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HALLUUQQURUT.  INUIN IQALUKTUUTIAMI NAAMAINNAQTUT. AUJAMI INUIN AUDLAJUKKAMIQLU TUPIKHIMAVAKTUTLU IKLUKPANGMILU. IQALIQIVAKTUT QUVJAKHUTIKLU IQQAKHAKPAKTUTLU. NATTIQHIULIQPAKTUTLU. PIFFILIUKPAKTUTLU.  KIHIMI TUKTUIKMAT NUNAKPUT TUKTUHIUKATAJUINMIJUT. ILANI TUKTUT AHIAKMI KIHIMI. QAJAKKUUHUTIK AUDLALIQPAKTUT TARJUMI. INUIN UMINGMAKTUMUNGAULIQPAKTUTLU KINGAUTMUNLU. QUANA INUIN NIQIKHANIK TUNIJAUVAKTUT. ILANI NIPALIKPAKTUK ANURILU PIVAKTUK. NAVVALAALOK UUKTUKPAKTUK TITIRARIAMI INUINNAQTUT. AJUKHALIQPAKTUNGA.  TITIRAKPAKLUNGA FACEBOOKKUTLUUNIIT QARITAUJAKKUTLU UVAMNUN UNIUTILUNGA.  HALLUUQQAFFI HUMILIKIAK. NAAMAKPAKLUHI. QINIQPAKLURIT ILANNUATIT NUATQATITLU. INUIN AYUQHALIKPAKTUT ILAIJARAGNAT. PITIAKPAKLUHI. KUNIKPAGA TONOKAHANNOAK KUGLUKTUKMI.

Welcome to beautiful Victoria Island in Nunavut, land of the Copper Inuit, Inuinnait in the Central Arctic, the hub of the Kitikmeot.

Yes, beautiful Cambridge Bay is so busy, especially this summer. It seems climate change has hit us in our homeland. Spring came early, early melting of the snow on the land and ice started melting earlier too this year. With warmer temperatures, hunters and fishers were able to head out on the land much earlier than usual. Many campers moved to their cabins and summer homes for the season to harvest fresh Arctic char, seals, and, at times, whales, along with a few caribou and grizzly bears.  

Inuit love making dried fish also better known as piffi. In other dialects, piffi is spelt in different ways. It is always such a treasure, like gold, to have piffi. It is so healthy to eat. I am so lucky to be able to eat piffi every year, especially in the summer when it is fresh.

Of course, we have piffi made locally at our fish plant, Kitikmeot Foods, which is then sold at our local stores. Many visitors, especially Inuit, love coming to shop at Co-op, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and Kitikmeot Foods to purchase Arctic char processed and locally harvested near Cambridge Bay.

Cambridge Bay is so lucky to have plenty of fish for Inuit, especially for our Elders. Quana for all the good food harvested in the summer from our oceans, rivers and lakes. Years ago, before communities were built, our ancestors lived all over on the land, mostly by the ocean/ice, rivers and lakes. It provided food for everyone. There was no means of transportation like snowmobiles — our people had dog teams.

I remember going to school by dog team, the first school ever built is where Kullik Ilihakvik and Kiilinik High School is now. Every morning, RCMP Special Constable Johnny Lyall would pick up kids by the RCMP dog team to go to school. If there was a blizzard, we knew he would not pick us up. Back then, there were not many buildings or any houses at all. Some of the first buildings were the old Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) store; the federal day school; the Catholic stone church; U.S. military base then turned DEW Line, operated by a Canadian company Fed Elect Services; and Inuit who lived together as neighbours at the camps made of skin tents and iglu (snow houses). Small shacks began being built with leftover wood from the dump and huts and shacks were then being built to be warmer with oil stoves, qulliq and homemade wood stoves. Life was so simple back then.

There was a plane that landed on the ice by the HBC or the RCMP buildings. It happened once a month. There was finally a Quonset hut built to be the first-ever nursing station across from the RCMP.

We knew we had relatives living out on the land at Perry Island or Perry River, Bay Chimo, Bathurst Inlet, Coppermine and many, many camps nearby these places. The Loran Tower, the tallest tower built by the Department of Transportation for communication purposes, was used as a locator often by our ancestors. Inuit began travelling either by dog team or walking towards the bright light of the tower. Also, Inuit always knew their sense of direction out on the land.

Our dog teams would start barking like crazy when they sensed people coming to the camp, so everyone would come out of their homes, tents, shelters to see what the excitement was about. At times, it was polar bears or some kind of wildlife coming near our camps. Our mothers and grandmothers would then get so happy getting family, relatives, visitors to be with us, so they hurried to put the hot water on and begin making bannock, soups, caribou, seal and whatever there was to have a feast to welcome our newcomers. It was so exciting.

I remember bits and pieces of life back then, not much. Back then, life was easier in some ways and harder in others. Living on the land, life got easier with houses being built — warmer homes were built and offered to us by the government. The Hudson Bay Store began selling food from down south: canned goods, candies, tobacco and necessities such as coffee, tea, sugar, butter, flour, etc. I miss those days.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, soon school starts again. It is so wonderful when you see little ones just starting kindergarten. It is especially heartwarming to watch kids go to school in their own hometown. For myself, every year at the end of summer, we regretted being picked up to go far away for school to Inuvik and other residential schools. No matter how small you were, you were taken by government officials to hop on that plane — that darn plane. 

God Be With You Son, your son has graduated now and your granddaughter Jade is in Kugluktuk, such a beautiful family. You would be such a proud father and grandfather.