Nunavut News - July 24, 2023

ᐳᓚᕋᖅᑐᓕᕆᓂᖅ ᓄᖅᑲᖅᐹ?

ᐃᓚᖏᑦ ᓇᖕᒥᓂᖃᖅᑎᐅᔪᑦ ᐅᒃᑯᐊᖅᓯᒪᓕᖅᐳᑦ ᓄᕙᖕᓇᕐᔪᐊᕐᓇᖅᑕᖄᓪᓚᓚᐅᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ, ᐃᓚᖏᓪᓗ ᐊᔪᕐᓇᖅᑐᖅᓯᐅᕈᑎᖃᖅᖢᑎᒃ

ᐃᖏᕋᓯᑦᑎᐊᑲᓐᓂᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ

‘Death knell of tourism’?

Some Nunavut operators have shut down since Covid; others are struggling to rebuild clientele

ᓄᑕᐅᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᐃᒪᓂᓴᖅ ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᐃᖃᐅᒪᓇᕐᓂᖃᕈᑎᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᓂᐊᖁᙴᒥᐅᑕᐅᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᔪᒧᑦ

Historical photo sparks emotional memories for former Apex resident

Territorial pride

match to place fifth in her wrestling weight class at the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax last week. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

ᓵᓕ ᓴᐃᑦ ᔮᓐ ᐊᕐᕕᐊᕐᒥᐅᑕᖅ

ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᖅᑯᑎᖓᓂᒃ

ᖁᒧᐊᒃᑎᑦᑎᕗᖅ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒍᑎᖃᖅᖢᓂ

ᓄᓇᖃᖅᖄᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ

ᐱᖑᐊᕆᐊᖅᓯᒪᑎᓪᓗᒋᑦ Hᐊᓕᕙᔅᒥ

ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕈᓯᐅᓚᐅᖅᑐᒥᒃ.

Cambridge Bay and Kugaaruk to receive refurbished ambulances

Emergency vehicle from Ontario replaces modified cube van in Kitikmeot community

By Tom Taylor Northern News Services Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Two Nunavut communities are set to receive refurbished ambulances from municipalities in southern Ontario.

The vehicles are expected to arrive on the coming sealifts.

Cambridge Bay will be getting an ambulance from York, Ont. Kugaaruk, meanwhile, will receive one from Guelph, Ont.

“We’ve been hoping for something like this for a good many years now,” said Cambridge Bay Fire Chief Keith Morrison, whose department will be in charge of the ambulance.

For many years, Cambridge Bay has been using a cube van for emergency medical transport, generally between the health centre and the medevac pad.

The van was formerly used by the local fire department, so it’s not just an “empty box,” according to Morrison. However, the height of the vehicle makes it difficult for passengers to enter and exit, particularly for people with mobility issues, and when staff are moving patients on stretchers.

“It’s not optimal,” Morrison said. “ It’s a bit of work to get people in, occasionally. And while it is outfitted, it is fairly bare bones.

“It’s not an ambulance.”

Cambridge Bay and Kugaaruk will be receiving their ambulances through an independent program created by John Prno, a retired fire chief from Waterloo, Ont.

The program facilitates the transfer of decommissioned ambulances from Ontario to communities in Nunavut.

Generally speaking, ambulances in Ontario are only used for five years before they are retired. According to Prno, many of them only have about 250,000 kilometres on the odometer by that point.

“They’ve got a lot of life in them, and in Nunavut communities, they’re not going to put on 50,000 kilometres a year,” he said. “They’ll be lucky if they put on 500.”

Before the ambulances begin their journey from Ontario to Nunavut, they are cleaned, refurbished, given mechanical checks and new tires, if necessary. Cambridge Bay’s ambulance even received new lettering to reflect its new home.

“It’s like Cambridge Bay is getting a brand new ambulance,” said Prno.

The preparation of each ambulance is handled by the municipality of origin. The emergency vehicles are then driven from Ontario to Bécancour, Que., by volunteers from St. John Ambulance – a drive taking approximately eight hours. They are then transported to Nunavut on cargo ships. The recipient community is responsible for the

Cambridge Bay’s second-hand ambulance will head to the community after five years of use by York Region Paramedic Services on Ontario. The vehicle has been cleaned, refurbished and emblazoned with new decals ahead of its journey north. Photo courtesy of York Region Paramedic Services

cost of shipping.

The municipalities that donate their used ambulances could sell them instead, for close to $20,000, Prno estimates. However, local staff get satisfaction from knowing the vehicles will continue to be used to help people.

“The chiefs that I’ve worked with over the years have really grabbed onto the fact that we’re giving a second life to this ambulance instead of letting it become a plumber’s truck or a French fry truck,” said Prno. “It’s getting another chance to do what it does best, and what it was designed for.”

His program has been operating since roughly 2015, when he was still working as a fire chief in Waterloo. At the time, he had facilitated the

donation of several Ontario ambulances to communities in Africa and Central America, but his son, who worked as a consultant in Nunavut, suggested he look north.

The first ambulance sent to Nunavut landed in Iglulik, with the help of the community’s senior administrative officer, Greg Morash. Fourteen other communities expressed interest in receiving ambulances at that time, and 12 of those are now in receipt. The most recent to inherit one was Baker Lake.

Prno also aims to “come up with a program that trains medical first responders in the North.” “We were well underway with that, and then Covid hit,” he said. “We’ve got to get that started again.”

