Pond Inlet encounter inspires hockey book

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Silvia Pecota gives all her gratitude to Nunavut, when it comes to the creation of her children’s book, Hockey Across Canada.

Pecota, a photojournalist from Toronto, released the book’s Inuktitut translation last month in Iqaluit at the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum.

The book is a collection of 16 illustrations of what hockey looks like in every territory and province in Canada. Each page has a snapshot of kids, hockey stick in hand, against a backdrop that represents their community. Children play in front of the Parliament buildings in Ontario, while a girl holds a field hockey stick in front of a farmer tilling potatoes in Prince Edward Island.

The pictures come from photos that Pecota took while touring the country, combined with oil paintings using a computer program at home.

But out of all the territories and provinces, Pecota credits Nunavut for providing the photographic moment that spawned the book.

“I love taking pictures here,” she said, taking a break beside her camera gear during her book launch on March 26. “It’s a clear area, no sidewalks, no telephone poles… to get in the way. Up here, it’s just so simple.”

The project began by accident when the 44-year-old photojournalist came to Nunavut in 1994 on assignment for the Sun chain of newspapers. She was taking pictures for a documentary portraying the first criminal trial in the Arctic.

While visiting the community, Pecota saw how children loved hockey, but often lacked the equipment to play. Six months later, she came back with 2,000 lbs. of free hockey equipment.

During distribution at a school, Pecota saw a little boy named Jamie and was determined to take his picture.

She dressed him in a caribou parka and skates, and asked him to pretend to place a puck on the ice.

The result was Pecota’s first and favourite illustration in her book. It shows the photo of Jamie blended with an oil painting background of ice, snow, and an inuksuk, that looks like it’s ready to play goalie.

On the facing page, the reader finds a little vignette about life in Nunavut. Pecota writes about how children play night games throughout the dark season in the High Arctic, and switch to hockey 24 hours a day, in the summer.

Underneath the write-up, she lists facts about Nunavut, like its capital city, how it’s famous for inuksuit and a lack of trees, and that its motto is “Nunavut sanginivut,” or “Nunavut, Our Strength.”

Pecota hopes the book will be a useful teaching tool in Nunavut, as 500 copies will be distributed to schools and libraries around the territory, courtesy of a $5,000 grant from the Nunavut department of culture, elders, language and youth.

“The satisfaction of the book for me is bringing fun to the education of geography,” Pecota said. “And let’s face it, what better way to do it than hockey.”

Pecota’s illustrations are on display at the museum from April 4 to April 23.