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“North” by Heather Christian

by admin ~ January 23rd, 2008

Thinking of winter, snowy shorelines, love, distance, and longing, a new work by Heather Christian debuts in New York (Jan. 18 – Feb. 02, 2008). Not necessarily the remote arctic, but full of delicate self-expression and quietly reflective songwriting, “North” brings together music, dance, video, snowy costumes, and a crystalline outdoor living room to explore an inner artistic landscape. Recent reviews describe the work as “breathtaking,” “impassioned,” and “unexpectedly moving.” More about the show can be found from the La MaMa E.T.C. theater listing, a YouTube preview of “North,” the artist’s website and on-line music listing.

[audio:http://northernwaterways.com/blog/uploads/2008/reasonable_doubt.mp3]

Featured Web Media: The Whale Hunt (a Visual Experiment in Storytelling and New Media)

by admin ~ January 1st, 2008

With photographs at least every 5 minutes from 1:20 AM (May 1, 2007) until 12:30 PM (May 07, 2007), media artists Jonathan Harris and collaborator Andrew Moore document traditional Inupiat lifestyles and a subsistence hunt for two bowhead whales at Barrow, Alaska. The Whale Hunt includes a cast, a set of contexts leading from New York City to the Arctic Ocean, a chronograph and other temporal modes for representing time and intensity, and various conceptual themes (such as food, games, kids, paperwork, tools, wildlife, whales and more). Any one of these parameters can be adjusted to assist in navigating the 3,214 large format and digital photos, and creating a stunning visual environment for storytelling and the movement of images across time, space, social contexts, and shared experiences. As described in the project statement:

The photographs are presented in a framework that tells the moment-to-moment story of the whale hunt. The full sequence of images is represented as a medical heartbeat graph along the bottom edge of the screen, its magnitude at each point indicating the photographic frequency (and thus the level of excitement) at that moment in time. A series of filters can be used to restrict this heartbeat timeline, isolating the many sub stories occurring within the larger narrative (the story of blood, the story of the captain, the story of the arctic ocean, etc.). Each viewer will experience the whale hunt narrative differently, and not necessarily in a linear fashion, constructing his or her own understanding of the experience.

Viewing becomes a live event and is presented in a unique style to invite the viewer to participate in the hunt, and share the story of this vital subsistence practice for the Barrow community. The work is a collaboration between New York based media artist and computer programmer Jonathan Harris, Princeton University visiting lecturer, cinematographer, and photographer Andrew Moore, and the people of Barrow, Alaska.

Take your time … life on the ice takes a watchful perseverance and good humor.

Norval Morrisseau Retrospective in New York until January 20, 2008

by admin ~ December 29th, 2007

Norval Morrisseau: Shaman Artist, a 50 work retrospective organized by the National Gallery of Canada, is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), George Gustav Heye Center (New York), until January 20, 2008. Internationally renown for his startling images, enigmatic persona, and bold use of color, Morrisseau was the originator of an Anishnaabe art movement (sometimes called Woodland, Medicine, or Legend Painting), and was widely celebrated by artists and art dealers worldwide. The 2006 traveling exhibit features works in mixed media, often on unusual surfaces (such as birch bark, roofing paper, cardboard, deer hide, and brown mill paper), and explores themes of Anishnaabe spirituality, storytelling, cultural tensions, and shamanism developed over his long, prolific, and sometimes turbulent career. New York Times Art Critic Benjamin Genocchio wrote about the exhibit: “it’s been a long time since I saw a show of such potent spirituality, warmth and feeling.”

Norval Morisseau (1931-2007), also known by his Anishnaabe name “Miskwaabik Animiki” (Copper Thunderbird), has been the subject of many detailed recollections, national tributes, and personal remembrances since his death from advanced Parkinson’s Disease early in December. Some of the recent tributes on his life and work include statements from Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, the Government of Canada, Toronto Mayor David Miller, exhibit curator Greg A. Hill, and obituaries from the New York Times, CBC, Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star (P. ), Toronto Star (B. , and more. A synopsis of selected works from the retrospective is available from the CBC. The exhibit runs at the NMAI until Jan. 20, 2008, and is free to the public.

