ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᒃ! NAH Month in Review

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already June 3oth! Where has this month gone?! Time really does fly by when you’re having fun, and there were lots of games and activities  happening here at the MIA.

To celebrate National Aboriginal History Month and National Aboriginal Day, we gave out freebies like puzzles, temporary tattoos, “crunchers” (or “cootie catchers”), colouring pages, and build-an-inuksuk crafts. They were supposed to be for visitors, but once our staff unpacked them we just had to test them ourselves. You know, just to make sure they all worked properly…

Our celebrations also went digital. All month we had been posting Tweets and Facebook updates where one word or phrase was selected in the various dialects of Inuit language. Some of these words related to family members like ᐊᑖᑕ or ataata for “father” and Arctic animals like ᓇᓄᖅ or nanuq for “polar bear” but we also posted some less obvious words like “coffee” and “cabin” to poke fun at some of my intern-antics.

We also created some challenges on SCVNGR for visitors to play and earn points. After completing a few activities and answering some trivia questions, museum visitors can redeem points for a free membership!

And as of a few moments ago, MIA launched our official Instagram account! Now visitors can connect with us through the photos they’ve taken themselves. We’re really curious to see some of the great artsy shots people take our of collection. Find us on there – our username is “miamuseum.”

Sneaky side note: These two new smart phone additions may or may not be good practice for another awesome tech addition MIA will be rolling out next month. But more on that later…

Now that National Aboriginal History Month is drawing to a close, and people are gearing up for the Canada Day long weekend, everyone at MIA wanted to say a giant ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᒃ (nakurmiimmarialuk /thank you very much) for celebrating with us. We hope you had a great month, and we’ll see you again in a year!

– Posted by: Brittany Holliss, MIA’s Educational Assistant

Penny (or Membership) for Your Thoughts

A few days ago, we Tweeted about the arrival of some surprise Trip Advisor mail.
MIA is now the proud new holder of a Certificate of Excellence *Oooo! Ahhhh!*

This accolade is given only to establishments that, “consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor- approximately 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award. To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher (out of a possible five) as reviewed by travelers. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.”

Pretty cool stuff! Not just because we have a shiny new window cling to put on our front door, or a certificate we can show off in our office – but because our visitors take the time to let us know their thoughts and ideas.

It’s a tricky thing to figure out what people like and don’t like. Museums spend a TON of time creating surveys, asking questions, and analyzing their findings so that future exhibitions and programing are more inline with what visitors expect. Just the other night, while I was checking out the summer exhibition of another local museum, a man with a clipboard came over to ask what I found the most interesting about the show.

Now this  guy was a pro (he literally took courses on visitor studies) AND he happened to be a friend, so I wasn’t the least bit bothered by answering some simple questions BUT not everyone has mastered this delicate question-asking skill. It can be really hard to find that line between inquisitive staffer and pesky telemarketer.

Which leads us back to Trip Advisor, and how this site is pretty amazing for museums.
In case you’ve never visited their site, the basic idea is that whenever you eat at a restaurant, stay in a hotel, or visit any number of businesses – you rate your experience and leave a brief explanation. These comments are all online, so anyone with an internet connection can read them and potentially be influenced as to whether or not they also want to visit those businesses. So if you had a fantastic time at a cafe down the street and you want to help promote them, you can give them a 5 star rating and encourage people to visit them. The same is true if you’ve had a less than pleasant experience and you think people should know how their service could be improved.

Despite the fact that MIA  has this super wonderful certificate of Excellence, we have had some reviews in the past that pointed out an area that could be improved. We took a visitors comment and used it as a great learning experience. When we know what issues people are coming across and we can fix them. While some people might be deterred by the fact that you can’t please everyone, we strive to be as transparent as possible and welcome honest feedback. It’s part of the reason we have a white board comment wall in our museum AND THEN post pictures of it on our Flickr page.

There are plenty of other sites that rate businesses with a similar visitor scale such as Yelp and Foursquare of which we have accounts for both. And if the satisfaction of letting your voice be heard is not enough, we’ve also been rewarding visitors who use those platforms by giving away free stuff like books and memberships when they check in!  It’s a win-win for everyone!

Our Trip Advisor award is not the only recognition the museum has gotten. Yelp presented us with a similar high ratings award with their “People Love Us” stamp of approval/window cling. Maybe there will be some more additions someday soon…

– Posted by: Brittany Holliss, MIA’s Educational Assistant

Happy National Aboriginal Day!

Woot, woot!
Today is National Aboriginal Day!

