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13TuesdayApril12014ThanksOttawa.TogetherwewillmeetthepromiseofCanadasNorth.devolution.gov.nt.caDecisionsaboutthefutureoftheNorthwestTerritoriesusedtobemadeinOttawa.Butforthelast50yearsthefederalgovernmenthasbeenhandingoverresponsibilitiestothepeopleoftheNorthwestTerritories.Thetransferstartedwitheducationandhousing.Ithasincludedsocialdevelopmenthealthpowerforestryhighwaysandairports.OnApril12014weareaddinglandandresourcestoourresponsibilities.Weappreciatetheconfidencethefederalgovernmenthasshownintransferringdecision-makingtothepeopleoftheNorthwestTerritories.MooseskinboatskeepTulitasoralhistoryaliveArcheologistvisitsFortSmithforhistoricalpresentationByMARIACHURCHBuiltabout40feetlongoutofwhiteandblacksprucewillowandeightto10un-tannedmoosehidesmooseskinboatsareperhapsoneofthemostculturallysigni-canttreasuresoftheMoun-tainDene.FortheShuhtaotineMountainDenetheyareaculturalicon.ItdeneswhotheMountainDeneareinmanywaysterritorialarchaeologistTomAndrewstoldacrowdofstudentsandcommunitymembersinFortSmithlastweekatAuroraCollege.AndrewsandLeonAn-drewfromTulitawerebothinFortSmithThursdayattherequestoftheSouthSlaveAuroraResearchIn-stituteforthescreeningofTie-cho-kaQuelquesimagesduGrandNorda30-minutesilentdocumen-taryproducedbyFrenchanthropologistJeanMichadocumentinghistimespentwiththeMountainDeneinthe1950s.MaximizinghistimeatthecollegeAndrewsalsogaveapresentationontheimpor-tanceofmooseskinboatstotheMountainDenewhichcoveredthehistoryoftheboatsanddetailedhowtheyaremade.Allthroughthe20thcen-turywehavethiswonder-fulphotographicarchiveofmooseskinboatsAndrewssaid.UsingthephotosaswellasextensiveoralhistoryfromMountainDeneeldersAn-drewssaidheisabletopiecetogethermuchofthehistoryoftheboatswhicharenexttoimpossibletondpre-servedtoday.Theboatswereinventedasanecessarymodeoftrans-portationfortheMountainDenewhowouldtravelupintothemountainsforthewintertohuntsheepandmoosebutcomespringneededawaytobringtheirheavyhaulofmeatbackdowntoTulita.UsingthefreshmoosehidestheyhadharvestedtheDenebuiltone-wayboatsthatwouldsustaintheweightofthemeat.Thehidesweresewntogetherandstretchedoveraspruceframewhileasupplyofanimalfatwasusedtomakesuretheseamsweremoistandsealed.Thetripdownfromthemountainsbroughttheircargothroughhundredsofkilome-tresofsometimestreacherouswaterspastlandmarkssuchasthesacredRedDogMoun-taintotheshoresofTulita.Oncetheyreachedtheirdestinationthegreenhideswoulddryshrinkandde-stroythewoodenframeoftheboatmakingthemnexttoimpossibletoreusenev-ermindpreserveforhistori-calpurposessothosehideswererecycledforotheritems.ForAndrewwhowasfea-turedasaboyinMichaslmandwhosefatherandgrandfatherbuiltmooseskinboatstheimportanceofkeepingtheknowledgealiveiswhatinspireshimtosharethestoryoftheboatswithothers.Mostcommunitieshavetheiroralhistory.ForusthemooseskinboatgivesussomeofthebackgroundknowledgefromtheMoun-tainDene.Theknowledgeshouldbesharedwithev-eryoneandhopefullypeoplecanlearnfromitAndrewtoldTheJournal.Lastsummerthecommu-nityofTulitaspearheadedamooseskinboatrevitaliza-tionprojectthatsawagroupofnearly50peopleplanandexecuteathree-weekprojecttobuildaboat.Andrewswasapartoftheteambuildingtheboatandsaidthemomentittouchedwatercausedaoodofemotion.Itsamomentoflaughterandamomentoftearswhentheboathitsthewater.Therewasadrumdancetoprayandchristentheboathesharedwiththecrowd.TheMountainDenehavebuiltmooseskinboatsatleastonceeverygenerationinordertokeepthepracticealiveinthecommunity.Theskillsandknowl-edgearebeingpasseddownfromgenerationtogenerationAndrewssaid.Hopefullytherewillbean-otheronemadeinthenextgeneration.Inordertopreservelastyearsmooseskinboatthecommunityremovedtherawhidesandplantocovertheframewithcanvasmadetolooklikemoosehide.TheframeiscurrentlydisplayedatthecommunitysairporttowelcomevisitorstothehomeoftheMountainDene.PhotoMariaChurchArtsCultureHeritageTerritorialarchaeologistTomAndrewssharesthehistoryoftheMountainDenesmooseskinboatsatAuroraCollegesThebachacampuslastweek.