aboriginals

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The grand dictator

Good morning Brave hearts!

Colour your world to the dictates of fashion. An array of beauty unfolds to greet you. The grand master of influence and adventure. A call to the superior mind, to the inferior will, to the jealous and the courageous, to be spoiled and to secumb, to the master of human destiny, to be fated and ill fated, for necessity, for income, for prosperity and for nation building.
Fashion!
The word echoes in the ears of centuries old man. The fine garments, the decorative interiors, the gilted gold and bejeweled ornaments. The fun of the grandeur, the privilege of the covering, the daring to be individualized and the refreshing outlook of a different approach.
Hail, great human! Come to the wild! Here is where all destiny awaits. In business and trade, in negotiation and marriage, in adventure and lifestyle. Come, live your lives in the great Canadian north, where the dictator surrounds you and compels your compliance. Look to the forest, almighty human, there is the answer to your needs.
The aboriginal peoples of Canada clothed themselves in the finest and most sought after garments in the world at the time. Fur and leather are the trademark of their apparel. Hunting and trapping are the trademarks of their lives.
The bountiful forest and the open tundra yield animal life by the thousands. The daring lives of the bold northern hunter as he skillfully sets his trap line and waits in eager anticipation of the dollars to come. The stealthy hunter who stalks a prey of fleet footed wild for food and for fur. What brings you here, oh brave hearts, to settle in the remote far north? A land of danger and destitution for most. A land of changes and peril.
Cloak yourselves like kings. The seal gives up hides of waterproof warmth, for snugly insulated footwear, warm and impermeable. No dampness there, no winters chill, no ice cube toes or frostbitten feet. A necessity of an age gone by, where warm mukluks, kept us warm and dry. A coat of caribou, deer or bear. For centuries old man clothed himself in the finest cloth that man could find, fur.
Bejeweled in feathers, claws and teeth, bone for knives and ornamentation, the life of the land drew the cunning and daring, the strong and agile, the persistent and healthy. The clever craftsman of ingenuity and necessity, created a culture, a life, a world of their own.
Drawn to the hunt, by need or adventure, the northern man is a rightful settler. The need for the wild, as it gives up it’s treasure, is returned in the dutiful knowledge that waste is intolerable. All parts must be used, in meat, in fur, in bone, in teeth. The wild gives up their lives so sparingly, that precious gift must not be wasted.
Cloak yourselves in fur and feather, leather and hides from hats to boots, to mitts to coats, to pant and shirts.
Oh great dictator, you dress so well, for fashion calls us from our warm abode to venture out into the cold, to the north, to Canada, to settle and trade and to become the nation that we are. The nation of the fur trade.

This clip is about building an igloo, but look at their traditional garments!
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 17, 2014

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The Inuit

Hail, you awesome human

To the great frontier of the far north. A call to the spirit of man, to traverse the land bridge and build a home in a land of diversity. To you the mighty hunter, surrounded by herds of migrating caribou. Their numbers in the hundreds of thousands of animals. Brave the elements, oh fearless fighters, to the call of the wild, to your own destiny, to the land of fur!
The caribou, always plenty, although now in decline, has served you for hundreds of years. Brave hunters, whose passions led you to the remote north, whose eyes spied the massive herds of roaming wildlife. Brave hunters with your sharp skills and agile bodies, keenly aware of the dangers that stalk you. The predators, the remote tundra, the climate, hunger and the deep chill.
So it comes to pass that the lifestyle of the remote and rugged Arctic, appeases the instincts of your fine survival aptitude. Aptitudes of daring, of athletics of hunting of settlement, of navigation, of founding new lands. A will to conquer and to be free.
Here in the remote Arctic, your skills are challenged. The daily bread is the catch of the day. Walrus, whale, seal, caribou, wildlife is plenty.

