Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to recognize one of Inuvik's most treasured elders, Mrs. Martha Harry. Miss Martha Simon was born on January 12, 1918. She met and fell in love with Mr. George Harry and they were married in Aklavik on March 17, 1939. The couple had 12 children. Five of their children are still alive. They are: Mr. Leonard Harry, Ms. Lillian Elias, Ms. Valerie Steffanson, Ms. Susan Peffer and Mr. Harold (Ebun) Harry.
Mrs. Harry is well known for her drum dancing. Her great aunt began teaching her to drum dance when she was about four years old. Her son, Mr. Leonard Harry, says that children were taught the dances as a part of their education. Mrs. Harry knows the dances of long ago. She was happy when she and her husband were approached in the late 1980s to see if they would be willing to teach drum dancing. That was when they began teaching drum dancing sessions in their own home on Co-op Hill in Inuvik.
When they first began, there were only a few people that came to their house for the sessions and they were: Mr. Wilbert Papik, Ms. Debbie Gordon-Ruben, Mr. Leonard Harry, Mr. George Harry and Mrs Harry. Mrs. Harry would drum on a piece of cardboard or a garbage can lid and Mr. George Harry would teach the dances. Ms. Gordon-Ruben knew some of the dances, Mr. Papik was very shy and Mr. Leonard Harry liked to yell out during the dances. Mr. Leonard Harry made about 40 phone calls asking if people were interested in learning to drum dance and invited them to come to his parents' home. Everyone he contacted said that they were interested, not one person said no. They began with about five people, soon their home would be filled with people and sometimes there would be no room in the living room because so many people wanted to learn.
Mrs. Harry has travelled to Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, British Columbia, Rankin Inlet, Kugluktuk, Whitehorse and Point Barrow, Alaska for drum dancing. She has met many people in her travels because of her interest and desire for teaching drum dancing. Mrs. Harry is a permanent and honoured member of the Inuvik Elders Committee and was given an award from the ICC Elders Committee in 1997 during a workshop. She was named the Elder Role Model of the Year for 1997. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