Tourism businesses in Nunavut still struggling to recover from pandemic

Several operations have been forced to close, including Bathurst Inlet Lodge, which opened in 1969

By Tom Taylor Northern News Services Local Journalism Initiative reporter

This is the first installment in a multi-part series on the tourism sector in Nunavut post-pandemic.

The worst of the pandemic may be over, but tourism businesses in Nunavut are still feeling the effects of the crisis.

Some have even quietly closed their doors for good, such as Bathurst Inlet Lodge, which had been offering ecotourism experiences in the territory’s Kitikmeot region since 1969.

“The lodge shut down due to Covid and it has not been able to reopen,” said co-owner Boyd Warner, who still operates a smaller-scale hunting operation that has “rebounded 100 per cent.”

The decision to close Bathurst Inlet Lodge came down to costs – not just the costs of surviv-

ing the pandemic, but recovering from a couple of years of lost business.

“Once we lost two years of marketing, two years of wear and tear on the building, it was just undoable for us,” Warner said. “In order to reopen it, it would require a substantial investment of money.

“We just don’t have the resources to put back into it. There is no plans to reopen for ecotourism.”

To shut its doors was a tough blow.

“It’s very sad to see that legacy pass,” Warner said.

In Gjoa Haven, CAP Enterprises, which formerly offered adventure tours and support for film crews, also had to shut down that part of its operations.

Co-founder Charlie Cahill estimates the company’s tourism business brought in $15,000 to $50,000 annually prior to Covid-19, depending on the year. Once the pandemic took hold, that

number plummeted to zero.

“When Covid came, everything dropped right off,” he said. “For a couple years, we had no bookings at all. It was just money going out.”

According to Cahill, tourism in Gjoa Haven was already dwindling before the pandemic due to the “prohibitive” costs of flying there. And in the aftermath of the crisis, he believes many people “wanted to go to Mexico or somewhere hot, not the Arctic.”

He has received a few inquiries from potential customers in the last year, but didn’t accept them due to the costs of ramping back up.

CAP Enterprises was the only established company of its kind in Gjoa Haven, as “there wasn’t enough work for two companies,” according to Cahill. He believes Covid was “the death knell of tourism in the area.”

Both Warner and Cahill said they relied on various kinds of government support in hopes of keeping their businesses afloat through the pandemic. However, the support only went so far.

“It was more just a Band-Aid for the short term,” said Cahill.

Complicated applications

Many of the tourism businesses that survived the pandemic are still recovering, including Arctic Kingdom, which operates in 11 communities and is one of the biggest such companies in the territory.

During the pandemic, Arctic Kingdom relied on a “quilt-work” of federal and territorial government programs that made “a big difference,” according to founder and owner Graham Dickson.

However, Dickson acknowledged those programs may not have been as useful to smaller companies due to rigorous “thresholds” on the kinds of businesses that were eligible, as well as complicated application processes.

“We have a full-time accountant who dedicated a lot of time to monthly applications and paperwork,” he said. “The filing requirements

to qualify for everything were fairly sophisticated, which would be beyond many smaller companies.”

Even with government support, Arctic Kingdom struggled through the pandemic.

“In the moment, you were never sure when the Covid curtain was going to lift,” said Dickson. “It was a fairly constant planning and re-planning of whatever was coming up, basically quarter by quarter. That took a lot of resources.”

While Arctic Kingdom is gradually bouncing back, Dickson believes there are new issues deterring people from travelling, ranging from environmental concerns to inflation.

“It’s somewhat of a different world,” he said. “The sensitivity and desire to travel has changed to some degree.

“There’s no question that we’re not operating on the same models and same ratios that were there prior to Covid. There just seems to be new challenges ahead.”

It’s not all bad news for Nunavut’s tourism industry.

Black Feather, a large adventure tourism company that operates in five Nunavut communities, is currently doing good business. While co-owner Ken MacDiarmid was not ready to say the company has completely bounced back from the pandemic, he was busy enough that he did not have time to be interviewed on the phone.

“I can report that our recovery is under way,” he wrote in an email. “We are running many trips this spring and summer in Nunavut and it has been really nice to be back in the communities and out on the land. We are very grateful to all of our partners for keeping their businesses open and welcoming us back.”

However, even he acknowledged the ongoing obstacles of running a tourism business in Nunavut, pointing to “aviation challenges, particularly the reduction in Canadian North scheduled services.”

Two tourists observe a polar bear on an Arctic Kingdom excursion. Arctic Kingdom, which operates in 11 Nunavut communities, is one of the territory’s largest tourism companies. It still struggled to get through the pandemic, according to owner owner Graham Dickson. Photo courtesy of Arctic Kingdom

Working by day, wildlife photographer at

all other times

ᐃᖃᓇᐃᔭᖅᐸᖢᖓ ᐅᓪᓗᒃᑯᑦ, ᐊᔅᔨᓕᐅᕆᔨᐅᓪᓗᖓᓗ ᐅᒪᔪᓂᒃ.

Rankin Inlet photographer talks being immersed in caribou herd

ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᕐᒥᐅᑕᖅ

By Stewart Burnett

News Services

Born and raised in Rankin Inlet, David Kakuktinniq Jr. has been following the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herd most of his life.

“When I was younger, I used to follow the herd for harvesting purposes,” he said.

But now his inspiration is more so for wildlife photography, as he has been building his name and brand in that field for several years.

“Now it becomes more enjoyable to witness,” he said.