http://nides.bc.ca/Assignments/Nunavut/Inuit.htm

The far north, in the Northwest territories, where home is, to a growing number of Inuit, has a land of diverse landscape and animal life. The land, the ocean, the ice and snow, make this almighty human a man of his own making.
The Inuit, once known as Eskimo, are the aboriginal inhabitants of the far north. A land of challenge, but also of great beauty. Of hardship, but also of great abundance. A lifestyle wrought from living off the land, from hunting and fishing and having skills to survive. The inventive mind for making harpoons,for whale hunting, kayaks and igloos.
Thousands of years of habitation in the north, across the Arctic of Canada and into Greenland. The story of the Inuit is a story of peoples adapted to life of ocean seafaring and polar conditions. A story of people whose planetary niche is in the remote Arctic, where unique skills are honed to perfection to provide for a life of unusual adventure. Where the sea offers up its bounty of fishes and the land provides for endless hunting.
The sun has set on the land of the Arctic and the dark skies of endless night are upon them. Still, the dauntless human of this territory emerges the victor each spring.
Praises to you, the peoples of the north, for the habitation of the great land. Praises to you for your ingenuity and strength and for claiming your heritage in this nation, in that remote place and for the daily adventure of your skillful lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 14, 2014

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Igloo

Good Morning Brave hearts

Wake up to a day of architectural delights. Fascinating domains from our cold climate. The perfect dome shape of carved snow, of barking dogs and aurora borealis brilliance, to start the morning off right. Add endless darkness, sub zero temperatures, a little wind chill and here’s the start of a great day in the far north.
Brave human, a day of reckoning with severe climate, possibly predators and elusive game makes today a day of challenge for the Arctic champions of survival. During the darkest months of the year, when the cold is the deepest and the snow is the highest, those tiny domes in the snow, protected small villages of independent and high spirited individuals, who saw the great north as a frontier, called home.

Click to access 2_a_history_of_igloos.pdf

Way back in far off history, tells a time of human migration throughout Asia to Canada. People were mobile and robust, following herds of game animals, in search of food. Following the call of the wild, to the daunting task of immigration and settlement, of the new frontier, of the far north.
These ingenious people with inventive minds, created the dwelling of snow for shelter and habitation. The landed migrants of Asia, set up domiciles of snow, igloos, to house themselves, during the long winter’s cold. A snow house of warmth and comfort, easy to build, with readily available building materials.
High up in the Arctic tundra, above the treeline, where wood is sparse or non-existent, remains the ancestors of those ancient pioneers. Settlers to the far north with courage and creativity, the daring human, with perseverance and skills, tackled a task of bold survival in extremely harsh conditions and carved a niche of humanity, in a land of constant challenge.
Out on the barren landscape, stands a village of domes. An Inuit village of igloos, carved from compacted snow and filled with an Inuit family and their precious belongings. Furs to sleep on, whale oil for light and cooking, utensils and tools. The daily awakening to a wind swept view of barren, snow covered land. To temperatures dropping to more than -40 and to the more chilling need for food.
Feed the hungry, great hunters. The caribou roam in herds and the walrus plays in the ocean. Yours is a land of extremes. A call to the will of the indomitable human.
Bravo to you, almighty human and to the will of survival. To your place in our history and to your perfect domes, the igloo, on our list of the seven wonders of Canada.
written by Dr, Louise Hayes
January 10, 2014

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Barren ground Caribou

Hail brilliant mankind

Cast your eyes upon the wilds of the great land. The wilderness stretches out before you and you are saved. The new land, freshly washed of glacier ice and snow reveals the tundra and the life within. Brave hunters, your lives await you there. Up, way up, above the treeline into the Arctic.
Cast your eyes upon the land and view the newness of the Earth. Your lives await you here, almighty human, the brave explorer, the clever hunter. The wild beasts roam and in your view is the vast herd you’ve been searching for.
Caribou!
Here in the far north is a large migrating herd of caribou. The home of the barren ground caribou as they move across the northern plains of the North West Territories. A way of life for nomadic peoples as they follow the herds for food and clothing. A lifeline, a support, a tradition. Beware, almighty human, the world changes.

