Inuits in Arctic Canada Use Internet to Connect to Each Other (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

Inuits in Arctic Canada Use Internet to Connect to Each Other

By Susan Karlin
First Published November 2007

It's not easy to get to Arctic Bay, a Canadian Inuit village of 700 that
lies along a north Baffin Island inlet by the Northwest Passage, 700
kilometers above the Arctic Circle. The Akademic Ioffe—a Russian research
vessel leased for tourists by the Darien, Conn., cruise line Quark
Expeditions—docks at the former mining community of Nanisivik to restock
our drinking water. From there, it's another hour by school bus over 32 km
of harsh snow-swept terrain to Arctic Bay, where village leaders await
us—100 or so curious tourists—to demonstrate their Inuit traditions.

There's warmth to the residents that offsets the chilly temperatures and
bleak surroundings. But Arctic Bay's real novelty lies less with honoring
its past and more in gracefully bridging it with a rapidly changing
present. The way the Inuit here have used the Internet to pass down their
culture could be a precursor to the real test of integrating traditions and
technology with a coming commercial overhaul of the area.

To access full article, follow the link below:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/nov07/5716