Ikebana: The Art of Japanese Floral Design

With the arrival of spring (even with all the snow), what better time is there for an abundance of blooms at the Canadian Museum of Nature? While interning with the museum’s exhibits department, I was given the opportunity to help with the installation of this year’s Ikebana – Horizons exhibition.

My role was to provide the artists with any assistance they required, including carrying materials, setting up tables and mounting labels. It was a privilege to have witnessed these amazing artists at work.

Ikebana is much more than just beautiful flower arrangements. Ikebana is the discipline of Japanese floral design, in which the floral arrangement itself is a living thing, emphasising closeness with nature.

This work of art, created by Marie-Eve Coupal, was designed in the style of the Ohara school of Ikebana. The Ohara school highlights the beauty of natural environments, while integrating seasonal characteristics. As shown here, large flat vessels are often used to create a “landscape arrangement”. This arrangement features protea (Protea sp.), cymbidium (Cymbidium sp.), tea tree (Leptospermum sp.), weeping willow (Salix alba “Tristis”), ceriman (Monstera deliciosa) and begonia (Begonia sp.). Image: Lyndsey Sullivan © Canadian Museum of Nature

Various plant materials, including branches, leaves, grasses and blooms, among many others, are brought together in a single design to create beautiful colour combinations, natural shapes and a sense of movement. Harmony between the organic materials and manmade components is crucial to the practice. The spiritual aspects of Ikebana also guide practitioners to live in the moment while creating their arrangements.

The three principal schools of Ikebana are Ikenobo, Ohara and Sogetsu. Ohara and Sogetsu styles are featured in this year’s exhibition, Ikebana – Horizons.

This piece, created by the museum’s own Anne Breau, follows the Sogetsu school of Ikebana. This school promotes the idea that “an arrangement can be created anytime, anywhere, with any material”, within the rules of Ikebana. Manufactured materials are often incorporated into the abstract designs of Sogetsu design, thereby encouraging individuality. This arrangement features blue lily of the Nile (Agapanthus sp.), sea holly (Eryngium sp.), gloriosa lily (Gloriosa sp.) and corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana “Tortuosa”). Image: Lyndsey Sullivan © Canadian Museum of Nature

When working with an exhibition that involves the use of natural materials, there are some conservation considerations. The preparation procedures ensure that pests such as insects or moulds are not brought into the exhibition space.

The museum’s large, walk-in, –30°C freezer holds materials in preparation for installation in Ikebana. Image: Lyndsey Sullivan © Canadian Museum of Nature

In preparation for the Ikebana exhibition at the museum, dried materials such as branches, driftwood and vines were placed in a large freezer for a period of five to seven days prior to installation.

The pieces were then taken out of the freezer and left to acclimatize to room temperature for one to two days before being moved to the exhibition space. These organic materials were inspected by a conservator to guarantee that no pests remained.

The transformations that occurred over the three days in which the artists created their pieces were incredible. Many of the designs began with support materials or the installation of larger components. Gradually, other components were carefully added during the creative process.

Each additional branch, stem and blossom contributes to the colour, shape and overall sense of movement of the piece. The scale and intricacy of the arrangements are amazing. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to see the evolution of these stunning works of art.

(Left) Terry Hodgins begins to create his piece. (Right) The completed work of art. The arrangement features calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica), azalea (Rhododendron sp.), mugho pine (Pinus mugo), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), leather fern (Rumohra adiantiformis) and ground pine (Lycopodium obscurum). Image: Lindsey Sullivan © Canadian Museum of Nature

The impact of the floral designs can only truly be experienced first-hand. Ikebana – Horizons will be on display from March 21 to 24, 2013, at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Dino Idol: And the Winner Is…

It’s been one full month since the start of our Dino Idol competition, and all the ballots are in.

Just to recap: Dino Idol was a contest here at the Canadian Museum of Nature, where the public was offered the chance to vote for one of five encapsulated dinosaur specimens to be opened, prepared, researched and displayed.

The dinosaurian contestants were Headrosaur (a duck-billed dinosaur skull), Mystery Jaw (a probable tyrannosaurid mandible), Stumpy (a horned dinosaur skull), Canadian Club (an armoured dinosaur pelvis and tail) and Regal Ed (a duck-billed dinosaur skeleton sans skull).

We had an impressive turnout, with several thousand of you casting your votes. But only one Dino Idol contestant could be the winner. And so, without further ado, I would like to announce the winner of our 2013 Dino Idol competition (drumroll, please)…
CANADIAN CLUB!!!

