Day Four: Art, CITES, and Bird Watching

Yes, these are related! (At least in an Iqaluit art shop they are.) Following a group trip to post blog entries at the airport this morning we went into the Iqaluit Fine Arts Studio for a little look-see. And what a look-see it was! They have a fine array of traditional carved pieces, arctic photography, linograph prints and even a beautiful pair of handmade seal skin gloves which, according to the CITES agreements, would lead to confiscation and heavy fines upon entrance back into the U.S. For those of you who don’t recall CITES it is the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of flora and fauna and it does it job well in protecting species that are deemed threatened (thank you Mr. Hage…I seem to have remembered your lesson from this fall!) What is controversial, especially in areas like Baffin Island, is the use of endangered species by native cultures which creates a loophole in the CITES system. For example, seal provides a major portion of the resources for the Inuit (including skin for making good early spring gloves). While the members of the native community are allowed to harvest endangered species, their international trade is prohibited. So if I brought back those lovely mittens, customs would take them away and fine me. But talking with the shop owner revealed another pretty serious catch: NATIONAL trade isn’t as closely regulated. While taking seal skin gloves from Baffin would be highly illegal getting a pair from Alaska wouldn’t be nearly as difficult. But then again, in the words of the shop owner, “All you have to do is pay the $10 to have someone else cross the river!” (A little “smuggler’s humor” he added!). But don’t worry…the $150 price tag deterred me quite well.

Another nice tidbit we learned from the shop owner catered to one of my favorite outdoor activities: bird watching. It has now become one of my goals not to leave Baffin Island without seeing a gyrfalcon. A gyrfalcon is a large bird of prey with a wingspan up to 5 ft and a very ornery attitude. They are common in the mountainous arctic terrain of Baffin’s east coast and they are most often found by the territorial shrills they screech at anything that comes too close. Or the giant shadow they cast over the ground when searching for prey. As many birds of prey are inclined to look, gyrfalcons are highly dignified. In fact, their name derives from a Scandinavian term for “spear” because of the dark pointed patterns on their chest feathers. The shop owner was positively giddy while telling us about the time he saw a gyrfalcon make off with an arctic hare (which is the size of a small-medium dog.) So hopefully, Jeff will get to see his polar bear and I will get to see a gyrfalcon!