More on Norval Morrisseau:

Proposed INAC Initiative for the Upper Thelon River

by admin ~ December 19th, 2007

In a letter and status report to “decision-making partners” in the Upper Thelon River, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) proposes a three-year action plan to focus on “balance of interests,” “wins” for industry, and “setting a context” for land and resource management decisions in Upper Thelon River Basin. The early stages of the plan call for a two-year multi-part study on the environment, geology, and cultural knowledge of the area (distinct from the Thelon Game Sanctuary Management Plan), and asks for input from regional stakeholders on proposals put forward by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The plan is a response to the Federal Minister of INAC to provide recommendations for long term land use planning in the region, and seeks to “re-set the operating environment” after a regulatory process held under NWT environmental legislation identified a significant public concern over new uranium projects, and recommended rejection of a proposal for uranium exploration in the area. Four other exploration proposals are currently pending in the region: two by Uravan Minerals Inc., and two by Bayswater Uranium Corporation.

Further information can be obtained here: “Upper Thelon Land and Resource Management Plan Status Report” (PDF). Several responsible ministers are listed in the report. The lead official coordinating the proposal is Teresa Joudrie.

Teresa Joudrie
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada – NWT Region
Manager, Environment and Conservation
Phone: (867) 669-2588
Email: joudriet@ainc-inac.gc.ca

Updates:

2007 Watchlist from Audubon Identifies Birds at Risk in North America and Hawaii

by admin ~ December 1st, 2007

Drawing on new data and first hand observation from citizen birders in U.S. and Canada, Audubon issues a watchlist for 2007 and highlights birds in rapid decline, and in some cases near extinction. “Identifying the species at greatest risk is the first step toward saving them. It helps target public policies, funding support, conservation initiatives and public commitment on the species and habitats that need it most” (1).

The initiative is a partnership between Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy, and identifies “178 species in the continental U.S. and 39 in Hawaii that are in need of immediate conservation help.” This represents an increase of 10% from 2002 (2). The list includes a red category for species of greatest concern, and a yellow category for species that are declining or rare. The watchlist adds to a June 2007 report from Audubon, Common Birds In Decline, which combines data from Audubon’s century-old Christmas Bird Count program and the annual Bird Breeding data by the U.S. Geological Survey. The information is regularly submitted for peer science review.

Among the major habitat and environmental challenges facing birds on the list include: suburban sprawl, other habitat loss, industrial farming, pesticide use, oil and gas development, forestry practices, invasive species, pollution, and climate change (particularly the threats of rising sea levels in coastal breeding and feeding areas, disappearing salt marshes, glacial retreat, and melting permafrost):

The wide variety of birds affected is reason for concern. Populations of meadowlarks and other farmland birds are diving because of suburban sprawl, industrial development, and the intensification of farming over the past 50 years.

Greater Scaup and other tundra-breeding birds are succumbing to dramatic changes to their breeding habitat as the permafrost melts earlier and more temperate predators move north in a likely response to global warming. Boreal forest birds like the Boreal Chickadee face deforestation from increased insect outbreaks and fire, as well as excessive logging, drilling, and mining (3).

Several news stories profile northern species in Alaska that appear on the list (see below). Alaskan birds on the red list include: the steller’s eider, spectacled eider, sooty grouse, laysan albatross, black-footed albatross, short-tailed albatross, pink-footed shearwater, eskimo curlew, rock sandpiper, buff-breasted sandpiper, ivory gull, and kittlitz’s murrelet (Far North Science). Each year, there are numerous submissions to the Christmas Bird Count from citizen birders around the North: Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut. Click here to learn more about how to get involved.

