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AboriginalSportsCircleloopinglacrosseintotheNWTAlbertaresearcherdisplaysDevonianeradinosaursFootprintsinHayRiverpromptedresearchertotravelNorthof60TuesdayOctober28201415ENVIRONMENTGEOLOGYByDALICARMICHAELDuringprehistorictimeswhatisnowknownastheNorthwestTerritoriessatattheequatoranunderwaterworldfullofco-lourfulcoralprimitiveshandourearliestland-walkingancestors.Dr.DonaldHendersoncuratorofdinosaursattheRoyalTyrellMuseuminDrumhellerAlta.traveledbetweenFortSmithandHayRiverlastweekresearchingsitesforevi-denceofdinosaursandstoppingintoshareinformationontheregionsnaturalhistorywithlocalenthusiasts.IstudydinosaursbecausetheyrebiganderceanddangeroussaidHendersonduringhisOct.21presentationatAuroraCollegesThebachacampusinFortSmith.Theyrelikemonstersthatreallylived.HendersonspenttheeveningdiscussingtheDevonianerabelievedtohavelastedfrom419to359millionyearsago.Thisisthetimehesaidwhenearlyanimalsandvegetationstartedtoemergefromthewatercreatingatropicalforestfilledwiththefirstdinosaursknowncommonlyaswalkingfish.Thisisthepartweremostinterestedinwhenyougofromjusthavingantosome-thingthatsgotanelbowandakneeandawristandanankleHendersonsaid.Wehaveallthefossilstotrackthistransition.Theseanimalswithjointsandlimbsonlyevolvedonceandalloflivinglandanimalstodaytracetheirtimebacktoonegroup.HendersonfirsttraveledtoHayRiverandEnterprisein2012whenthelocalLa-malicefamilycontactedhimtotakealookatsomestrangeimprintsandfossilstheydiscoveredalongAlexandriaFalls.Hender-sonbelievedtheymightbefootprintsofawalkingfishastheyresembledevidenceofsimilarfossilizedfootprintsfoundaroundtheworld.SofarHendersonandhisteamofre-searchershavenotbeenabletoconclusivelycategorizethendingsbuthesaidhewouldcontinuetotravelNorthaslongashecouldgetfundingtopursuethelead.MorethanjustdinosaursDuringthepresentationorganizedbytheAuroraResearchInstituteHendersonmappedoutthehistoryoftheregionforhislocalaudience.HendersonsexpertiseasnotonlyapaleontologistbutalsoasageophysicsmajorgiveshimthetoolstotellacompletestoryoftheEarthshistoryasitisunderstoodbythescienticcommunity.HestartedatthebeginningwhenwhatisnowknownastheNorthwestTerritorieswaspartofanunderwaterlandmasssit-tingattheequator.Hethenexplainedhowshiftingtectonicplatespulledapartanex-istingsupercontinentwhichtraveledto-wardstheNorthPolethanksinparttothegravitationalforceofthespinningplanetandtheresistancecreatedbyourmoon.Hesaidthereweremoreshorterdaysinayearduringthattimeperiodaround400comparedtoour365.Hetalkedabouttheevolutionofunderwa-tercreaturesfromsingle-celledmassestocoraltojawlessshwithsimplebonestruc-tures-nothinglikethecomplexnnedshweseetoday.Followingthepresentationaudiencemem-berswereinvitedtobringtheirfossilsfor-wardtoseewhatsecretsHendersoncoulduncoverfromtheirtreasuredrocks.WeseebitsandpiecesofdinosaurscomeinHendersonsaid.Themostinterestingthingispeoplebringintheirtreasureboxofgoodiesandtheyhavenorealidea.Wejustlookatit-ohthispiecegoeshereandthispiecegoeshere-andyouendupwithawholething.Thatsnicewhenyouseethelightgoonandyoureabletoinformthemofsome-thing.Mostpeopleareimpressedwhenyoutellthemhowolditis.Hesaidhereliesonpeopleuncoveringfos-silstokeephisresearchgoing.Threeoutoffourtimesmorestuffisbroughttousbyconstructionpeopleandminersorhikers.WehaventgotthetimetogoallovertheprovinceHendersonsaid.Especiallywithsomuchindustrialactivitynowstuffisjustleapingoutoftheground.Hendersonhadstrongadviceforfossilnders.Ifyoundsomethingthatlooksreallygoodpleasedonttryandpryitoutyourselfhesaid.Contactageology-typepersonorabiologistsomeonewhomightrecognizeit.Donttrytotakeitoutyourselfbecauseyestheyareveryheavybutfossilsareextremelybrittle-thinkofthemasbeingmadeofglass.Ittakesaspecialcareandtoolstogetthemoutsafely.Itssatinthegroundforhundredsofmil-lionsofyearsitcanwaitanotherweek.SPORTSRECREATIONLACROSSEPhotoDaliCarmichaelByDALICARMICHAELCanadasnationalsummersportisnallycom-ingtotheNorthwestTerritoriesthankstotheef-fortsofonededicatedrecreationalorganization.AboriginalSportsCircleNWTASCNWTre-centlykickedoffitscampaigntobringthegameoflacrossetotheterritorywithacoachingcampheldinYellowknifeontheweekendofOct.18.TherearenolacrosseprogramsbeingrunintheNorthsowethoughtthiswasagoodoppor-tunitysaidDerekSquirreltraditionalgamesmanagerwithASCNWTwhobelievesthegamewillprovideatraditionalalternativetomoremainstreamsportslikehockeyandbasketballbothofwhicharepopularintheterritory.ItssomethingdifferentanditsrelativelyinexpensiveSquirrelsaidcomparingittotheburdensomecostofhockeyequipment.Itsforgirlsboysanyonewhowantstoplay.About10peopleattendedtherstcoach-ingsessionseveralofthemfromthesmallercommunities.OneofthoseattendeeswasCynthiaWhiterec-reationprogrammerforthetownofFortSmith.IdneverplayedbeforebutIlovedititssuchafastamazingsportWhitesaid.WerehopingmaybebeforeChristmaswellhaveDerekcomedownfromASCNWTandIguesswellbedoingitinbothelementaryandthehighschoolbutwewillalsotrytodosomesessionshereatthereccentrejustforanybodytocome.OverthesummerWhiteintroducedlacrossetosomeyoungerkidsatthereccentresdaycamp.Shesaidthekidsloveditandareenthusiasticaboutdevelopingaleague.Thesportwillrunduringthehockeyoff-seasonallowingplayerstousethecommunitysarenafacilityforgamesonceupgradestothebuildingarecomplete.Ithinkitsgoingtobegreat.Ihavenoth-ingbutpositiveexpectationsforitshesaid.ShootingforsuccessThisisntthersttimetheoutthasaimedtoestablishastrongbaseforatraditionalAb-originalsportintheNorth.AboutfouryearsagoASCNWTinitiatedapan-territorialar-cheryprogrambringinginafunnewactiv-itytomanyathletesoldandyoung.WeregoingtousethesamemodelasthearcheryprogramSquirrelsaidofthela-crosseinitiative.ThismeansASCNWTwillplanworkshopsandtrainingcampswithavarietyofcommu-nitiesoverthenextfouryearsgivingthemtheproperguidanceneededtogetstartedwiththesport.Squirrelsaidtheywouldevenprovideequipmentforthenewteamstoen-suretheyhavethesameaccesstotheactiv-ityastheregionalcentres.TheorganizationisalsostrivingtobringinlacrosseexpertslikeBritishColumbiacoachRussellSheppardtoworkwithnew-comerstothesport.Enthusiasmforlacrosseisalreadyshow-ingaccordingtoSquirrel.Theyrereallyexcitedtogetstartedhesaid.Wealreadyhavecommunitiesaskingforequipment.InadditiontotheYellowknifesessionAS-CNWTwillbebringingtrainingcampstoInuvikDelineFortSmithBehchokoandHayRiverinthenext12months.Followingthattheywanttokeepthesamepaceoverthenextfouryearstraininginatleastveregionsannually.WeregoingtoholdtherstterritorialarcherychampionshipssoonhopefullyinJuneofnextyearSquirrelsaid.Hehopesthatinanotherfouryearshewillbeinthesamepositionplanningoutthersteverterritoriallacrossechampionships.Dr.DonaldHendersoncuratorofdinosaursfortheRoyalTyrellMuseum.