As the second biennial Arctic Winter Games got under way this month in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, it became painfully clear that the organization of the event left something to be desired. Take the case of Simon Tookoome, the Northwest Territories' leading ipirautaqturniq (precision whip flicking) virtuoso. Not only did Too-koome have no competition in his specialty, but the games committee was not even certain that another whip maestro had been invited. For his part, Tookoome left his sealskin whip at home in Baker Lake. But resourcefulness, as much as ipirautaqturniq, is the name of the game. Improvising a whip from a...
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