The faces of the children of Nunavut

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Nick Newbery and his camera won’t let retirement get in the way of teaching new lessons.

The 60-year-old retired teacher will move south from Iqaluit this summer, but not before taking one last stab at giving teachers – and other residents – a lesson about the importance of Inuit children knowing the traditional ways of their elders.

“It’s a different experience with students on the land,” Newbery explained in a recent interview. “Take them on the land – they’re reliable, they’re helpful, they’re curious.

“They love it.”

Newbery’s conclusion comes after three decades of teaching and photographing children in the Baffin region.

Some of his best pictures are currently on display at Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, as part of his exhibit, called “Children of Nunavut.” The collection travels through scenes of youth at play in the streets and, more important to Newbery, discovering the land with their elders and experienced hunters.

After the exhibit ends, Newbery will take the pictures to Nunavut’s first pan-territorial teachers’ conference later this month in Iqaluit. He expects the gathering will be an ideal time to convince new teachers about the value of land trips, for themselves and their students.

“A lot of teachers don’t understand the breadth and depth of what they’ve got themselves into,” Newbery said. “It’s important that they integrate Inuit values and lifestyles.”

Newbery speaks from experience. He first arrived in Taloyoak from Toronto in 1975, expecting to spend a few months observing the lives of an ancient people frozen in time. Later, Newbery planned to return with Toronto students, so they could do the same.

Instead, he stayed 30 years, teaching in Taloyoak, Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq, and Iqaluit.

Along the way, he found Nunavut was a region in flux, with one generation that grew up on the land, giving birth to children who grew up with television.

“I made the mistake that I thought I was walking into a history book,” Newbery said. “You are walking into a history book in one sense.

“But it’s a living history.”

Unfortunately, the pressures of this history are taking a toll on the children because it leaves them feeling lost, according to Newbery. The result is many students drop out of school, he said.

To fight this trend, Newbery turned to organizing trips with his students on the land, especially during his years in Iqaluit. Luckily, the Akavak and Alainga families volunteered time and skidoos. As well, Newbery, received thousands of dollars annually from government, private companies and the Royal Canadian Legion, to make the outings possible.

Every time, he found the trips piqued the interest of students who didn’t thrive in the classroom setting.

Newbery caught the effects in his pictures, where a child beams with pride after killing his first caribou. Another young boy gives a wide grin while carrying fistfuls of ptarmigan for everyone to eat.

Newbery believes the experiences out on the land bridged gaps between generations, and created valuable lessons back in the classroom.

Students with little interest in writing in English class transformed when Newbery asked them to write about their time outdoors.

He said photos from the trips also inspired students who questioned the worth of school, when they saw how much they had accomplished at the end of the year.

Newbery said the experience also helped him develop a keen appreciation for why children are valued deeply in Inuit culture.

“The land of the North could be considered very harsh,” he said. “But the children, whether wittingly or not, bring colour and beauty to it.”

Newbery’s photos will be displayed until Feb. 11.

He hopes to display the same exhibit, sponsored by the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, in Ottawa and Halifax, where he will be teaching Inuit studies at Mount St. Vincent University.