SLC students in Mary Ann Lyons’s course in Indigenous Storytelling (GENE192) had a unique, first-hand perspective lesson in Inuk culture and traditions when their classmate, Laura Nowdluk, led a class.
Laura, who hails from Nunavut, gave a presentation on what it was like to grow up in Nunavut and how her experiences differed from those of her classmates. She presented her father’s artwork, including a carving using a walrus skull (pictured above) depicting land animals the Inuit lived off on one tusk, and on the other, the sea animals. Laura also presented some items made from seal skin, a polar bear claw, and some baleen.
Laura has just completed the General Arts and Science certificate program and will be returning to SLC next fall to start her studies in the Biotechnology Advanced program. Her mother has ties to Kingston, and attended both Queen’s University and SLC and still has friends in the area, which gave her parents some peace of mind having her so far away from home. “Having friends here really lifted some stress off their shoulders in case I got into an emergency,” Laura said.
Laura is going home for the summer where she has a job working for the Government of Nunavut.