This event is all about celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. While there had been similar calls for this kind of recognition earlier, the official launch of NAD happened in 1996 – and is now part of a series of “Celebrate Canada” days, beginning with National Aboriginal Day and followed by the National Holiday of Quebec (June 24), Canadian Multiculturalism Day (June 27), and concluding with Canada Day (July 1).

All month we have been gearing up for this celebration.
We started a new Twitter series where we gave followers a word or phrase each day to illustrate the different dialects of Inuktitut, we shared some events details on Facebook about what is (and would be going on) around our city of Toronto and across Canada, and today we’re handing out a bunch of free stuff!

Visitors who stop by the museum today get a real treat! We have temporary tattoos, mini-puzzels, colouring pages, “crunchers” (or “cootie catchers” if you’re fancy), build-an-inuksuk, and more! All for free! We are even giving visitors the extra special, behind the scenes style chance to hold and feel some of our objects. Bye-Bye surly security guards telling people to stand back and look but don’t touch.

And don’t think that when the day is over, the event is as well. While this is the designated DAY, National Aboriginal stuff will continue on for the rest of the month. Better come over quickly though, before our staff starts picking through all these free goodies 🙂

– Posted by: Brittany Holliss, MIA’s Educational Assistant

Spotlight On: Caribou Antler

Walking though the Museum of Inuit Art, I notice that caribou antler can be found everywhere throughout the collection. But why d0n’t I know much about it? It’s a material that seems to keep a low profile. Caribou antler is a common material used in Inuit art that often escapes notice because of its artistic limitations – it’s not glossy, it’s not very strong, and it’s oddly shaped.  However, it is used in many different ways! A few artists carve and construct works solely from the material, but many use the antler for minute detailing, larger features, or use it in its natural form.

Caribou in the wild (c) Travis S., used under Creative Commons license.

The use of caribou antler in Inuit art varies due to regional styles and types of artistic materials available. Antler is widely available to Inuit artists, as caribou can be found north of the tree-line across the Canadian Arctic, and especially in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. Both female and male caribou shed their antlers annually, so caribou are not hunted for their antler specifically.

Antler was traditionally used for utilitarian objects, such as buckles, snow goggles, and toys. Antler can be sawed or filed into shape, and can also be pegged or glued together to create more complex forms. In Arctic regions where the available stone is particularly hard and difficult to carve, antler can be used for detailing and emphasis.

Peter Assivaaryuk (1914-d), Qamanittuaq (Baker Lake), “Caribou Shaman” (1970s), caribou antler, Private Collection.

Caribou are particularly important for Inuit in the Kivalliq, who were traditionally nomadic hunters. The Kivalliq is also home to the Arctic’s only inland community, Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), so land mammals like caribou were much more important to survival in the surrounding area than sea mammals. Shamanim and hunting are common themes in art from this region, and often antler-based sculptures depict a tableau or scene, such as this intricate piece from Arviat displayed in the MIA collection:

Romeo Eekerkik (1923-1983), Arviat, “Journey to a Summer Camp” (1970s), Antler, Sprott/MIA Collection.

Because of the physical restrictions of antler as a material with a narrow circumference, artists often use pegs or glue to expand the form of their sculptures and create depth. Pegs can also function as joints, which provides the sculpture the possibility of movement, and mirrors a more traditional doll-like function.

Detail of pegs in Luke Iksiktaaryuk (1909-1977), Qamanittuaq (Baker Lake), “Standing Man” (mid-1970s), antler, metal, Private Collection.

Contemporary artist Mattiusi Iyaituk uses antler in a number of ways, sometimes as detailing or inlay, but most prominently he used the natural shape and curve of the antler with little alteration to its form. The points of the antler can represent fins, tails or hands. Mattiusi also uses antler as a base for many of his mixed-media sculptures, representing more spiritual and abstract forms.

Mattiusi Iyatuk (1950-), Akulivk, “My fantasy to one day see, to believe, Iaqluullamiluuq” (2008), stone, caribou antler, MIA Collection.

Next time you visit MIA, keep an eye out for all the ways artists use antler in their works. Find out more about materials in Inuit art, such as ivory and whalebone on the MIA blog!

– Posted by: Emma Ward, MIA’s Visitor Services Officer

Let’s go on a SCVNGR hunt!

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!!!
Best internship day  EVER!
*giggles for five minutes and high fives some staff*

I am just so excited about the MIA’s latest smartphone adoption – SCVNGR!!
Pronounced “scavenger”, our latest piece of museum tech is a gaming platform. That’s right, I get to play games at my internship.

A lot of companies and cultural institutions are getting behind this thing because it’s a fun way for visitors to interact with their environment and get free stuff. Different SCVNGR locations offer games (known as “challenges”) that ask the visitor to either answer questions or perform tasks. These challenges are worth points that can be redeemed for awesome free stuff.

