Inuksuk – one thing Phoenix and Vancouver have in common.

by Chris Butterworth on February 12, 2010

in In The News

Opening Ceremonies are tonight at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and I’m looking forward to it.  I love the Olympics, and I love getting totally into sports I haven’t seen, read, or heard about in the last 4 years!

Have you seen the logo for this year’s Olympics?

Vancouver Inuksuk

Did you know we have one of those here in Phoenix, standing in front of the Heard Museum on Central Ave a couple blocks south of Thomas Rd?

Inuksuk in Phoenix, Arizona

And from the plaque at the Inuksuk’s base:

William Noah, b. 1943

Inuit from Baker Lake, Nunavut

Inuksuk, 2000

Laminate sandstone

An Inuksuk is a marker that is built in the Arctic by the Inuit people.  The Inuit were the first people to inhabit portions of Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland.  The Inuksuk has a roughly human shape.  The term Inuksuk means “to act in the capacity of a human” and is an extension of “Inuk,” meaning “a human being.”  In a part of the Arctic that has few, if any, distinguishing features, an Inuksuk can be an important orienting place marker for a hunter or traveler.  William Noah constructed this marker at the Heard Museum with the blessing of a representative of the O’odham, the native inhabitants of the land on which this Inuksuk sits.

Heard Museum Purchase with funds provided by Dr. and Mrs. E. Daniel Albrecht

Your sharing a little trivia Realtor,

Chris Butterworth

chris

Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.

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