Jordan Mallon and Canadian Club—the winner of our very successful Dino Idol competition! Image: Dan Smythe © Canadian Museum of Nature

It’s been obvious from the beginning that the Canadian Club was a crowd favourite (Mystery Jaw was a close second). We’ve often pondered here at the museum what it is about the Canadian Club that people love so much, and we would love to hear in the comments below why you voted the way you did.

I think Canadian Club will make for an interesting project for a couple of reasons. It’s evidently the back end of a clubbed ankylosaur, but we don’t know which species it may be.

Here’s an artist’s best guess at what Canadian Club might’ve looked like. Only by opening the surrounding field jacket can we know for sure. Image: Brett Booth © Canadian Museum of Nature

Given the age and location of the rocks it was found in, Canadian Club could represent Euoplocephalus, Dyoplosaurus, or Scolosaurus. Until very recently, it was thought that all of these animals were the same species, but continued research has shown that they’re not.

Dyoplosaurus and Scolosaurus, as it turns out, are distinctive but very rare, in which case it would be wonderful to have more examples of these forms to learn more about how they vary. On the other hand, because some of the fossil material previously assigned to Euoplocephalus now belongs to these other species, we know less about the anatomy of Euoplocephalus than we first thought. If the Canadian Club represents Euoplocephalus, maybe it will help to fill in some of those new gaps in our knowledge.

Whatever this specimen turns out to be, it might also tell us something about how the tail club functioned. For example, did the wide hips of the ankylosaurs provide more stability while they were swinging their tail club?

Dino Idol is finished. The winning fossil, Canadian Club, is returned to the museum’s research and collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec. Image: Kieran Shepherd © Canadian Museum of Nature

I’m sure many of you are wondering what happens next. All of the Dino Idol contestants have been removed from their display at the museum and returned to the collections in our research and collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec. Canadian Club will have its plaster jacket opened in the second week of April, at which point preparation of the surrounding rock will begin.

Canadian Club’s arrival in the museum’s research and collections building. Preparation of the fossil will begin in April. Image: Kieran Shepherd © Canadian Museum of Nature

According to the original field notes, this fossil is entombed in ironstone, which is very hard and difficult to prepare. We estimate that the work could take up to a year to complete. We’ll research the fossil as the rock is removed, revealing clues about what lies beneath. When the prep work is done, we’ll unveil the specimen at the museum for everyone to see.

In the meantime, please be sure to follow this blog regularly for updates on the preparation progress.

Finally, I just want to say a quick thank-you to all of you who voted in our Dino Idol contest, and for making it the success that it was. After the dust has settled, we may have to think about doing it again!

Dino Idol Contestant #5: Regal Ed—A Priceless Holotype

This is the fifth and final post of a series by Jordan Mallon, Ph.D., that profiles the fossils featured in the museum’s Dino Idol competition. The contest began February 16 and you have until March 17, 2013, to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature and choose your favourite from among the five dinosaurs whose bones are sealed away in plaster field jackets.

In the scientific discipline of taxonomy (the naming and classification of organisms), few things are as essential as holotypes. A holotype is a single, formally designated specimen used to exemplify the distinctive features of a newly described species.

Effectively, it’s the touchstone specimen on which a species name and description are based, and with which all future comparisons to that species must be made.

Palaeontologist Jordan Mallon at the Dino Idol exhibition with Regal Ed’s plaster jacket. Image: Dan Smythe © Canadian Museum of Nature.

Regal Ed, the final contender in our Dino Idol contest, is important because it’s a holotype specimen (formal designation: CMN 2288). It’s a partial duck-billed dinosaur skeleton (hadrosaurid) found by Levi Sternberg near the junction of Three Hills Creek and the Red Deer River in Alberta in 1912.

Once fossils like Regal Ed were removed from the field, they were crated and brought to the nearest train yard for shipping back to the museum. Here, you can see two men loading some of these heavy crates onto a boxcar. If you look very carefully, you may even notice that the crates are upside-down! Image: Charles H. Sternberg © Canadian Museum of Nature

Shortly after the specimen was collected, the skull was prepared and described in the scientific literature, and was given the name Edmontosaurus regalis. However, the rest of the skeleton was neglected. It remains entombed in its three original plaster jackets to this day.

One of three jackets that contain Regal Ed, displayed alongside the skull in the museum collections. (The hard hat gives a sense of scale). Image: Alan MacDonald © Canadian Museum of Nature

As a holotype specimen, Regal Ed requires further preparation so that it can be properly accessioned into the museum’s collections, and so that the rest of the skeleton can be suitably described.