You’re not even limited to playing these  games in one place.
SCVNGR also has “treks” which are a series of challenges spread over multiple areas. For example, you could find a coffee trek and visit various cafes and coffee  shops, accumulating points as you move along. And you don’t have to worry about completing a trek in a single go, you can stop and start whenever you want without losing your progress.

How to Play:

1. Download the SCVNGR app from your Android Play Store or iPhone App Store
2. Create an account
3. Use the search bar to type in the name of a store, or restaurant, or I don’t know… a museum – might I suggest the Museum of Inuit Art
4. Select the “Challenges” tab and scroll down to see a list of different games in the “Feeling Adventurous” section
5. Choose one of the challenges and follow the instructions to earn points that go to getting rewards
6. Different rewards require  different points. Once you’ve earned enough to points, you’ll be promoted to redeem them. Simply click the “Info” tab and and select the reward check mark towards the bottom of the screen.
IMPORTANT: You will only be allowed to redeem rewards once so be sure to show your activation screen to staff members a.s.a.p or else you’ll lose out.

If you don’t feel like doing wonderfully fun and silly games there are some other ways to get points:
“Check-in” = 1 point
Kind of like Foursquare, but… not?

“Social check-in” = 2 points per friend when you BUMP YOUR PHONES WITH ANOTHER PHONE TO ACTIVATE POINTS!!
Seriously, you hit each others phones like mini hip-checks or chest bumps or high fives… (can you tell we were super excited by this feature and played around a lot with it?)

BUMPING PHONES!! And being totally professional about it.

“Say Something” = 2 points
Here is where you can either write a quick note, an idea, or even a mini review.

“Snap a Picture” = 2 points
Take a picture of something you find pretty, or interesting, or pretty interesting.

In case you don’t trust me and my brief SCVNGR 101 lesson, the good people who actually run the software came up with this handy video tutorial.

I’ve already set up a few challenges and created a reward which the staff has successfully completed (and giggled over as well) so things are ready to go if you want to grab your smartphone and start playing! That’s what I’ll be doing until home time tonight 🙂

– Posted by: Brittany Holliss, MIA’s Educational Assistant

Let’s talk about Inuksuit!

Visitors coming into the museum are greeted by an Inuksuk by Adam Noah Alorut. These are one of the most recognizable symbols of the Canadian Arctic. The plural of inuksuk is inuksuit, which means “acting in the capacity of a human”. These manmade rock formations have been created for over 2000 years and are an important survival tool in the Arctic environment, where natural, easily distinguishable landmarks can be few and far between.

“Inuksuk” (2011) by Adam Noah Alorut from Saniarjak (Hall Beach), stone, MIA Collection

We often hear the comment that visitors have seen these stone structures around. Whether by the side of the road, or on top of a hill, inuksuit seem to pop up everywhere. When I was looking into inuksuit, it was interesting to find out that there are actually several types of stone structures.

Director David Harris and Educational Coordinator Alysa Procida in front of a large inuksuk in the centre of Kangirqliniq (Rankin Inlet)

The innunguaq means “in the likeness of a human” and is a stone structure that resembles the form of a human. These are easily recognizable because of their characteristic “legs” and “arms” that give them the human-like shape. Interestingly enough, innunguaq are not actually considered inuksuit because they do not serve as a functional tool.

There are a variety of categories of inuksuit and they are divided by their intended purpose. For example, a tunillarvik, which is characteristically defined by having one large upright stone among a variety of little ones, is used to provide healing and protection to those that venerate it.

The nalunaikkutaaq is a stone structure that means “deconfuser”. It is often in the shape of a single upright  stone standing on end and is used to remind its builder of a variety of things, like where he cached his summer equipment, for instance.

A tikkuuti is a pointer. These can be made in different sizes and shapes, suck as a triangular rock lying flat on the ground or a simple arrangement of rocks places in a straight line.

An inuksummarik or an inuksukjuaq, are often rounded boulders placed to form the shape of a pyramid and noted for being larger than average size. These are used as directional aids.

Within these categories, inuksuit can get pretty specific. For example, a niungvaliruluit is an inuksuk in the shape of a window which is used for sighting and aligning. Sometimes, you can see the next place marker within the frame of the niungvaliruluit or the destination itself. Even though it has its own name, because it is a directional aide, it belongs to the inuksukjuaq category of inuksuit.

For more information about these stone structures, you can check out the book Inuksuit: Silent Messengers of the Arctic by Norman Hallendy that we have available at the front desk. Next time you see an inuksuk in the great outdoors, or in our museum,  you can now know its intended purpose, since they are all so different!

Posted by Karolina Tomaszewska, MIA’s Development Officer