Two moose bagged in one week by East Three School students offered an opportunity not just to engage in traditional culture, but to show newcomers to the North what life up here is like.

鈥淚t was thrilling,鈥� said Grade 7 student Pearl Gillis. 鈥淚t took them four shots to finally get it. They had to go more up to it, then two more shots until it was actually dead.鈥�

Staff laid out the spoils in East Three Secondary School鈥檚 foyer last week for students to take turns cutting bits of meat off to take home. Gillis had her eye on the ribs.

鈥淚 just like going out to the nature,鈥� she said about the on-the-land experience, and classmate Paige Steen-Cockney agreed.

Jimmy Kalinek, owner and operator of Only One Outfitting, has been running the school harvest program for several years. Last year, the moose population was down, leading to some unsuccessful hunts.

鈥淭his year, there seems to be a lot more moose,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were lucky to get one for each (student group).鈥�

He said it鈥檚 important for people new to Inuvik to experience the local culture.

That thought was echoed by Wyatt Morgan, the boat operator and on-the-land program coordinator assistant.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to keep culture close to students,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of them were raised in this environment, but then a lot of them aren鈥檛. It鈥檚 nice to see students new to this country see what people do here when they harvest a moose.鈥�

Staff are working on plans to do a caribou hunt, something the school hasn鈥檛 done in years, in spring, added Morgan.

East Three Secondary School Principal Gene Jenks said culture is a priority at the school.

鈥淲e believe so much in the cultures of our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are on Gwich鈥檌n and Inuvialuit land, and hunting and on-the-land activities are a huge part of the culture. We want to bring as much culture-based education into the school as we can, in terms of language, in terms of art, and of course in terms of harvesting the animals here. What better way than to have our students take part in a hunt, bring back a moose and then have every student come and take part in cutting and taking it home? It鈥檚 culture right in our foyer.鈥�

It鈥檚 not just about the moose either, he said. It鈥檚 about being on the land, boating on the river, walking on the ground and finally enjoying the spoils.

And perhaps less cultural but more of a student bonding experience, Gillis and Steen-Cockney also took great joy in putting makeup on a male classmate鈥檚 face while he was sleeping at night, they said.