This will greatly enhance the scientific value of the fossil, and enable palaeontologists to study it properly. I’m particularly interested in comparing the skeleton to another that was assigned to Edmontosaurus regalis, also here at the museum (CMN 2289), to see whether they are truly the same species.

Will Regal Ed warrant enough of your votes to reunite his head with his body? That’s up to you to decide!

Once assembled, Regal Ed will no doubt prove to be an impressive animal! This illustration shows an Edmontosaurus regalis drinking peacefully from a water hole. Image: Brett Booth © Canadian Museum of Nature

Well, that wraps up our introduction to the fossil contestants in our Dino Idol contest. I think you’ll agree that, no matter which fossil wins, we’re bound to find out something new and exciting. Please continue to follow this blog for the announcement of the Dino Idol winner, and for progress reports on the following preparation of the fossil.

Read previous blogs about the Dino Idol contestants:
Dino Idol Contestant #1: Headrosaur—A Head Without a Body!
Dino Idol Contestant #2: Mystery Jaw—A Carnivore in Search of an Identity
Dino Idol Contestant #3: Stumpy—The Mystery of the Missing Horn
Dino Idol Contestant #4: Canadian Club—A Powerful Tail

Dino Idol Contestant #4: Canadian Club—A Powerful Tail

This is the fourth of five blogs by Jordan Mallon, Ph.D., that profiles the fossils featured in the museum’s Dino Idol competition. The contest began February 16 and you have until March 17, 2013, to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature and choose your favourite from among the five dinosaurs whose bones are sealed away in plaster field jackets.

Ankylosaurids (armoured dinosaurs) are sometimes called the ‘tanks of the Cretaceous’, given their squat bodies and armoured hides. But something even more formidable adorned the ends of their tails: a massive, bony club that could be used to defend against threatening predators.

The Canadian Club, the fourth entry in the museum’s Dino Idol exhibit and contest, happens to be one of those tail clubs attached to the back half of the animal. The specimen was collected by Charles H. Sternberg from what is now Dinosaur Provincial Park (“the Park”) in 1915.

Canadian Club belongs to an ankylosaurid, similar to the intimidating Euoplocephalus depicted here. Image: Brett Booth © Canadian Museum of Nature.

Armoured dinosaurs are fairly common in Alberta, but it’s possible to narrow down the likely candidate encased in our plaster field jacket based on the geographic origin of the Canadian Club. Depending on whose classification scheme you accept, there are between three and five armoured dinosaurs known from the Park.

Two of these (Panoplosaurus and Edmontonia) did not possess tail clubs, precluding them as candidates. The other three dinosaurs, Euoplocephalus, Dyoplosaurus, and Scolosaurus, did possess tail clubs, and the Canadian Club might be one of these.

Field jackets containing the likes of the Canadian Club were too heavy and unwieldy to remove from the badlands using manpower alone. Here, a team of horses helps a member of the Sternberg family to haul a fossil up to prairie level. Often, makeshift roads were cut first to help the horses climb the steep banks. Image: Charles H. Sternberg © Canadian Museum of Nature.

You can see an example of a Euoplocephalus tail club in the museum’s Talisman Energy Fossil Gallery.

I hope that our Canadian Club will prove to be either Dyoplosaurus or Scolosaurus. These animals are very rare, being known from just a single specimen each. It would be great if we could have more examples of these uncommon beasts so that we might better understand their growth and variation.

Then again, a new specimen of Euoplocephalus—with its armour scutes in place—would also be a valuable addition to the museum’s collections (and the field notes hint that there might be scutes!).

Jordan Mallon looks at Canadian Club in the Dino Idol exhibit. The writing on the jacket tells us that it was the twelfth specimen collected by CHS (Charles H. Sternberg) in 1915. Image: Dan Smythe © Canadian Museum of Nature.

Of course, the only way any of this will happen is if the Canadian Club gets enough of your votes so that we can open it up and carefully study its anatomy.

Next week, I’ll wrap up our review of the five Dino Idol candidates when I’ll introduce you to the final contestant, Regal Ed.

Read previous blogs about the Dino Idol contestants:
Dino Idol Contestant #1: Headrosaur—A Head without a Body!
Dino Idol Contestant #2: Mystery Jaw—A Carnivore in Search of an Identity
Dino Idol Contestant #3: Stumpy—The Mystery of the Missing Horn

Photographing Research from the Inside

Martin Lipman is an Ottawa photographer who joined palaeo research teams led by the museum’s Natalia Rybczynski, Ph.D., on several field trips to Canada’s High Arctic. The teams found fossilized mammal bones that changed what we know about North American camels and the evolution of seals. The research on the camel bones was published today in Nature Communications.