Click to access 2011-2015_Barren-ground_Caribou_Management_Strategy.pdf

The barren ground caribou is in decline. It’s once magnificent numbers in the hundreds of thousands of animals is now declining and the great herds are vanishing. A way of life vanishes with them. Gone is the migrating hunter, who’s dependency upon the caribou sustained them in food and clothing. Gone is the sport hunter and with the loss of the wild herds eco- tourism vanishes as well.
Hail bravehearts to the call of the wild.
The exploitation of the far north is a blight upon us. Overharvesting of a national treasure affects our cultural identity. As an environmentalist and a conservationist, the predation of the wild is a long standing concern. Hardship for the people, hardship for the wildlife and loss of culture, a food source, a tourist delight and a way of life.
The sustainability of the land appears consistent. The food source for the animals themselves seems stable. Overhunting is identified as a factor in the rapid decline and the dwindling numbers of caribou are a threat to the sustainability of the wild.
Eager hunters, your bellies are full and hunting of the magnificent wild is no more.
The lands set aside for wildlife habitat is immense in Canada, but still, the plunder increases. The far north, the tundra, uncultivated, unproductive land, whose resource value is low, but for the wildlife that resides there, it sustains them. Specially adapted animals, whose lives have supported the indigenous peoples of northern Canada for centuries. To loose the herds of the wild is to loose our national, cultural identity. The migration of the early peoples, the fur trade, the choice to inhabit the north. The integrity of the wild is essential to us.
Hail mankind. The world is yours, to protect or discard, choose wisely.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 20,2013

The Yukon
by

The Yukon

Good day you awesome human

As the glaciers receded and the snow melted, the animal life moved southward into the continent. With the travel of the wildlife, the human followed. A new world was being carved from the snow caps. New life to discover, new trails to follow, a new path to a new world.
Come almighty human, into the heart of the continent.
The dutiful call to adventure thrust early man deep into the heart of the far north.
Those who loved the fabulous north live there still. In the remote Arctic Circle with its earthly gifts and awesome star struck wonder. Those who ventured forward encountered more snowfall in this chilly climate. But the usual scene of forest, lakes, rivers, wildlife and vegetation kept them alive.
An adventure!
An adventure for early man and an adventure still you awesome human. Into the land of the midnight sun, of perpetual darkness, of northern lights. A land of remote distance and close fellowship, of hardship and earthly delights, of sporting enthusiasts and cultural integrity. Of domiciles of snow and the endless land to stretch and play in.
Here in the vast forests, the lakes, rivers and snow, live and play the early settlers of this nation and their welcomed guests.
Bold bravehearts, the world calls to you. Come almighty human to the heart of the country. Come to the beginning!

http://travelyukon.com/

To climb the highest mountains, to view the colourful meadows, the rich blues of lakes and the dazzling 24 hours of sunlight. Here is the home of thousands of years of human history, of the birth of culture that is Canadian. The evolution of man brings with it dance, song, artwork, cuisine and joy. A human of energy and skill. The talents needed for survival.
We assume the climate is harsh, perhaps unjustifiably. Life is as life is made. Joy to you, mighty brave hearts. To push the limits of life worth living to the darkest corner of our nation.
The Yukon territory has set aside a vast amount of land to National and Provincial parkland, wildlife reserve, heritage rivers and First Nations land settlements. It boasts thousands of kilometers of pristine wilderness for the sports and nature enthusiast to enjoy.

http://www.env.gov.yk.ca/camping-parks/federal-protected-areas.php

With such a small population and so much country to enjoy, the remote far north is a breathtaking wilderness of forest and mountain.
As their counterparts travelled the unknown trail to track the wild animals and spread themselves across the continent, the aboriginals of the Yukon stayed.
Stay for the awesome splendor of the great land, the wild life to be viewed, the sports to be enjoyed. Still to be seen from the eyes of the adventurer as mainly untouched, undeveloped and unspoilt. The great land, the far north.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 14,2013

Dog sledding
by

Dog sledding

Good day, you awesome human

Today it has snowed. The chilly wonder of a winter’s delight. Our nations most favourite past times are here.
The dogs whine and climb out of their white, snowy blankets. A new day of mushing and racing is upon them. Friendly, eager playmates in a life of Canadian made fun.
The sun pierces the sky and casts it’s golden warmth upon us. A fabulous, chilly -35C. A perfect day. A day of winter delight, of breakneck speed through the wild land, of wind on your face and warmth in the air. A day of endurance, strength, preparedness, fun! The great planet calls to us from the landscape and we’re off. Off to an adventure, off to another day of grand pursuits.
The eons of time travels quickly with us. Generations of dog sledding flies past our feet. We must. In our minds we know that we must. Carrying on the history of nation building, the travels of voyageurs, the present day sportsman and adventurer, the tourist. In a land of long winters and brilliant dark sky the endless preoccupation with the joys of winter fun is a must.