More information:

[audio:http://media.aprn.org/2007/ann-20071128-01.mp3]

Public Comments on Working Group Proposals for New Nahanni Park Boundary Options Due November 23, 2007

by admin ~ November 17th, 2007


This is an important opportunity for the public to be involved in a policy planning process, and to bring greater attention to the Mackenzie Mountains Natural Region and the ecological integrity of the Nahanni Park Reserve. Parks Canada, Dehcho First Nations, and the Federal Government (in its 2002 “Action Plan to Protect Canada’s Natural Heritage”) have all made commitments to expand the Nahanni Park Reserve to include a greater portion of the watershed and natural ecosystem. The Nahanni Expansion Working Group recently held a round of public consultations in Ottawa, Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson, Fort Liard and Yellownife, and are completing final steps prior to making formal recommendations on a park boundary to Dehcho First Nations and Parks Canada. They have asked for input from the public on several important boundary proposals.

Boundary Options Handout (October 2007):

Since 2004, the Nahanni Expansion Working Group (NEWG) has been overseeing feasibility studies for the proposed expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve. This work will culminate in a formal recommendation for a new park boundary to Dehcho First Nations and Parks Canada. Prior to making a formal recommendation on a final boundary, NEWG will consult with First Nations, local communities, third party stakeholders and the general public. The Nahanni Expansion Working Group needs to know what people think, and the feedback received will go a long way to helping NEWG prepare a formal final park boundary recommendation.

Two forms are available from the working group: a boundary options handout (PDF), and a comments form (PDF). If you have the time, please assist the Working Group in making an informed recommendation on these options, and mail, fax, or e-mail the completed form to the following address by the November 23, 2007, deadline.

Terriplan Consultants
5020 – 47th Street
P.O. Box 2335
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P7
fax: (867) 873-2402
E-mail: nahanni.consultations@dpra.com

For more information:

Winter Road Proposal for Peel River Watershed and Yukon Three Rivers Area

by admin ~ November 16th, 2007


CPAWS looks at long term planning and conservation proposals, and reminds members of Dec. 10, 2007, deadline for public comments on Cash Minerals land use application with Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board.

Public comments needed by December 10, 2007 (extended twice from Nov. 20).

A mining company plans to bulldoze winter roads into the heart of the Yukon’s Three Rivers wilderness. This plan to save cash on a highly speculative uranium exploration play pre-empts the land use planning process and jeopardizes the future of the Three Rivers. Due to the extreme hazards of radioactive wastes from uranium mining, many jurisdictions have imposed moratoriums on uranium mining. In the Yukon, there has been no public debate on the impacts uranium mining.

On October 24, Vancouver-based Cash Minerals submitted plans to build a 289 km network of winter roads into and along the Wind River to access their multiple uranium claims in the Wind and Bonnet Plume watersheds. The Bonnet Plume is a designated Canadian Heritage River; the Wind River is one of the North’s finest wilderness watersheds supporting existing tourism businesses. For the past several years the mining company has used airstrips for access. Now they want to bulldoze winter roads along the valley bottoms and build a new airstrip beside the Wind River. The proposal will save the company some cash, while the public will be left to deal with the long term environmental fall-out.

Take action!

Submit your comments on this land use permit application to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) by December 10, 2007. You can make comments online on the YESAB site. Just go to project 2007-0205, Wernecke Winter Road Access Project, Cash Minerals.

Updates and Information:

Video and Sound Installation Transforms Gehry Structure into Giant Iceberg

by admin ~ November 11th, 2007

Cape Farewell expedition organizer and video artist David Buckland and soundscape composer Max Eastley visit Chicago’s Millennium Park as part of the 2007 Chicago Humanities Festival. The Eastly composition was played throughout the day at the Frank Gehry designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Nov. 3, 4, 10, and 11, and included strange and otherworldly sounds drawn from the Cape Farewell art expeditions to Spitsbergen and Greenland: found sounds of “bearded seals calling underwater, microphones embedded in glaciers, wind, walruses and 5000 year old ice ‘popping'” (Chicago exhibit). Buckland’s video installation included word collages projected onto glacial ice, human figures reclining and marching over the landscape, and the stunning and ethereal forms of living ice in a changing land. The work flows from the expansive and prolific Cape Farewell art expeditions to Spitsbergen and Greenland, and reflects the “deep impact this pristine arctic wilderness, now imperiled by climate change, had on [the artists].” A 2006 DVD of the expedition, “Art from the Arctic,” can be purchased from the Cape Farewell website.