As the herd has been passing by Rankin Inlet in the last few weeks, Kakuktinniq Jr. has been keeping his eye on the animals’ migration and his camera ready.

After waking up early on July 8 to see if he could grab some shots of the herd before work, he was treated to an exceptional experience.

“I actually made it to my destination, which was farther away, and I didn’t see anything along the way when I got there,” recalled Kakuktinniq Jr., adding that he began heading home on his ATV to prepare for work after being skunked on his original destination.

“I think I was within the 5-10km range of home when those (caribou) popped over the hill, so I pulled over and got my gear ready and I was enjoying the scenery, capturing what I could.”

He became surrounded by hundreds of caribou within mere feet of him, as he took in the moment while capturing it with his camera.

“When you’re in that situation where you see hundreds of caribou in front of you, time goes by pretty quick,” said Kakuktunniq Jr. “From the time I unpacked to the time I got my gear ready to go home when they finally passed, it was about an hour. By the time I was finished with that, I went to work at 8:30 in the morning.”

He called it a special experience. He also said the herd appears very healthy, potentially because of the early snow melt and abundance of food.

Beyond caribou, Kakuktinniq Jr. has been honing his photography craft for many years now. He has captured all sorts of wildlife from juvenile bald eagles to polar bears, but still on

ᑲᑎᖓᔪᓂᒃ

his list are walrus, beluga, wolverines, wolves and – if he’s really lucky – orca whales.

ᐃᓅᓂᑯ ᐱᕈᖅᖢᓂᓗ ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᕐᓂ,

ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ ᐃᓅᓯᓕᕐᒥᓂᒃ

ᖃᐅᔪᓯᒋᕙᖓ ᐸᕗᓕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ

ᖃᒪᓂᕐᔪᐊᑉ ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᒪᓕᒃᖢᓂ.

ᒪᑯᒃᑲᓐᓂᖅᖢᖓ ᒪᓕᒃᐸᓚᐅᖅᑕᒃᑲ ᑐᒃᑐᑦ

ᐊᖑᖦᖢᒋᓪᓗ. ᐅᖃᖅᐳᖅ. ᑭᓯᐊᓂᓕ ᒪᓇᐅᔪᖅ ᐊᓕᐊᓇᐃᒋᔭᖃᖅᐳᖅ

ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕆᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᐆᒪᔪᓂᒃ, ᐱᓕᕆᐊᓂ

ᑕᑯᖁᑎᕙᒃᖢᓂᐅᒃ, ᐱᕈᖅᑎᑉᐸᓪᓕᐊᓪᓗᓂᐅᒡᓗ ᐊᒥᓱᓄᑦ ᐊᕋᒍᓄᑦ. ᐊᓕᐊᓇᐃᒃᓯᓪᓗᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᐊᓂ ᑕᐅᑐᒃᖢᓂᐅᒃ. ᑐᒃᑐᑦ ᐊᖁᓵᓕᖅᑎᓪᓗᒋ ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᒃᑯᑦ

ᐱᓇᓱᐊᕈᓯᖅᓄᑦ, ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓂᖅ ᐅᔾᔨᖅᓱᑲᑕᒃᐳᖅ

ᐱᕙᒋᔭᖅᓯᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕆᔪᒪᒐᒥ ᓂᕐᔪᑎᑦ-ᑐᒃᑐᑦ ᓄᖃᖓᔪᑦ ᐸᖓᓕᖕᓇᖅᓯᖏᑎᓪᓗᒍ.

ᐃᖁᒻᒪᕋᒥ ᔪᓚᐃ 8 ᐅᓪᓛᒃᑯᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᒋᐊᖅᖢᓂ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕆᔪᒪᓪᓗᓂ ᐃᖃᓇᐃᔭᕆᐊᖏᓂᖓᓂᒃ, ᑕᑯᓕᖅᐳᖅ ᐱᑯᓇᖅᑐᒥᒃ ᐊᑐᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᖏᑕᒥᓂᒃ.

‘ᐅᖓᓯᒃᑐᒧᑦ ᐃᖏᕐᕋᓪᓗᖓ

ᑕᑯᖐᓐᓇᖅᖢᖓ’,

ᐅᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᕐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ, ᐃᓚᓪᓗᓂᐅᓪᓗ

ᐊᖏᕐᕋᒧᑦ ᐃᖏᕋᓕᖅᖢᓂ ᑎᓴᒪᓕᒃᑯᑦ ᐃᖃᓇᐃᔭᕆᐊᖃᕋᒥ ᑕᑯᙲᓇᕋᓗᐊᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ.

‘5-10 ᑭᓛᒥᑕᒥᒃ ᐅᖓᓯᒃᑐᒦᖢᖓ ᓄᓇᓕᖕᓄᑦ

ᑐᒃᑐᑦ ᓄᐃᓚᐅᖅᐳᑦ ᐅᕕᖓᓂᐅᓂᒃᑯᑦ, ᐊᓱᐄᓛᒃ

ᐱᕙᒌᔭᖅᐸᒃᑲ ᑲᔾᔭᐅᓴᒃᖢᖓᓗ, ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᕈᓐᓇᖅᑕᒃᑲ ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᖅᖢᒋᑦ.’ ᑐᑦᑐᓂᑦ

ᐊᕙᔪᔭᐅᓕᖅᐳᖅ ᖃᓂᑦᑐᒃᑯᑦ, ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᕆᓪᓚᐅᖅᐸᖓ.

