Take the show on the road

ODILE NELSON

Nunavik throat singers and Inuit culture will take the stage next week at one of Europe’s premiere indigenous arts festivals.

Maaki Putulik and Laina Grey, cousins from Kangirsuk, will perform and lead a seminar on the traditional Inuit style of singing at the Riddu Riddu Festival in Kafjord, Norway, June 16 to 20.

Putulik said she is thrilled that she and her singing partner of two years will have the opportunity to participate in such an ethnically diverse event.

“My understanding is there are many other indigenous artists going to perform in Riddu Riddu. I’m looking forward to meeting Sami people and exchanging knowledge and cultural information. I’m looking forward to meeting new friends. The whole works,” she said.

The Riddu Riddu Festival began 12 years ago showcasing the culture of the Sami, the indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

The Sami, like the Inuit, lived in the Arctic for thousands of years before European whalers braved the Northern climate. There are now about 100,000 Sami scattered across the North and, again like the Inuit, they are constantly trying to preserve their culture and identity.

However, Riddu Riddu has evolved over the years into a celebration of indigenous cultures from across the North. It now features both modern and traditional dance, music, theatre and visual arts as well as a film festival and associated youth camp. Audience members can also attend a variety of seminars and workshops that focus on indigenous people.

This year’s festival line-up includes Greenlandic rockers Chilly Friday, Yat-Kha, a folk music group from the Russian republic of Tuva, Mengo, a professional ethic dance group, and Urna, a Mongolian vocalist.

It will also feature Ulla Pirttijarvi, a Finnish yoik singer – a traditional style of Sami singing/chanting that has been compared to throat singing.

But Nunavik will not only showcase the talents of Putulik and Grey at the festival.

Jane George, the Kativik Regional Government’s communications director, will give a presentation on contemporary Nunavik history and work as a staff member at the youth camp.

George said though she considers her trip personal on one level, it is also professional. There are many promotional aspects to the trip, she said, and the three women will each be arriving with a suitcase full of materials on Nunavik to prove it.

George said she would spend much of her time promoting Nunavik culture. She hopes to introduce participants to such artists as Elisapie Isaac, the Salluit-raised filmmaker and singer-author, and Angava, a Kuujjuaq-based heavy metal band, among others.

Such cultural exchanges, she said, show the similarities of Northern indigenous cultures.

“The Sami live within other nations in Scandinavia as do Inuit in Northern Quebec live in Quebec. They don’t have their own separate territory like Nunavut. And in terms of the geography, it’s extremely similar and the challenges that come up with that – mineral development, natural resource development,” George said.

“Apart from the cultural, there’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot of economic development projects as well. And the Sami can learn a lot from what others in other areas are doing as well.”