Martin Lipman at work in the Haughton Crater on Devon Island, Nunavut. Image: Natalia Rybczynski © Martin Lipman

Round bag or square? That was the joke in camp because I made a lot of tea on the Ellesmere Island trip in 2008. I also washed a lot of dishes.

A fragment of the camel fossil found on Ellesmere Island. The fossil looks very similar to wood. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

People often have a misconception about how photographers work in the field, particularly when they’re part of a four-or-five-person research team. In this context, as in most, the camera doesn’t lend you any special status.

Being invited to an Arctic field camp is no small thing, or at least it isn’t to me. It means the research team goes without an additional researcher. It means an additional seat on the aircraft and an additional mouth to feed. It means you have to contribute.

While I am there to document the expedition, I am always a team member first and a photographer second. Some days it is just as important to make a cup of tea or scrub the burned oatmeal pot as it is to make another photograph.

One of Rybczynski’s field teams surveys the upper reaches of a fossil site near Strathcona Fiord, Nunavut, amidst gusts of wind-blown sand. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

Field seasons are expensive endeavours. Often, due to wind and weather, the research window is impossibly short and the conditions harsh. There is a lot of pressure on team leaders to have the research go well and safely.

The photographer can’t be a distraction, or worse, reckless. You can’t run off and disappear over a ridge without a radio to get that great shot, or “borrow” the ATV for a midnight photo run. It keeps people up at night.

Natalia Rybczynski awaits a morning radio call with Natural Resource Canada’s Polar Continental Shelf Program in the field team’s kitchen tent. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

Twice a day there is a pan-Arctic radio call when researchers report in and update the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP) staff in Resolute, Nunavut, on their status. The right message for that call is “all is well”, so wandering off alone in polar-bear country is generally frowned upon.

A small helicopter carries the team’s gear on Ellesmere Island. The helicopter was supplied by the Polar Continental Shelf Project. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

By virtue of working in the Arctic, there is enough to deal without creating undue concern in the camp. During Dr. Rybczynski’s first field season on Ellesmere Island, the museum’s camp was utterly levelled by encroaching sea ice that crushed the food and kitchen tent. In other years, one research camp was routed by polar bears, and another camp was threatened by late-day meltwater. So, plenty can happen without upping the odds unnecessarily.

PCSP plays an essential but relatively unsung role in keeping the researchers safe and supported. They coordinate all the field logistics for science research in the North and the communications. They quarterback all the air travel, supply and deliver fuel and field equipment, and when needed, dispatch medical evacuation. In the scenarios above, without daily radio calls, the research teams could have been in real difficulty.

Team members rush to right a collapsed tent to prevent the tent poles from breaking during a prolonged windstorm. The wind reached speeds of 70–80 km/h. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

Giving priority to the research and the team doesn’t mean there are no opportunities in camp for getting good photographs. Once you’ve earned some respect—finding fossils helps in that department—opportunities open up. In July (which is when field seasons are scheduled), the best light for landscapes happens around 2 a.m. when the sun is lowest in the sky. Once the research is moving forward, a team member accompanies me to photograph at that hour, often prompting a later start to the following field day. It is a rare but valuable accommodation.

The evolution of the landscape is evident in this view of Ellesmere Island. About 300 million years ago, streams deposited sand and silt, which compacted into rock. Within the last 100 million years, the layers were tilted by tectonic plate movements, and erosion exposed the deep layers. Three to eight million years ago, streams deposited more gravel, and streams have cut and eroded the landscape since then. Eventually, these hills will be carried away as grains of sand into the Arctic Ocean. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

The light and landscape in the High Arctic are unparalleled: easily worth the cost of a night’s sleep. There are often very few chances in an expedition to get great landscapes as often the weather is poor and can remain so for days in a row. While you can certainly shoot without sun, the painterly light of the Arctic sun through broken cloud is unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere. It doesn’t fall where or even how you’d expect it to at lower latitudes.

Natalia Rybczynski (left) and Marisa Gilbert at work to prepare an environmental sample near Strathcona Fiord as the weather deteriorates. The sample was shipped to the museum’s collections and research facility in Gatineau, Quebec, for further study. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

When photographing during the day, I tend to stay close to the group because you never know when a discovery may occur. It’s important that I document the researchers at work because they are often too busy doing the research to stop and take their own pictures or video. That is particularly true when poor weather limits working hours. Along with their use in media, outreach and scientific publications, the photographs are valued as visual references for their documentation of the science and working conditions.