As Canadians, these traditions fill us with joy and wonder. The long race of dog sledding, a time of daring adventure, a feat of a thrilling pursuit. An age of discovery, when dog sledding helped to open the country and helped to transport goods, food and people across the land. A method of transportation for early explorers. Across the great white, snow covered plains of the Arctic. Dog sledding carrying us, as Canadians, all across the land.
Mile upon mile the dogs will run, day after day. The race. Such a thrilling adventure for dog and man.
The dogs stretch their limbs and howl. Run! they cry and off we go.
The winter!
The transportation corridors change and sometimes are easier with ice and snow. A frozen lake is a short cut, the marshes and bogs are easily crossed. Better to travel in winter with ice and snow and the howl of dogs in your ears. Faster and less dangerous than running rapids with canoes and the winter forest shines with snow.
Culture!
What we do to save ourselves, to explore, to open trade routes, to fulfill our negotiated contracts.
The dog team is an integral part of our culture. It’s a need fulfilled. Across the great land to explore, to reach communities with goods for trade. To fulfill business contracts and to live.
Here, almighty human in the great white north is the destiny of a lifetime of adventure. It called to the early explorer. Come to Canada! Live the adventure! And so they did.
Criss crossing the nation from trading post to trading post with sleighs laden with supplies. A life of business enterprise. Dog and man, racing across the great plains of the provinces, dog and man, racing east to west and back again. Dog and man racing to the north, racing to the south.
Culture and tradition whistling in our ears.
The dogs, our coveted friends.
Praises to you brilliant mankind, for the peace of trade and for the joy adventure. The negotiated peace that saves our lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 12,2013

Old Crow Flats
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Old Crow Flats

Good morning Bravehearts!

A brilliant new day, for brilliant new minds.
Clever bravehearts, the adventure continues, deep into the depths of prehistory man. Deep into the brilliant life of life above the tundra, life in the great Arctic, above the Arctic circle.
A vast and exquisite land of migrating wildlife and of the peoples who have inhabited this place for thousands of years.
The unspoilt far north. A rugged and dangerous land filled with snowcaps and frigid waters, rough tundra and alpine flora. The mighty animal life of the far north, polar bear, caribou, walrus, whale and the people who still live in this remote and harsh part of the world.
Our sense of reality assumes the worst. Freezing cold, barren landscape, months of endless darkness, but thousands of years ago, the earth was a much different place. Here, up above the Arctic Circle was a land of warmer climate. As the rest of Canada lay covered under a sheet of glacial ice and snow, the high Arctic was home to many species of wildlife. Way up in the high Arctic, a vast preservation of lakes, ponds, marshes and land is now occupied by throngs of migrating birds, to the point that it is protected as a bird refuge. Here is the home of prehistory man as he enters the continent of North America and settles in Canada. A protected land that is now a vast land settlement area which includes government land, Vuntut National Park and the ancestral lands of the Vuntut Gwitchen people.

Click to access ice_age_old_crow.pdf

How long ago, for the great human, the almighty man, who conquers all. The carbon dating of the tools indicates thousands of years ago. The migration of people into continental America is earlier than what was once believed. An area called Old Crow flats and the fossil finds in the Blue Fish caves tell a story of this ancient world.

http://www.taiga.net/wetlands/oldcrow/oc_gen.html

The pre history shows a collection of unusual animals. Fossils galore, but not of this world, not of this continent. Hyenas. A scavenger who follows predators and injured animals, waiting for cast offs, or an easy kill. Camels, sloth. A far different world, in the far north. A land of lush vegetation, abundance of wildlife, safe habitation for dwellings, an easier life than now.

http://www.civilization.ca/research-and-collections/research/resources-for-scholars/essays-1/archaeology-1/jacques-cinq-mars/significance-of-the-bluefish-caves-in-beringian-prehistory3/

The brilliant bravehearts of that world inhabited a beautiful landscape of plenty. The people stayed.
The Old Crow flats and Blue Fish Caves are areas of significant archeological treasure and environmental protection. This protected area boasts some of the worlds most significant archeological findings. Discoveries that prove pre history man was a man of skills and that the planet is an ever changing world. The migration of man, at the dawn of our nations history is revealed in the unparalleled beauty of the majestic far north. In a collection of lakes, high in the mountains, where the summer days are continual daylight and the temperature is a warm 15C.
High above the Arctic Circle where no one dreams to believe, that here is the dawning of Canada. Here is the brave new world of ancient man.
Daring human, we hear your words. Come to the far north. Come to the adventure of your lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 5,2013

