Issue: 2015-04-16
“The Green Issue”
Schwartz has been our only dog for the past few years. For the most part he seems to be okay, although he does enjoy playing with other dogs when he gets the chance. But being the only dog can be lonely for an animal that would normally belong to a pack. I guess Al and …
On March 8, 2015, a team of 18 Northern Tutchone elders and heritage staff from the Nacho Nyak Dun, Selkirk, and Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nations embarked on a trip across the country in search of their heritage. For some, like Elder Gertie Tom, this was one of many visits to Ottawa throughout her career. For …
Gruelling. Gruelling is the word used to describe the West Coast Trail in the official online guidebook. The trail is a 75-kilometre backpacking trek, situated on the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island. It boasts equal parts beautiful, dense green rainforest sections, ocean cliffside views, mud bogs, old growth trees, waterfalls, and scenic ocean beach sections. …
Sid van der Meer recently travelled from the gold rush fields of Arizona back to Canada’s most westerly community — Beaver Creek, Yukon. Sid has strong family ties to the White River First Nation, on whose lands he resides. He built his own home and museum behind Beaver Creek’s baseball diamond. His museum has become …
Spring is approaching — it’s time for all those with a green thumb to enjoy the warm weather. The garden season in the Yukon poses challenges, but those who know seeds and soil manage to pull through and enjoy the bounty of the land. Common amongst the garden culture circle is the planting of vegetables …
Formerly the Ramada, now the Days Inn, sits at the edge of the Whitehorse industrial area. It’s parking lot and big-box-store land, the concrete jungle of our Northern capital. It’s windy and dusty and, according to Francis van Kessel, general manager at Days Inn, the perfect place to grow potatoes, carrots, beets, and maybe kale. …
If you’re unsure whether you consider Whitehorse a progressive city, here’s some fodder for the thought that it is: we’re one of a (growing) handful of municipalities across North America that is learning how to produce energy from our own waste. It’s called biogas, and if you’ve heard of it, it’s probably because it’s an …
Krista Reid has worked since last June to ensure the memorial exhibition known as Walking With Our Sisters would be “a space to create a personal journey” of awareness and healing. “It’s an opportunity for those who have been in violent situations, or have lost loved ones to violence, to provide a place of honouring, …
I was having dinner with a neighbour the other day and she asked me if I needed any dried greens. She was referring to turnip tops and kale. She had just come across a large, forgotten jar and with the onset of spring it was high time to use them up. I declined, because her …
Rich Hill, playing at the Yukon Arts Centre on Sunday, is a poignant observational snapshot of three boys on separate, but similar, journeys through the early days of youth, as spent in America’s povertystricken heartland. Poverty is crushing. But it’s always amazing to see that the human spirit, especially in children, is remarkably diffi cult …
Contemplating what to write about this weekend’s OUT North Film Festival, which runs from April 17 to 19 at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, my brain landed on the word “age”, and stubbornly refused to budge. So, with apologies for the occasional reach, what follows is a quick tour of how the thread of age, …
“Writing poetry makes me happy,” Joanna Lilley says. “I am somewhere else when I write poetry. I am an intuitive writer.” The Whitehorse based poet will be part of The Edmonton Poetry Festival from April 19 to 26. “Poetry Moves” is the theme, and Lilley is very excited to be part of it. It all …
When I was with didoo she made me happy. When I was with didoo she made me wise. When I was with didoo she made me strong. When I was with didoo she made me brave. When I was with didoo she made me humble. When I was with didoo she made me honest. When …
Diamond Tooth Gerties is an iconic Dawson building. It’s the cash cow that finances most of the operations of the Klondike Visitors Association. As of January 27, 2015, it’s even more than that; it’s a Municipal Heritage Site. In the somewhat stuffy language that seems to define municipal bylaws, city council determined that “The building …
Two weeks before my open mic appearance, I begin learning my first song on the banjo. Although it’s far from my first choice, I settle on a song that meets my basic skill level: “Old Joe Clark”, one of those traditional folk songs that repeats the same simple melody over and over. The lyrics are …
Like those who attended the first Sex Pistols concert, I too like to take credit for discovering something revolutionary: the iceberg. In 1996, I attended Grade 9 at the now-defunct Christ the King Junior Secondary on Nisutlin Drive in Riverdale. As the days of spring took hold, it was not uncommon for me to walk …