ᑕᐃᒪᓐᓇ ᑕᑯᓪᓗᓂ ᓱᒃᑲᓕᔪᒃᑯᑦ

ᐊᑐᕐᓇᖅᑐᖅ’ ᐅᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᑲᐅᒃᑐᓐᓂᖅ

ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ. ‘ᐸᕐᓇᐃᔭᖅᑎᓪᓗᖓ ᐱᒋᐊᖅᖢᒍ ᐊᖏᕐᕋᐅᓇᓱᖕᓂᓄᑦ, ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᐃᑲᕐᕋᐸᓗᒃ. ᐱᐊᓂᒃᑲᒪ ᐃᖃᓇᐃᔭᕆᐊᓕᓚᐅᖅᐳᖓ 8:30-ᒥᑦ ᐅᓪᓛᒃᑯᑦ.’

ᐊᑐᖅᑕᓂ ᐱᑯᒋᒻᒪᕆᓚᐅᖅᐸᖓ, ᑐᒃᑐᓪᓗ ᓂᕿᑦᑎᐊᕆᒃᖁᔨᓪᓗᑎᒃ, ᐊᐳᑎ ᐊᐅᒃᓵᓕᓂᖓᓄᑦ

ᓂᕆᔭᒃᓴᖃᑦᑎᐊᕈᑎᒋᓪᓗᓂᔾᔪᒃ.

ᑐᒃᑑᑉ ᐊᓯᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕆᕙᒃᑭᕗᖅ, ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕆᔨᐅᑯᑖᒃᓯᒪᕗᖅ

ᐊᕋᒍᓄᓐ ᐊᒥᓱᓄᑦ. ᑭᓱᑐᓐᓇᕐᓂᒃ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᖅᓯᓯᒪᕗᖅ ᖃᕝᕕᒑᕐᔪᐊᓛᕐᓂᒃ, ᓇᓄᕐᓂᒃ, ᑭᓯᐊᓂ ᓱᓕ

ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕈᒪᔭᖏᑦ ᐊᐃᕖᓂᑦ, ᕿᓚᓗᒐᑦ, ᖃᕝᕕᒑᕐᔪᖕᓂᑦ ᐊᒪᓗ ᐊᒪᕈᕐᓂᑦ. - ᐱᔪᓐᓇᕈᓂ ᐋᕐᓗᖕᓂᑦ.

ᖁᖏᐊᖅᖢᓂ

ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ, ᐊᔨᓕᐅᖃᑎᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐸᕗᓕ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖃᒪᓂᕐᔪᐊᖅ - ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᔪᓚᐃ 8. ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ

ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ ᑲᑎᖓᔪᓂᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᕆᐅᕐᖢᓂ ᑲᒪᓇᖅᑐᖅ, ᐱᑯᓇᕆᓪᓗᓂ ᐅᖃᖅᐳᖅ ᐅᒪᔪᕐᓂ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᕆᔨ.

ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ

ᑎᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂᐅᑉ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᒐᖏᑦ ᒪᓂᒪᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᓯ. ᐊᔨᖁᑎ ᑕᐃᕕᑎ ᑲᑯᑦᑎᓐᓂ ᒥᑭᓐᓂᖅᓴᖅ

ᓄᖃᖅᖢᖓᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᕈᑎᒃᑲ

Various prints David Kakuktinniq Jr. has captured and made available are seen here. Photo courtesy of David Kakuktinniq Jr.

Being among hundreds of caribou was a special experience, said this wildlife photographer. Photo courtesy of David Kakuktinniq Jr.

David Kakuktinniq Jr. shot this photo of caribou while he was immersed in the herd July 8.

Photo courtesy of David Kakuktinniq Jr.

David Kakuktinniq Jr. gives a thumbs up with a selfie as he takes in the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou herd July 8. Photo courtesy of David Kakuktinniq Jr.

ᑲᑯᒃᑎᓐᓂᖅ ᒥᑭᓂᖅᓴᖅ ᐊᔨᓕᐅᓚᐅᖅᑕᖓ ᑲᒪᓇᖅᑐᒃᑰᖅᑎᓪᓗᒍ ᑐᒃᑐᓂᒃ

Keeping the knowledge – and fish – preserved

ᐱᖁᓯᖅᐳᑦ

ᐱᓯᒪᐃᓐᓇᕐᓚᕗᑦ

ᐃᖃᓗᖕᓂᓪᓗ ᐱᐅᖅᓱᐊᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ ᖃᐅᔨᒪᓗᑕ

Ilitaqsiniq hosts fish preservation workshop in Rankin Inlet

ᐃᓕᑕᖅᓯᓂᖅ ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᕐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᑎᑦᑎᕗᖅ ᐃᖃᓗᓕᕆᓂᕐᒥᒃ

By Stewart Burnett Northern News

Ilitaqsiniq’s Rankin Inlet office hosted a three-day workshop for nine participants to teach fish preservation in late June. Elder Rosemary Sandy led the workshop, along with Kelly Lindell and James Mearns. The program was funded by the Social Justice Fund and ran June 27-29.

ᐃᓕᑕᖅᓯᓂᖅ ᐃᖃᓗᖕᓂ ᑎᑎᕋᕐᕕᓕᒃ ᑲᖏᖅᖠᓂᕐᓂ ᐱᓕᕆᑎᑎᓵᖅᐳᖅ 9-ᓂᒃ ᐃᓚᐅᔪᖃᖅᖢᓂ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑐᓂᒃ, ᔫᓂᐅᓵᖅᑐᒥ.