As was the case with the High Arctic camel, sometimes you don’t know you have a moment of discovery until you get back into the lab, so you photograph the work and the suspected fossils as they were found and hope something comes out of it. That summer on Ellesmere Island, no one thought they were picking up pieces of fossil camel bone, and now here we are today seeing the publication of the research results in Nature Communications. (Read about it on the museum’s web site).

View of an unnamed mount on near Strathcona Fiord on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, shortly after a July snowstorm. Image: Martin Lipman © Martin Lipman

In 2007 Dr. Rybczynski took a significant risk inviting me to her small Devon Island camp. I now have travelled North with her three times, including in 2008 when some of the High Arctic camel fossil was collected. In these few short years, she and her co-authors have made two significant discoveries, discoveries that I’ve had the privilege to help document. Consequently, in the resulting media coverage, we’ve had the visuals to really tell both stories well. In that sense, I think the risk has paid off.

Dino Idol Contestant #3: Stumpy—The Mystery of the Missing Horn

This is the third of five blogs by Jordan Mallon, Ph.D., that profiles the fossils featured in the museum’s Dino Idol competition. From February 16 to March 17, 2013, visit the Canadian Museum of Nature and choose your favourite from among the five dinosaurs whose bones are sealed away in plaster field jackets.

The skull of Stumpy may have belonged to a rare ceratopsid called Arrhinoceratops, depicted here. Image: Brett Booth © Canadian Museum of Nature

This is the third of a five-post series detailing the specimens to be voted on for our Dino Idol contest.

The next specimen I would like you to consider voting for is Stumpy, affectionately named by our fossil collections technician, Margaret Currie. This is the skull of a horned dinosaur (ceratopsid) collected by the field crew of Charlie M. Sternberg near the town of Morrin, Alberta, in 1924.

The skull was collected in three parts: the main skull block, including the eye sockets and bony cheeks, is in one jacket; the snout is in another; and the conspicuous head frill was collected in pieces wrapped in old newspaper.

Sometime after the skull was collected, the main skull block was partially prepared, revealing a very interesting feature: this ceratopsid appears to have resorbed its right brow horn! There is now only a small pit above the eye the size of a loonie where the horn once was. The left brow horn, however, is fully developed, though broken at its base.

The partial skull of Stumpy, viewed from the right side. The red arrow points to the loonie-sized depression where the right brow horn once was. The larger hole below that is the eye socket. To the right is the front of the face (where the snout would attach). To the left is the back of the head (where the frill would attach). Image: Robert Holmes © Canadian Museum of Nature

The phenomenon of horn-resorption is pretty common in short-horned ceratopsids (called centrosaurines) such as the Styracosaurus on display in the museum’s Talisman Energy Fossil Gallery, but is rarely seen in longer-horned forms (called chasmosaurines) like our friend Stumpy. If we can more fully prepare this specimen, it would be interesting to study how horn cores were resorbed, perhaps with the help of computed tomography (CT scan).

If it weren’t for plaster field jackets, specimens like Stumpy would’ve never made it back to the Canadian Museum of Nature intact! This image shows the youngest member of the Sternberg field crew, Levi, putting the final touches on a field jacket. Image: Charles H. Sternberg © Canadian Museum of Nature

When this specimen was first collected in the field, it was thought to represent a species that was new to science. However, based on certain untold features of the skull, Charlie M. Sternberg later noted that it probably represents an already-known, though rare, ceratopsid called Arrhinoceratops.

This animal lived on the floodplains of Alberta nearly 72 million years ago, alongside the likes of Albertosaurus (a tyrannosaurid) and Hypacrosaurus (a duck-billed dinosaur visible in the fossil gallery).

Stumpy is hoping to get your vote in the Dino Idol contest. Image: Dan Smythe © Canadian Museum of Nature

I’m nearing the end of a study on Arrhinoceratops, and am confident that if we can finish preparing Stumpy, we should be able to confirm its identity. Whatever it turns out to be, Stumpy will make a valuable addition to the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature, but only if it gets enough of your votes!

