6/20 Went to the Fort Simpson Visitor Center, which had an interesting exhibit of local history, and used their internet; it wasn’t fast but did allow us to make some phone calls. As we left the Center a flock of Sandhill Cranes stalked across an adjacent field looking for food. We then went to watch the Hand Games. The games, a traditional Dene sport, are actually quite subtle and complicated but a simplistic explanation is as follows: There are two teams each with 4-10 players and 10 – 20 supporters with hide drums. Each member of the team that is up has a pebble which he, or she (although the teams we saw were only men) shows to the opposing team and then hides in his hands. The hands are then placed under a sheet and the pebble is passed back and forth between the hands, to the accompaniment of banging drums. During the drumming the opposing team’s captain, using hand signals, directs certain players to show their hands. Eventually, the captain bets, using sticks, on which hand a certain player has hidden the pebble. A game may last all day or until one team has won all the sticks. It was fun the watch but difficult to pick up the signals. After watching the games we went the vendor’s field and feasted on scrumptious moose stew. Up here moose, caribou, beaver and bear, among other wildlife, appear on local menus quite frequently.