ᐅᓗᓯ ᒥᐊᓕ ᓵᓐᑎ, ᑲᐊᓕ ᓕᓐᑎᐅᓪ, ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᔭᐃᒥᓯ ᒧᐅᓐᔅ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑎᑎᓵᖅᑐᑦ. ᑮᓇᐅᔭᖃᖅᑎᑕᐅᓪᓗᑎᒃ

ᓕᐊ ᐊᔭᓕᒃ ᒥᓕ ᐱᕈᖅᑐᕕᓂᕐᓂᒃ ᐱᕙᒋᔭᐃᕗᖅ ᓇᑲᑎᖅᖢᓂᒋᑦ . ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᕆᔨ ᑭᐊᓕ ᓕᓐᑎᐅᓪ

ᐊᔭᓕᒃ ᒥᓕ ᐸᓂᖅᓰᔾᔪᑎᒥᑦ ᐊᑐᖅᐳᖅ

. ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᕆᔨ ᑭᐊᓕ ᓕᓐᑎᐅᓪ

ᐃᓕᑕᖅᓯᓂᒃᑯᓂᖔᖅᑐ ᐃᓕᓴᐃᔨᐅᖃᑕᐅᔪᖅ ᔭᐃᒥᓯ ᒧᐅᓐᔅ ᐃᖃᓗᖕᓕᕐᒥᐅᑕᖅ, ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᖅᑎᑎᕗᖅ ᐃᕋᕖᔭᐃᓂᕐᒥᒃ , ᓴᐅᓂᔭᐃᓂᕐᒥᓪᓗ . ᐊᔾᔨᓕᐅᕆᔨ ᑭᐊᓕ ᓕᓐᑎᐅᓪ

ᐃᓐᓇᕆᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᐅᓕᓯ ᒥᐊᓕ ᓵᓐᑎ ᐱᔅᓯᓕᐅᕐᓂᕐᒥᒃ

Leah Aliyak Milley prepping vegetables, with Meagan Netser cutting avocados. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Derek Fredlund uses the grinder to grind char for jerky.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Leah Aliyak Milley operates the jerky gun to make fish jerky.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Ilitaqsiniq co-instructor James Mearns from Iqaluit showing how to filet and debone char. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

A Mediterranean marinated char prepared for participants’ healthy quinoa bowl. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

A char poke bowl made by participants. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Hot smoked char ready to eat. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Meagan Netser demonstrates her pipsi skills. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Elder Rosemary Sandy demonstrating pipsi cutting techniques. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

Former Apex resident recalls ‘beautiful’ childhood after discovering historical photograph

Mary Zinnow’s childhood pictures were destroyed in a 1960s house fire, then a 65-year-old image rekindled a flood of memories

By Tom Taylor Northern News Services

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

In May of 1968, Mary Zinnow’s family lost their home in Apex to a fire, and with it, all of their photos.

Now 78 years old, she went most her life without seeing a picture of herself as a girl, but recently came across one in a 2020 Nunavut News article.

The photo was taken in 1958, when Zinnow was a student at Apex School, a short distance from Iqaluit, which was then called Frobisher Bay and part of the Northwest Territories. The woman in the background is her old teacher, Shirley Smith, who she describes as lovely.

“I have no pictures of myself from when I was a little girl,” Zinnow said of the Library and Archives Canada photo. “I’m lucky to have that picture that we’re looking at right now.”

She was born in Frobisher Bay on July 23, 1945. She said she was the third baby born in the community. Her full name, at that time, was Mary E7-452 – the product of a Government of Canada system that identified Inuit by numbers in place of surnames.

When Zinnow discovered the photo in question, a wave of memories came flooding back.

She spent most of her childhood living in Apex. Her father worked for Hudson’s Bay Company, and they lived in a “little house” that his employer provided.

She remembers her father would trap foxes on the land around their home, and says he taught her to shoot in the springtime, when “all kinds of birds” descended on a pond near their house. Her mother, meanwhile, would take her down to the beach to collect clams, and their harvests were so bountiful that they often struggled to carry their buckets. Through it all, she recalls appreciating the natural splendour of her surroundings, from the expanses of seaweed near the beach, to the crystal clear water, to the berries that cropped up every summer.

“Oh, it was so beautiful,” she said. “We had a wonderful life.”

Zinnow has fond memories of the people in the area at the time too. There were only a few families around at that point, and she said they were all “so close to each other.”

There were also many Americans in town, working at the Frobisher Bay air base. She said the Americans were “so good” to her, and recalls attending the movies they would screen in a building next to the hospital.

She said the Americans once distributed soup and supplies to families when there was an illness spreading across town and, at other times, would give out products like coffee, bacon, peanut butter, cookies and dried apples. Once, she devoured their gifts so quickly that she made herself sick.

“We ate all of it,” she laughed. “I remember being so sick. I was throwing up.”

’The dark side of life’

Those idyllic days did not last for Zinnow, as her father eventually left his job with Hudson’s Bay Company to pursue a career as an electrician in Kingston, Ont., and she moved with her mother from their longtime home in Apex to Iqaluit, where they stayed with family.

It was around that time, she recalled, that she became aware of “the dark side of life.” By that point, alcohol had begun to seep into the community, and it affected many people around her. She also started drinking herself, and ultimately ran away from home.

