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8 Tuesday May 5 2015 NORTHERNERS ELDERS YKIFF 2015 IS OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS DATESFORSUBMISSION TOSUBMITVISIT YKFILMFEST.COM YKIFFislookingfordocumentaryanddramaticfilms aswellasinteractiveandmediaartperformancesfromtheglobalpolarregions. SuccessfulsubmissionswillappearatYKIFF2015 happeningfromSeptember30th-October4th2015attheNorthernArts andCulturalCentreinYellowknife.Filmsscreenedatthefestivalwillbeautomatically enteredintoeligiblecompetitionsforBestFeatureDramaticBestFeature DocumentaryandBestShortFilm. EarlybirdDEADLINE RegularDEADLINE LateDEADLINE May102015postmarked June102015postmarked July102015postmarked This advertisement is sponsored by the Northern Journal. Life of Pi trapper on display at Fort Smith museum Trapper Pi Kennedys humour love of dogs captured in new exhibit By DALI CARMICHAEL As Pi Kenney examined the exhibit dedi- cated to his life as a trapper on the land he was immediately drawn to one image hang- ing at the back of the display room. This ones my favourite Kennedy said pointing to a wintertime photograph of him- self driving his team of four large huskies wearing typical seasonal gear and a red plaid hat. I like it because of my beard. Its white And I like that hat. TheexhibitionshownattheNorthernLifeMu- seum and Cultural Centre held its grand open- ingonApr.30withitsgueststarinattendance along with an array of community members. BornAlexanderPhillipKennedyPiisoneof Fort Smiths oldest living Mtis trappers. Now 88 he first started going on the land with his fatherinthe1930sasaneightyear-oldboy.His many stories have been turned into childrens books printed both in English and a host of regional indigenous languages. Seeinghislifecommemoratedcompletewith photosandtalesfromthelandandartifactsfrom his excursions and knowing that might help otherscarryonhistraditionsmakeshimhappy. ThisisgreatKennedysaidreadytocheck out the other pictures. He used his cane to scuffle over to a shot of him playing with one of his dogs - strong boxy animals that helped him win countless freight races. Pissenseofhumourisevidentinthenames he gives his dogs the plaque reads. He has one called George Bush and another called Tony Blair - Im trying to make a leader out of him says Pi. He once had two mean dogs he called Gaddafi and Khomeini. This is not the first time Pis exhibit has been featured at the museum. It was originally put on display in 2007 after it was pieced together by Libby Gunn and photographer Stuart Barr. When an artist decided to push back their own exhibitbyseveralmonthsthisyearcuratorRa- chelDelldecideditwouldbetheperfectoppor- tunity for locals to revisit the life of Pi. The exhibit was here so long ago some people might not know about him Dell said. The2007projectwasonlyoneofseveralini- tiatives dedicated to documenting Kennedys life.Inthe1980stheDeneNationfeaturedhim in a film about traditional trapping and hunt- ing as a push against Greenpeaces movement to halt such activities. A few years later a Na- tional Geographic photographer spent several days on the land with Kennedy snapping 26 cannisters worth of film as the trapper set his lines went ice fishing and rode across the land with his dogs. Leading a traditional life Kennedy got his nickname Pi from his father who died in a tragic accident when Kennedy was a teenager. He gave me a couple of nickels to get us some vanilla ice cream. It was his favourite Kennedy said. I came back and he was gone. After the death of his father Kennedy spent most of his time trapping with his uncle Ren Mercredi.Togethertheywouldtaketothelandfor weeksatatimesettingtrapsandgettingintoshe- nanigansonthelandtherewereacoupleoftimes whenKennedyalmostdidntmakeitbackalive. UncleRenwasmyfavouritepersonKen- nedy said. He was a good natured man. Kennedystraplineextends150000hectares north of Fort Smith stretching past Augus- tine Lake. He has two cabins on the line one at Jackfish Lake - where the community has its annual fishing derby - and one at Oulton Lake about a two-week dogsled ride out of townevenwithhisonce-impressiveteamof12 canines. Now too old to trap the line has been taken over by his cousin Richard Mercredi. I dont really miss the trapping he said. I do miss fishing. I love eating trout. Staying young at heart He might not take long excursions into the bush anymore but Kennedy does still take care of himself. After suffering a stroke sev- eral years ago he had to spend time in Stan- ton Hospital and the Northern Lights special care home relearning to walk. He hated being there said George Kursze- wski Kennedys cousin. Hed been indepen- dent all his life and then he was stuck in there. He was determined to get out so he built his strength until he did. Now Kennedy lives at home with his four large huskies Jasper Jack Roy and Joker. Every night he feeds them hamburger pieces admittedly spoiling them. Between spending time with his beloved pooches and living for baseball season his favourite team is the Boston Red Sox Ken- nedy strives to stay young at heart. Id like to relearn to dance the Red River Jig he said. Ill keep working my legs. Maybe Ill be able to do it by the end of the summer. The Pi Kennedy exhibit will be showing until May 22.PhotoStuartBarr The Northern Life Museum and Cultural centre is now hosting an exhibit dedicated to local life- long trapper Pi Kennedy. This image of Kennedy with his dogs is his favourite of the collection.