VOA标准英语2010年-Canada's Native Tribes Showcased at Wi

One of the Inuit people's native symbols is being used as the the logo for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Members of the indigenous¹ tribe live in some of the most beautiful and isolated² parts of Canada.  The Inuit and other native peoples of Canada's far northern region are making a special effort to introduce themselves to the world. 

Canada's northernmost territories - Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut - cover more than 3.5 million square kilometers.  But fewer than 100,000 people live there. 

As part of their efforts to improve their exposure and relationships with people worldwide, the Inuit and other native peoples of the region are hosting Canada's Northern House in downtown Vancouver.

The facility opened in mid-January and has been a popular destination during the Winter Games.  Northern House highlights life near the Arctic Circle and features exhibits on native clothing, hunting, music, mining and exploration.

Jerry Antoine is a Dene drummer and storyteller. Raised in Rabbitskin River, more than 2,100 kilometers north of Vancouver, he has devoted³ himself to preserving the stories and traditions of the Dene people.

He tells a group of visitors to Northern House that storytelling plays a vital role in the Dene culture.

"We can't only listen once.  We've got to listen twice because sometimes when the stories are told, you hear something and you learn something.  When you grow, you hear it again and you also get another message," he explained.

Michael Kusugak is an award-winning children's author living in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.  The eldest⁴ of 12 children, he was born in a sod hut near Repulse⁵ Bay and spent his early years living in the nomadic⁶ tradition of the Inuit.

With bright eyes and an engaging smile, he says  songs and stories were vital to survival when his family lived in igloos above the Arctic Circle.

"And we developed this system of expressing ourselves in a song called a Pisiq.  And those were actually created when our people were out on a dogsled in the moonlight.  So you get inspired by that kind of thing and so we developed these songs," he said.

Kusugak says that the Inuit symbol used to represent the Vancouver Winter Games serves a special purpose in his culture, illustrating⁷ that his people were in the region, where to find food or whether there is fuel for fire.

"So it's a stone person standing⁸ on a hill and that is the official symbol of these Olympic Games in Vancouver and up in Whistler.  And that's why we are here [at Northern House] - to present our culture to the people of the world," he said.

Because some of the countries competing in Vancouver border the Arctic Circle, Michael Kusugak says similar stories can be found in Russia, Mongolia, Finland, Sweden and other nations. 

The Inuit storyteller recalls a time when he told an ancient story about Kiviuq, a character in Inuit legend.

"I met a blonde man and he said, 'That's a very interesting word.'  And I said, 'What word is that?' And he said, 'Kiviuq!'  And I said, 'What do you mean?'  And he said, 'We have a word just like that.'  And I said, 'Where are you from?'  And he said, 'Finland,'" he said.

Canada's Northern House exhibit is open throughout the Games.  Visitors can see examples of northern people's clothing, transportation and art - including sculpture made from soapstone, whale bone and caribou⁹ horn - as well as view native diamond polishing.  The center has been a popular gathering place, hosting more than 30,000 visitors since it opened

 

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

5 repulse   

n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝

参考例句：

• The armed forces were prepared to repulse any attacks.武装部队已作好击退任何进攻的准备。
• After the second repulse,the enemy surrendered.在第二次击退之后，敌人投降了。

6 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

7 illustrating   

给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• He upstaged the other speakers by illustrating his talk with slides. 他演讲中配上幻灯片，比其他演讲人更吸引听众。
• Material illustrating detailed structure of graptolites has been etched from limestone by means of hydrofluoric acid. 表明笔石详细构造的物质是利用氢氟酸从石灰岩中侵蚀出来。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 caribou   

n.北美驯鹿

参考例句：

• Afar off he heard the squawking of caribou calves.他听到远处有一群小驯鹿尖叫的声音。
• The Eskimos played soccer on ice and used balls filled with caribou hair and grass.爱斯基摩人在冰上踢球，他们用的是驯鹿的毛发和草填充成的球。