No one's immune to rugged Arctic beauty

Page 7

FIRST PERSON

Hello everyone and warm greetings from the eastern high Arctic, where only time is spared this northern land's chilling grip!

I'm writing to you from the passenger seat of an RCMP twin otter. Along with me is Winston, my father, my brother Erik, our good-natured host, Dave Grundby, and Annis and Tusia, our band members (musical, that is) from Winnipeg. We've just completed the last show of the RCMP's Let Only Good Spirits Guide You drug and alcohol awareness tour. And let me tell you - it's been one heck of a great time!

The adventure started on Jan. 9, when Erik and I arrived in Yellowknife. After a great night's sleep at the Explorer hotel, we were off again in the otter the next morning, bound for Arviat, Northwest Territories.

What is normally called the land of the midnight sun has now become the domain of the mid-day moon. Daylights lasts roughly six hours in January. Except during the summer months, solar powered instruments wouldn't get much use up here!

As everyone in the far north, friendly people anxious to converse over a hot cup of tea or coffee are everywhere you go. You may even be surprised, as dad was, to find old childhood friends from your own hometown. The rugged beauty of this arctic wonderland has a stronger pull than most people can resist.

On average, we performed twice a day. Schools, arenas and the like were jammed to the rafters. The band entertained with spiritually uplifting songs as well as funny favorites such as Goosed by a Moose in the Spruce. I came in afterwards from a different angle with my insights into pride, teachings from nature intermingled with animal calls, and life philosophies. Our fingers still have cramps from signing so many autographs! The truth is, we loved performing for them as much as they loved our show. Hunger was filled on both sides.

I won't get too much into the drug and alcohol problems. They are universal for indigenous peoples all over the world. As we pass into a new age, the young and old

alike are torn between the new and the old. Written knowledge versus oral tradition. Spirituality connected with nature against materialism in the big cities. It is an issue of identity, understanding of the Creator's plan and many other things.

For this area, simple boredom is a major cause of the young getting into trouble. The healing takes a while. All this will eventually change.

Our furthest stop was Spence Bay, where we played for two hours. Before this was Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake. After Spence, we returned to Yellowknife to stay overnight. The next day found us in Coppermine - our last gig. Cambridge got weathered out by (would you believe it?) freezing rain! Hoo boy!

Flights between stops were pleasant. Our two pilots would occasionally dip down to 500 feet and let us glimpse herds of barren ground caribou and even some musk-ox! What magnificent creatures!

Undoubtedly, the best thing we did in Yellowknife was rushing to catch True North, a celebration of CBCs 35 years in the north. Many A-1 class acts were featured.

Watch the scenes for an up-and-coming star by the name of Susan Aglukark. Her combination of sincerity, stage presence and exquisite singing voice is guaranteed to knock your socks off.

I want to go back. Badly. Only this time, in the snow free period, when leg-length Arctic char will try to rip a fishing rod out of your hands, and migrating caribou are so numerous they appear as a roving land mass.

Three cheers to the Arctic. Ho ho ho!