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The Dawn of Time

Good morning Bravehearts.
In the beginning, the world was lush with vegetation and wildlife. In the beginning, the far north was the place to be. In the beginning, above the Arctic Circle, was a paradise of habitat for plant and animal and human. In the beginning, before the last glaciers receded, while Canada was under a layer of ice and snow, the far north was home to many residents. It still is.
Come to the beginning, to Vuntut National Park, Yukon Territory, to the dawn of mankind in the Canada.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/yt/vuntut/index.aspx

Here, in this vast and remote wilderness lies the key to prehistory mankind. An unusual ecosystem, high up in the Arctic, with relatively warm climate, berries, birds, animals, fish. Food in abundance and weather temperate enough for survival. Low annual snowfall lightly covers the winter ground, sub zero temperatures to -35C. An oasis of lakes, marsh, pond, vegetation. This large protected area is where the story begins. Here in the mighty north.
Praises mankind, to your thousands of years of human habitation in the far north. Your story will be told.

http://www.taiga.net/wetlands/oldcrow/oc_gen.html

The peoples are the Vuntut Gwitchen, the settlers and survivors of a world of constant change. They came to a land of plenty and stayed for the life that the land provides. A life of hunting and gathering, trapping, boating. A life of relative ease with food in abundance. Sports, fishing. The endless beauty of the Earth, the endless beauty of the sky.
With so much provided there’s time to think and time to play, time to imagine and time to work. Time to investigate and explore. Time to build a nation, a culture, a language, dwellings a home. With glaciers receding there’s an opportunity to travel south, but they stayed. Stay in your own vast oasis of relative warmth and adventure. Of food and prosperity.
The great Earth provided an immense land of abundance and opportunity. The land of and the lands surrounding Vuntut National Park.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 3, 2013

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Early Man

Hail Bravehearts

Today is the day that dreams are made of. New life, new hope, new adventure, a daring new world of hope and promise. The bravest and the most daring venture forth to share the land with peoples of diligence and fortitude. A habituated land of congenial peoples who cleverly negotiated a peace amongst themselves for their own survival and mutual prosperity.
Hail, bravehearts, to come to this great land, this continent of the Americas, to build dreams, fortunes, life, liberty. A land worth fighting for, a freedom worth their daring lives. Come to the Americas! Venture forth to colonise!
The aboriginal peoples of the land accepted the new immigrants, generally with the quiet acceptance of negotiation and peaceful interchange.
Who were these early peoples? They saved so many lives with their skills and knowledge?
Where do you come from, you daring brave souls of the almighty human?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_peoples_in_Canada

The historical evidence indicates a migration from Asia across the short straight which is now separating Russia from Alaska. Nomadic peoples following migrating animals crossed the land mass which joined Russia to Alaska, into the far north of continental North America.
12000 years of history of human habitation in Alaska. The receding glaciers allowed for human occupancy in a snow free Alaska. As the glaciers receded the early people migrated further south into a land now known as Canada. The aboriginal peoples have resided in this land for so long, thousands of years, that their cultural identity is with North America.
Today, they identify themselves as First Nations, the first peoples of Canada.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/yt/kluane/index.aspx

Into the land they came, through a new landscape carved from retreating glaciers. The land was immense, the obstacles difficult, the terrain sometimes impassable. Yet, the early settlers persisted in the wild north of unconquered land and pursued their fate to lands unknown. What was the call, oh brave heart? To satisfy the longing of curiosity, of adventure, of ambition? Nomadic peoples following game, in search of tribal lands, looking for peaceful relief from war faring neighbours? Survival in a land of mountains, ice and forest, with wit and cunning minds for survival. To overcome the climate, the landscape the wildlife and to live.
Bravo, brave hunter, to travel so far, to make this place your home. Through the massive tracts of northern wilderness to occupy territories of more habitable climate, the pressure to move on and to explore on continued. The human. The adventurer. The quest for exploration. Did they really come here merely to survive or was the daunting quest of pre history, the same quest of the human spirit as the driving force within us now? They could see that land, the continents were attached. It compels us. What lies beyond?
Oh great human, nothing goes unexplored. To travel across the land bridge out of necessity, out of curiosity, out of free will? To meet the challenge of adventure?
Gifted almighty human, with your strength and perseverance. Into the great land mass, to survive.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
October 31, 2013