Blog 3 : Living in the North, an Art in Itself

Already half my immersion has flown by! This week, I explored the artistic side of Yellowknife. To experience it fully, I went to two art galleries. In the first one, I saw sculptures, paintings, jewellery, traditional clothing and pelts. They had pieces from different Indigenous nations like the Inuit and Dene. At the second, they showed art that was made in Northwest Territories (NWT) or by Northwesterners. They had paintings, scarves, bowls, jewellery, books, postcards and artisanal soaps. 

On Monday, I booked a dog sledding experience. It was so exciting! The dogs were eager to run and once running, they seemed unstoppable. It was cold, especially the wind that pierced through my coat, but the experience and the happiness of the dogs made it worth it. After it, the owners treated us to hot chocolate and bannock, which is traditional bread from NWT. It tasted amazing with butter! 

Finally, I went to Nature’s North Wildlife Gallery and Bullock’s Bistro. Nature’s North Wildlife Gallery is a taxidermy gallery exhibiting the wild animals from NWT. I was thrilled by my visit, since I learned about each species and could touch the furs of those wild animals. It made me want to see them all alive. At Bullock’s Bistro, I ate a grilled lake trout caught in Great Slave Lake. Their sauce was mouth-watering giving the fish just enough flavour to highlight its natural taste. 

Next week, I will dive into the history of Yellowknife by visiting Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and Yellowknife Historical Museum. I want to share with you this sweet little boy, Otis, who has been moved to a different shelter due to NWT SPCA’s overcrowding.  

I will miss you little gremlin❤️