, even though I'm at the end of the road in the Far North.

I debated sleeping in town, but decided to go ahead and head to the campground. The proprietor put me right next to Jaime and Quino, so we was each other one last time the next morning. 

Since the sun was not out, and because it was a cool 50°F, it was comfortable to sleep in the car. I slept well.

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When I get to a place where I can use wifi, I will post some movies of the jigging. I'm using my phone as a hotspot to write these posts, and while it has worked well, I did overuse it one day, so that all subsequent data on that day slowed down from 4G. I have gotten so spoiled! 

But you will be able to look forward to seeing -- and hearing -- some of the jigging contests!