This short film portrays a family working together to make sleds. While the father expertly threads rope through runners and slats, expertly tying knots to hold them together, his wife and child work on their own stylized sleds. The film pays homage to the craft, while also capturing the sheer joy of downhill sled racing.
Stories from Our Land: 1.5 gave 6 Nunavut filmmakers the opportunity to each create a 5-minute short. Each film had to be made without the use of interviews or narration while telling a northern story from a northern perspective. The project was a collaboration between the NFB and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.Ages 9 to 17
Indigenous Studies - Identity/Society
After screening the short documentary, discuss some of the other uses for sleds in the Arctic. What are “qamutiks” (Inuktitut for dogsleds) used for? Divide students into small groups to research the innovative technologies developed by the Inuit for making a living in the Arctic. Have any of these technologies not been surpassed by newer designs and/or materials? What other prototypes might they suggest for improving the design of sleds, igloos, sealskin clothing, snow goggles, etc.?