She didn’t get sober until 1984.

By that time, she had married twice: first to a man from Kinngait when she was a teenager, and later to a German man she met in Montreal. She met her second husband in 1979, in the city’s East End, and later discovered that they lived right beside each other in the city centre. They married in Iqaluit a year after that happy coincidence, and she took his last name. Today, they live together outside Grande Prairie, Alta.

Zinnow has a son in his 50s and another in his 40s. She had a daughter who died in 2012, which is when she was last in Iqaluit. She admits that her drinking put a strain on her relationships with her daughter and other family members, but she hopes they know she loves them with all her heart.

ᓴᓇᖑᖅᖢᓂ ᑭᐳᖓᓂᒃ ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᒃᕐᕕᖕᒥᑦ ᓂᐊᖁᙴᓂ ᒪᐃ 1958. ᒥᐊᓕᐅᑉ ᐊᔨᖁᑎᑐᖃᕕᓂᖏᑦ ᐊᓯᐅᔨᓚᐅᖅᓯᒪᒐᒥᔾᔪᒃ ᐃᒡᓗ ᐃᑯᐊᓚᔪᒧᑦ, ᖁᒃᓴᓚᓚᐅᖅᖢᓂᓗ ᑕᑯᒐᒥ ᐊᔨᖁᑎᒥᒃ ᐃᖕᒥᓂ ᓇᖕᒥᓂᖅ ᓄᓇᕗᑦ ᐱᕙᓕᐊᔪᖁᑎᖏᑎᒍᑦ 2020-ᓕᓴᖅ.

A young Mary Zinnow, then known as Mary E7-452, paints a sculpture on her desk at school in Apex in May 1958. Mary lost most her childhood photos in a house fire, and was delighted to discover this one by chance in a Nunavut News article from 2020. Photo courtesy of Ted Grant/ National Film Board of Canada Phototheque Collection/Library and Archives Canada/e010975839

“When I was young, I was confused,” she said. “I have regrets.

“I’m thankful for my family. They’ve gone through a lot with me.”

She said her life “has been much better” since she got sober, and that she’s happy in Grande Prairie. She learned to garden. She goes to church. She volunteers on National Indigenous Peoples Day and Canada Day. She gives presentations on her life in Nunavut at a local school.

“Life is good here,” she said. “I have a good life.”

Despite being thousands of kilometres from Iqaluit, she’s still immensely proud of her Inuit

heritage. Stumbling across a photo from her childhood in Apex helped reinforce that pride, and she hopes sharing her story will ensure that others don’t forget how people in the area used to live.

“A lot of things were coming to my mind [when I saw the photo]” she said, fighting back tears. “God is good to me. God loves me and he doesn’t forget who I am.

“I’m Inuk and nobody can change it,” she added. “I don’t want it to get lost, how we used to live in the past.

“There was harmony, there was peace, there was respect, and there was love.”

Cold smoked jarred char is seen here. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell Catherine Ayaruak portioning fish with Serina Makkah. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lindell

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Fun for the whole community

By

Just about the whole community came out for a smoky afternoon part in Rankin Inlet for Agnico Eagle’s family fun day Saturday, July 15. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Agnico Eagle Arena to enjoy food, games and live music, while children filled the inside of the arena playing in the bouncy castles.

some tunes for the crowd.

Tagoona woos the crowd with his original style of music and performance.

Barthelemy Nirlungayuk leaps in the bouncy castle. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Community members take their seats to enjoy the show and connect. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

The Agnico Eagle Arena parking lot is full as the community enjoys the festivities. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Stewart Burnett Northern News Services

Vital Nauya strums

Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Nangaat Netser holds Ivalu Netser for a photo. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Maliki Nakoolak slides down the slip ‘n’ slide on the hill. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

Nelson

Stewart Burnett/ NNSL photo

So many people are out on the land

UPLUKKUT IQALUKTUUTIAMIT. INUIN NAAMMAINNAQTUT. UUNAKPAKTUK NUNAKPUT. HIKUILIQMAN QAJAQTURIAMI ALIANAQ. NAUTIAN AMIRAIKTUT NUNAMI. PINNIRAALUK. TAAKHILAITTUK AUJAMI. HALUMAKHINGMANLU PINNIQ ANIIRIAMI. KIHIMI KIKTURIAT KUIINNAQTUT. INUIN HAVALUGAAKTUT INUHUKTUTLU HAVALUGAAKTUT QUANA. IQALUKHIUKPAKTUTLU IKKAKHAKTUT KUVYALIQIVAKTUTLU PIFFILIUQTUT QUANA. APQUTIT HANAQIJAUJUN QUANA. HIURAINNAQ IQALUKTUUTIAMI IILA. QUANAQHIVAKTUT HAVAKTUT. INUIN QAJAQTUKNIAKMIJUN AHIAKMUNLU KUGLUKTUMUNLU ALIANAQ. QUANA INUIN AKOLAILGOMIITTUT. MANNIQQAMI. HULILUGAAKTUT. HIKUILIQMAN AUDLAAKNAKHIJUK

QAJAQKUT. NAAMMAINNAQTURUT. UUNAKPALAAQ ILANI. QINIQPAKLURIT NUTAQQAT UNURAGNAT.

Welcome to beautiful community of Cambridge Bay, land of the Inuinnait.

The ocean is slowly getting to be ice free so now residents, hunters, fishers can travel by boat to the mainland: Umingmaktok, Qingauq and Kugluktuk.

quiet. The berries will be ready for picking soon, we just need more rain so the berries are plump.

CAMBRIDGE BAY TEA TALK

with Navalik Tologanak email: helent@qiniq.com

It will soon be time to go berry picking and caribou hunting on the mainland. Many Umingmaktokmiut and Kingaonmiutat can travel to their homeland and enjoy rest of their summers out there in the peace and

Wildlife is plenty when out on the island and towards the mainland. It is a good time of year to get away from the communities to go and relax in the peace and quiet of this beautiful land. We are from the land, it gave us life, this is where our souls are happiest and many heal out on the land. This is because it is where our ancestors are — we and the land are taken care of.

Many communities become very quiet and empty in the spring and summers up here, it

is because everyone takes off to the land to camp and relax.

Canada Day was quiet in Cambridge Bay. Just a barbeque was prepared, the weather was chilly and windy as the day went on. But on Nunavut Day there were more residents who came out to celebrate down at the Heritage Park. There were so many prizes and a few events which made it fun to celebrate Nunavut Day. Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association staff did a good job hosting the event. Mining company B2Gold prepared the delicious barbeque of hot dogs, hamburgers with refreshments. Many of the prizes were so amazing with camping packages, barbeque sets, airline tickets, gift cards and much more. Quana to everyone who volunteered their time to host their community.

God Be With You Son. Your granddaughter Jade Simone is so beautiful. We are proud.

Elders meet with Alex Gordon, who was a government administrator in Cambridge Bay in the 1960s and ’70s. He recently returned for a visit and brought his photo collection from decades ago. Front row, from left, Marlene Taptoona, Lucy Ohokak, Joe Koaha, Susie Koaha, Mabel Etegik, Mary Anakanerk and Navalik Tologanak. Back row, from left, Larry Panaktak, Lucy Ohokak, Margo Neglak, Eric Newell, Alex Gordon, Emily Angulalik and Charlie Poodlat. Photo courtesy of Navalik Tologanak

Scientists head to Nunavut island to help solve Mars methane mystery

Gas contributes to global warming on Earth

A team of researchers has travelled to a remote Arctic island in the hopes of better understanding the possibility of life on Mars.

Astrobiologist Haley Sapers, an adjunct professor at York University in the Lassonde School of Engineering, is leading the team at the McGill Arctic Research Station, or MARS, on Axel Heiberg Island. The uninhabited island is in Nunavut’s Qikiqtaaluk region and has conditions similar to the red planet.

Under the 24-hour midnight sun, they plan to study super-salty cold springs that release methane on Gypsum Hill, about a 45-minute hike from the research station. They also plan to take methane readings from the atmosphere and carry out a simulated Mars Rover mission.

“Methane is a really important atmospheric gas here on Earth because it contributes significantly to global warming,” said Sapers, a visiting scientist with the California Institute of Technology. “It’s also a really interesting gas on Mars … And we don’t understand exactly where it’s coming from or where it’s disappearing to.”

On Earth, Sapers said, most methane is biogenic, meaning it’s produced by living organisms.

The gas can also be produced by geological processes.

Its presence on Mars could be evidence of past or present life, or indicate areas on the planet that could be inhabited in the future.

Scientists first detected trace amounts of methane in the Mars atmosphere in 2003 and have continued to be perplexed by it.

Sapers said an instrument on the Curiousity rover has to take samples from the Martian atmosphere over several hours to enrich methane to where it can be analyzed. She said there aren’t many measurements of methane from the surface of Mars.

“We need a new type of instrument that doesn’t take as many resources that can take really fast, really sensitive measurements of methane,” she said.

On Axel Heiberg Island, the research team plans to test a new instrument developed with ABB Inc., a technology and engineering company based in Quebec, that aims to do just that.

Sapers said they also plan to complete detailed sampling of micro-organisms that have previously been detected by scientists from Mc-

Gill University in the sediment of the island’s hyper-saline cold springs. She said they want to determine whether those micro-organisms oxidize methane, like those she has studied in deep ocean methane seeps.

“Understanding more about these micro-organisms up in the Arctic might help us understand the potential for micro-organisms to prevent significant amounts of methane from being re-

leased in the subsurface of the Arctic,” she said.

“That would be really important, especially in the context of climate change and global warming.”

Sapers said the polar desert island is the ideal place to do this research as it is the only place on Earth where hyper-saline cold springs that are methane seeps are situated in permafrost — similar to subsurface conditions on Mars.

The planet and island also both have cold and

dry conditions, she said, and polygonal terrain — a type of patterned ground that forms in permafrost regions on Earth by freezing and thawing.

“It is wonderful to be up here,” she said. “It is a very exciting place to do research.”

—By Emily Blake, The Canadian Press. This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Astrobiologist Haley Sapers, an adjunct professor at York University in the Lassonde School of Engineering and visiting scientist with the California Institute of Technology, is pictured on Axel Heiberg Island in an undated handout photo. The Canadian Press/Ho-Haley Sapers

News Briefs

A rare treat

Correction

The Arctic Bay graduation photo on page A5 of the July 10 edition of Nunavut News should have been credited to Const. Mark Long. Nunavut News regrets the error and any confusion or embarrassment it may have caused.

Aggravated assault investigation in Iqaluit

There was a stabbing in Iqaluit on the night of July 16.

Iqaluit

The RCMP responded to a call at 10:05 p.m. The victim at the scene was transported to hospital by ambulance and was said to be in stable condition.

Francois Jeffrey was arrested and charged with three offences under the Criminal Code: aggravated assault, failure to comply with a release order and failure to comply with a probation order.

Jeffrey is scheduled to appear in court next on Aug. 15.

RV Nuliajuk setting sail

Qikiqtaaluk

The Government of Nunavut’s research vessel (RV) Nuliajuk will be sailing around the territory this summer and fall.

“As part of our commitment to scientific exploration and environmental conservation, the vessel will visit various communities to conduct research and engage with community members,” a recent GN news release reads.

The vessel will be in Pond Inlet from July 28 to Aug. 14, Grise Fiord from Aug. 19 to 26, Qikiqtarjuaq from Sept. 2 to 12, Pangnirtung from Sept. 18 to October 9 and again from Oct. 11 to 17, and finally, in Iqaluit from Oct. 23 to 29.

Nunavummiut in those communities are invited to learn more about RV Nuliajuk and the research its crew is conducting by coming aboard for tours, activities and discussions.

The vessel will be open to people of all ages, but children under 16 will need to be accompanied by adults.

ICC meets in Nuuk

Greenland

The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) hosted its first in-person gathering since the pandemic July 17-19 in Nuuk, Greenland.

ICC normally holds a general assembly every four years, but the 2022 event was a hybrid meeting due to Covid-19 concerns. This year’s in-person gathering was called a delegates meeting and an opportunity to reflect on the organization’s progress, celebrate unity and further develop ICC work plans.

“ICC Greenland and the municipality of Avannaata Kommunia have been planning this for many years, and unfortunately the pandemic delayed the in-person event,” stated ICC chair Sara Olsvig. “Gathering as Inuit contributes to the original vision of unity across our Inuit homeland – Inuit Nunaat. We gain strength from meeting each other, from both our discussions and sharing

our culture.”

Inuit from Chukotka were not able to attend in-person due to the Russian war in Ukraine.

The main themes for the meeting this year are internal ICC governance structure, marine governance, hunting and food security, infrastructure deficit and the international decade on Indigenous languages.

“Continuing the vision of our founders, we are bringing our voice to the international arena in many important areas – human rights, climate change, contaminants, international shipping, wildlife and health,” states Olsvig.

“Guided by the ICC 2022 General Assembly Declaration, which serves as our mandate throughout this four-year term, the gathering in Ilulissat will provide an important venue to further discuss our priorities and advocacy.”

Aviation scholarship available

The hits keep coming as the tuugaalik (narwhal) are evidently in Rankin Inlet, a rarity for the town. Tracey Ayaruak sent in this photo of Norman Okalik with his first narwhal this past weekend at Marble Island just outside of Rankin Inlet. She added a thank you to Chris and Sandy Papik, Blaine Chislett, Elliot Adams and Ray Pudlat and his sons for helping cut it up. Photo courtesy of Anulik and Tracey Ayaruak

Nunavut

Applications for the Simata Pitsiulak Aviation Scholarship are now open.

Any students who are going to school to train as a pilot, aircraft maintainer, flight attendant or studying airline or airport operations might be eligible. The scholarship is up to $7,500 per student to help pay for education costs.

Eligible applicants must be currently enrolled in school to train as a pilot, aircraft maintainer, flight attendant or in airline or airport operations; be a Nunavut Inuk or a full-time resident of Nunavut (two-year minimum residency); and plan to work in Nunavut after finishing their education.

Full-time online courses and commercial flight time-building will be considered.

The application deadline is Aug. 31, 2023.

For more information, please email edt@gov.nu.ca or call 1-888-975-5999.

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Sports & Recreation

Team Nunavut takes on NAIG

By James McCarthy Northern News Services

The 2023 North American Indigenous Games — also known as NAIG — in Halifax has come to a close and Team Nunavut’s athletes are making their way home, if they haven’t already done so.

Eekeeluak Avalak of Cambridge Bay continues to cement his legendary status in Nunavut by winning gold in wrestling, while

Thayer Komakjuak of Arviat was a silver medallist on the mat as well.

Morgan Kakutinniq of Rankin Inlet ended up finishing fourth in his wrestling weight class and Chasity St. John of Arviat was fifth on the female side. Here’s some of Nunavut’s finest in action over the course of the week that was.

Eliyah Kilabuk of Arctic Bay, left, and Jerrid Netser of Iqaluit can’t quite get the block up against Alberta in volleyball action. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

Iris Sowdluapik of Pangnirtung gets down low to return a forehand during badminton action. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

It’s an all-Nunavut battle as Jusipi Dimitruk of Cambridge Bay, top, takes on Cody Qamukaq of Iglulik in wrestling action. Both wrestlers combined for 46 points in the match. Coach Chris Crooks can be seen in the background enjoying every second of it. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

Chasity St. John of Arviat celebrates with the Nunavut flag after winning her bout to place fifth in her weight class.

Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

Jonah Kunilusie of Pangnirtung attempts to bridge himself and avoid being pinned in his match. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

Sheila Akulukjuk of Pangnirtung, right, prepares to serve as her partner, Rodney Nakoolak of Coral Harbour, gets ready for the return during mixed doubles badminton action. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023

Isaiah Angutimarik of Iglulik tries to roll his opponent from New Mexico into a pinning position. Photo courtesy of NAIG 2023