The Media Room

Natural Resources Canada

July 17, 2010

Deline Student Gives Name to New Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Yamoria

A Northern name is going to one of Canada’s new autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), after a grade 8 student from Deline was chosen as the winner of a contest to find a meaningful name for the AUV.

Tannice Baton from Ehtseo Ayha School in Deline submitted the winning entry, Yamoria, which stems from the traditional Sahtu story of Yamoria, the great traveler and lawmaker for the Dene people. Today, the word means “The One Who Travels”. Another student from Ehtseo Ayha School, Todd Ellton, is also being honoured for the creativity of his submission.

Once christened, Yamoria will spend the summer with the already-christened Qaujisati, “One Who Searches,” mapping the Arctic Ocean floor and identifying the limits of Canada’s continental shelf.

“These state-of-the-art underwater vehicles were developed to support Canada’s submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as part of the ongoing work to scientifically establish the limits of Canada’s extended continental shelf,” said the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources. “The AUVs, created by many federal organizations, can dive to depths of 5000 metres and are capable of conducting a continuous three-day mission, travelling a distance of 400 kilometres in arctic waters, so the name Yamoria is a great choice."

“I am very proud of these students for showing such creativity in the names,” said the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. “Traditional stories like the legend of Yamoria are one of the ways Northern people gain understanding about their land - as these AUVs will give us a better understanding of our Northern waters.”

Naming celebrations took place this week at Ehtseo Ayha School Auditorium in Deline. Baton and Ellton received special commemorative coins stamped with images of the AUV, and a working model of the AUV was on on hand for demonstration in Great Bear Lake.

Natural Resources Canada and Defence Research Development Canada opened the naming challenge to Grade 6 and 8 students in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut on March 31, 2010. In addition to naming the vehicle, the contest was meant to spark greater interest in science and technology among Northern students.

For more information about the AUV naming contest and celebrations, contact:

Ashley Green

Public Affairs Officer

Education, Culture and Employment

(867) 920-3059

ashley_green@gov.nt.ca

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