Please stay tuned next week, when we’ll be taking a look at our fourth fossil contender, Canadian Club…

Read previous blogs about the Dino Idol contestants:
Dino Idol Contestant #1: Headrosaur—A Head without a Body!
Dino Idol Contestant #2: Mystery Jaw—A Carnivore in Search of an Identity

Breaking Stereotypes: How Canadians Really See the Changing Arctic

What comes to mind when someone mentions the Arctic? My bet is that most people picture snow and ice—and lots of it—and maybe a polar bear or two. The reality, of course, is that the Arctic is so much more than that; however, the majority of Canadians have never or will ever travel there.

Autumn in the Northwest Passage, Nunavut. Image: Michelle Valberg © Michelle Valberg

On February 7, 2013, the museum hosted its second de Natura event, an evening of panel discussion exploring the very real issues facing our Arctic and its people.

Our three panellists (left to right): Matthew Swan, Aaju Peter and Michelle Valberg. Image: Danish Meman © Canadian Museum of Nature

The panellists included Matthew Swan, founder of Adventure Canada; Aaju Peter, Inuk lawyer, activist, clothing designer and Order of Canada recipient; and Michelle Valberg, renowned Arctic photographer and founder of Project North. Lucy van Oldenbarneveld of CBC fame moderated the event, asking pertinent and pressing questions that the evening’s participants wanted to know.

The first question asked the speakers what they have noticed as the biggest change in the Arctic and what worried them about it. Without missing a beat, Matthew stated that the disappearance of the ice is by far the most visible change and the most cause for concern regarding potential impacts.

While this fact is certainly not surprising to many, as climate change has dominated the media for years, he believes that because of the ice loss, now people are starting to notice. “Now that the Arctic is getting more attention than ever, everyone wants a piece.”

According to Matthew Swan, the disappearance of ice is the most important change happening in the Arctic, and the more worrisome. Image: Michelle Valberg © Michelle Valberg

Hopefully, Canadians will take it upon themselves to visit the Arctic before it visibly changes too much. As many previous Arctic travellers have often told me, visiting the Arctic is indeed a life-changing experience. And as Matthew stated, “Although most Canadians live near the American border, we still consider ourselves a Northern people. It defines who we are.” He emphasized that we should explore our own country and get to know it a little better.

Michelle Valberg also held this stereotypical view of the Arctic, until she made the first of many trips north herself. She hopes that her photographs show the Arctic in a new light.

“Everyone has an idea of the Arctic as flat, white and cold. But so few people have an idea of what it really is.” Photographs, such as the one featured, shed new light on Canada’s Arctic in hopes of broadening our knowledge and understanding.

Michelle Valberg’s photographs portray the Arctic in a new light, often breaking previous stereotypes. This photograph shows that the Arctic is very much alive and is far from “flat, white and cold”. Image: Michelle Valberg © Michelle Valberg

Another major topic of the evening focussed on the importance of education and its influence on decision-making regarding Northern issues.

Many of the evening’s participants, including myself, were completely ignorant of the fact that all three Canadian territories do not have the same government jurisdiction relating to their own land as the provinces do.

As Aaju stated, “All decisions regarding the North are currently being made thousands of kilometres away from the Arctic. Territories don’t have power, and that needs to change.”

Directly linked to this fact is the lack of higher-education institutions located in the Arctic. Many people who wish to seek out a university education will leave their community to do so and often never return.

As Aaju expressed, “They may not feel any allegiance or duty to their small community, so they leave to pursue their own interests. If more people had access to education, the Arctic would be a very different place.”

Inuit lawyer, activist and recipient of the Order of Canada Aaju Peter shared many of her views regarding more involvement of the Inuit people in the decision making that affects their communities. Image: Michelle Valberg © Michelle Valberg

One audience member differed in opinion, stating that the North should focus its attention on more lucrative investments, such as natural resource development and extraction, instead of solely on education.

Aaju’s response to this? “Why can’t we do both?” She emphasized the importance of educating the people who live in these communities, who could then work for natural-resource companies and provide valuable information based on their previous knowledge. She also warned, though, that the North has much more to offer than just natural-resource extraction.

“We can’t all be miners or scientists,” she stated. “We need good education in other fields to provide ample opportunities to lots of people.”

Moderator Lucy van Oldenbarneveld raised many thought-provoking questions while also keeping our speakers focussed at the topics at hand. Image: Danish Meman © Canadian Museum of Nature

Although many more current issues were brought forward throughout the panellist and round-table discussions between participants, the overall feeling I got from attending de Natura was the pressing need to visit Canada’s Arctic.

Each panellist emphasized that no one can truly understand a place or its people before experiencing it for themselves. As Michelle Valberg herself felt after her first expedition, “People will leave that much more educated and appreciative.”