Gallant's Lounge

Welcome back,

By the way, since I missed last week, this post will be PACKED with content. Brace yourself.

Kangiqsujuaq and it’s fantasy landscape.

Sometimes, you get these moments in Nunavik that simply sweep you away. The beauty of this town is beyond explanation.

Mountains were grazed out by long-gone glaciers, exposing the rocky meadows. No trees in sight, as we are far beyond the tree line here, deep in the tundra.

A small town, probably 900 people max, far removed from Western society. This is Kangiqsujuaq.

My duty here was to film a few videos for KMHB, and only spent three days in town. But those three days were jampacked with amazement.

Kangiqsujuaq, otherwise known as Wakeham Bay, was an endearing experience. I had the chance to meet up with the Fiber Boys, whom I met last year on my previous trip to Nunavik. One of our adventures was to climb the steepest mountain nearby, which in hindsight, was not the greatest idea.

The sunsets were beyond amazing, and the people were kind and welcoming. Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.

Kangiqsujuaq was so stunning that I will conclude this segment with a few more pictures, as words can’t do this place justice.

National Indigenous Peoples’ Day vs Canada Day

Since my last post, two major events happened in Kuujjuaq. National Indigenous Peoples’ Day on June 21 and Canada Day on July 1.

At this time, and for the foreseeable future, these two holidays are in conflict. Many, especially within Indigenous communities, are advocating to cancel Canada Day because of the unmarked graves unearthed near residential schools all throughout the country. So, when people celebrated NIPD here, many said that this holiday is a better fit for them, even though they had been celebrating Canada Day for a long time.

But, both holidays were used to get together, and reminisce on the good and the bad memories.

The day of NIPD, a parade started from the Arena, which sits atop a hill, and went all the way to what is called Elder’s beach. Elder’s beach is near the Elder’s home, and is the longest beach near town. Pretty much all major events end up at this gathering place.

NIPD was packed with activities, and as pictured above, a beluga whale had been hunted for the occasion. Mattaq, the traditional name for beluga tail, was shared among everyone. This meal is pretty much a delicacy for Inuit, so missing the opportunity of eating Mattaq is like if I missed the opportunity of eating a fine filet-mignon with caviar.

The meat of the beluga was cut on the beach itself. On the picture above to the right, you can see an elder woman holding the crescent-shaped knife that is traditional to Inuit culture, called the Ulu. Both the meat and the skin is consumed, completely raw.

I had the chance to have some, and if I am completely honest, this was a hard one for me. But, like many delicacies, it is an acquired taste. Though, I was told that there are many other ways to eat Mattaq. It can be frozen, dipped in spices, boiled, dried, and probably cooked in many other ways that I am not aware about.

Also at the event, I had the chance to meet Daisy Saunders. She brought a full polar bear fur to the event, imitating the animal whilst kids played around with her. She told me the bear was killed near the town of Quaqtaq by her brother. She brings the fur every year, and was kind enough to let me wear it.

I covered the event more in depth in an article for Nunatsiaq news, the official news for the North of Canada.

Now, when Canada Day came about, it was rainy and windy and many of the events could not come to fruition. Usually, there is a Qayak and canoe race in the river behind with a winning price of $500 per winning team member.

Since these events were cancelled, participation was low, and the crowd was tiny compared to NIPD. One of the main activity was to decorate your vehicle for a winning price, but only a few vehicles were actually wearing the colors of Canada.

But, a general consensus remains when it comes to these events. Whether you want to celebrate Canada Day or not, what matters is that the community is united. Showing up to these events and gathering on Elder’s beach is a tradition longer than Kuujjuaq itself, and these holidays are a great way to keep the culture flowing.

Self-Love, Health and Role Models

I met Anthony Kauki at Madhatters, a bar on Crescent St. in Montreal. We were hanging out because we had a friend in common from Nunavik. From our various discussions that night, I quickly understood that he was on a quest to accomplish his ambitions. a purpose of some kind. We spoke about his future business plans after he finished school that night, but he had much more to speak about.

Upon adding him on social medias, I saw that he was into MMA, and trained hard in both physical conditioning and technical training. His page is filled with messages of positive reinforcement and introspective posts about his performances.

So, I hit him up to have a sit down discussion, recorded of course. I went to his home and we took a room upstairs whilst his mom and sister were playing Thursday Bingo in the living room.

The interview runs for around 45 minutes. We spoke about a wide variety of topics from MMA to the Nunavik school system to future business endeavors, but most important of all, the need for positive role models in Nunavik.

Unfortunately for now, his profile interview like many others to come will remain in my vault, to be used for another bigger project in the future!

This is it for this two-week edition of the blog and it was filled with Northern delicacies, from the landscape in Kangiqsujuaq to community activities in Kuujjuaq to individuals like Anthony.

See you on the other side.