New York Public Radio Looks at Environmental Cost and Cultural Impact of Rupert River Diversion

by admin ~ November 10th, 2007

North Country Public Radio (Canton, NY) aired a radio series this week titled “Hydro Power in Cree Country.” The six part series includes interviews with Nemaska Chief Jose Jemekin, Hydro Quebec and Sierra Club representatives, audio postcard from Wakwayokastic River, 1992 interview with Ogdensburg librarian Nicholas Smith, news story about high power transmissions lines in northern New York State, and more. You can hear all of the episodes on the NCPR website, or in the following links. Many thanks to the Rupert River Film Expedition for bringing this to my attention.

Series: Hydro Power in Cree Country

Beginning today, North Country Public Radio will air a series of special reports about a part of the world that feels very remote: the Cree Indian territory in northern Canada.

Back in the 1990s, New York’s then-governor, Mario Cuomo, canceled a $15 billion deal to buy hydroelectric power from Quebec. That move effectively killed a project that would have built a network of dams and reservoirs along the Great Whale River, near James Bay. That was a victory for the Cree and for their allies in the environmental community. But now Hydro-Quebec is moving forward with a new project that will uproot and rechannel another northern river. Supporters say it’s an engineering feat that rivals the Trans-Alaska pipeline, one that will supply cheap, carbon-free electricity to consumers in New York state and Vermont. As Brian Mann reports, the Rupert River is sacred to the Cree who live nearby.

Episode 1): “Electricity bound for NY, VT comes at a cost for the Cree.” Report by Brian Mann. 7:00 min.

[audio:http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/audio/HYDR1107.mp3]

Episode 2): “Wild trout on the Wakwayokastic” (audio postcard from fishing guide Brian McDonnell on the Wakwayokastic River near the Cree village of Moose Factory). 1:37 min.

[audio:http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/audio/WAK0607.mp3]

Episode 3): “Archive 1992: looking back over 20 years with the Cree” (an interview with Ogdensburg librarian Nicholas Smith on his 20 years of experience visiting James Bay and the Cree). Audio file is incomplete. Interview by Martha Foley. 11:35 min.

[audio:http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/audio/CREE92F.mp3]

Episode 4): NY pushes back against federal power corridor (news story on the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor). Report by Martha Foley. 3:00 min.

[audio:http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/audio/ROY1107.mp3]

Episode 5): In one life journey, the modern history of the Cree (Thomas Jolly speaking about life on the trapline, residential schools, and the importance of land based knowledge). Told to Brian Mann. 3:30 min.

[audio:http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/audio/CREE1107.mp3]

Episode 6): For SLU outdoor team, a decade-long journey north (audio diary about an outdoor wilderness program and the James Bay Canoe Expedition). Produced by Brian Mann. 6:00 min.

[audio:http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/audio/WAK06B7.mp3]

Literary Prize Awarded to Elizabeth Hay for Novel Set in Yellowknife

by admin ~ November 7th, 2007

Previously a CBC Radio Producer in Yellownife in the 1970s, Elizabeth Hay wins the prestigious Giller Prize for her novel “Late Nights on Air.” Set against the backdrop of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry and the vividly exposed northern landscape, the novel follows the story of a group of transplants to the North, as they search for meaning and understanding in late night broadcasts, personal histories, and stories of adventure and discovery on the tundra. “The North has kind of leaked into my writing at various stages,” said Hay to the CBC, “but I wanted to really try to do it justice in a way I never had done before.” Her narrative eye attempts to capture the delicate beauty of the North, and the final third of the novel involves a canoe trip by two couples following the route of John Hornby on the Thelon River. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s at the top of my list for this winter. You can learn more from the CBC and Walrus Magazine, and the following air-bookbits interview with Elizabeth Hay on YouTube.

Updates: