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On February 13, 2013 United Taxi became an Inuvialuit registered company and Hester Inuaslurak the first Inuvialuit woman with majority share in a taxi company in Inuvik. However, Hester is a down to earth business owner, and most days, you will see her driving Car 13 around town. She especially enjoys driving elders. “I help them as much as I can, if they have groceries I get out of the car and help them, or if a passenger’s child is not in the greatest mood, I try to get them to calm down,” laughs Hester. There is some gender discrimination from various competitors, “they see me at a stop sign and deliberately cut me off”, and finds the greatest challenge to be dealing with intoxicated passengers. However, despite the work being demanding Hester is happy. “I love to drive. I don’t see it as making money, I see it as providing a service to the community and a lot of people depend on this,” she says. Most Inuvik taxi drivers are not local, and it is rare to see an aboriginal driver. One of the most rewarding moments was when an Inuvialuk commended for her achievement. “He’s from out of town. He told me he’s so proud of me because I’m Inuvialuit and I started this for myself and hopefully other people will get into it.” Last year, Hester moved briefly to Victoria, BC before deciding to return to Inuvik. She was on Employment Insurance, and had difficulty finding work. She was a dispatcher for United Taxi before. “One of the taxi drivers was talking about selling his taxi permit and a couple of other drivers talked me into it. It would be interesting for me. We
in the driving seat Hester InuaSLurak
To Hester, Jade’s happiness is her greatest priority. She accompanies her daughter to figure skating and swimming lessons. The mother-daughter team is in sync whether they are drum dancing, baking, studying, or playing together. “Jade has been drum dancing since I was pregnant with her, and she knows almost all of the songs. She’s always asking to go to the practice.”
“ I love to drive. I don’t see it as making money, I see it as providing a service to the community and a lot of people depend on this.” started working on it before Christmas, getting my licenses, medical exam, my Class 4, studying the town bylaws, the driver’s manual for the Class 4, and then I applied for a loan with Western Arctic Business Development Services,” she recalls. “The permit can go for $60,000 – $100,000 and there was no way I could afford that in one lump sum. So I got my start up fees and equipment, the car that I needed for this business, and everything got approved. I started driving February 8th, 2013.” Hester’s company currently has a fleet of 13 taxis. She says they are often hired for out of town trips. “We go to Tsiigehtchic, McPherson, and when the Ice Road is open Aklavik and Tuk, even to Eagle Plains.” For now she chooses to continue learning about the running of the company, letting fellow shareholders handle the technical side of the business. Hester is a graduate of Aurora College’s Office Administration Program. She enjoyed working in the offices of IRC, as well as at Aboriginal Head Start, but found that she needed more time to look after her 8 year old daughter Jade. “I loved to work with kids, but at the end of the day you are so exhausted. To cook supper, do the housework when you get home, after you’ve already been doing that all day, it gets tiring,” she says. “I like driving because I can work my own hours, I can go home when I want to, I can go to my daughter’s assembly without having to ask for time off. You are self-employed, you can work when you want.”
“Our relationship is more like sisters, friends, really good friends. We both understand each other very well. I do my best not to yell at her or to get upset. I’ve been practicing over the years, being a mother, you need a lot of patience. I just talk to her like she’s an adult and I try to make sure she understands.” Hester teaches Jade positive values. “I get her to do a few chores everyday, at least 5 dishes. She’s got her own broom and dustpan, she helps sweep the floor, she puts clothes in the washer and turns it on for me... Just little things that she can handle that’s not too big for her. Just to teach her responsibility.” Jade on the other hand, also looks after Hester. She helped Hester to quit smoking. “She sees all these commercials on TV about what smoking does to your body. She’s been bugging me to quit for over a year and I finally decided to. [Lately] I tried to have a smoke but after the first puff I couldn’t continue. It tasted horrible.” laughs Hester. Hester quit cold turkey. “The first day I quit I put on the patch but it gave me a headache, so I didn’t put a patch on the second day,” she says. Whatever she puts her mind to, she can achieve it. Hester says Jade is her driving force “My daughter...she’s changed my life a lot. I’d just rather her have a better life than have it about me,” she smiles. Watch out for the driver of Car 13, she’s going places!
