Olympic flame warms spirits in Arctic journey

Anthony Arreak and Janie Paquet, two of Kuujjuaq’s Olympic torchbearers, spar with their torches on Nov. 10. — some of the 12,000 torches produced for the cross-Canada relay. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KATIVIK REGIONAL GOVERNMENT)

Iqaluit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik shows off an Olympic torch given to the city by organizers of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics during a city council meeting Nov. 10, 2009. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)

Cold temperatures greeted the arrival of the torch in Resolute Bay on Nov. 9. (PHOTO BY SARAH MCMAHON)

Iqaluit athlete Susie Pearce, third from right, had the honour of lighting the cauldron during the Olympic torch relay event in Iqaluit Nov. 9. Hundreds of Iqalummiut jammed Nunavut Square in frigid weather for the televised celebration. See pages 8, 9. (PHOTO BY ED MARUYAMA)

When Olympic torch passed through the Arctic on its way to Vancouver for next year’s Winter Games, its flame raised spirits along the way.

The torch first arrived in Nunavut Nov. 5 when an Air North jet touched down in Kugluktuk.

Colin Adjun, better known for his prowess at fiddling than as a musher, took the Olympic torch for the two-kilometre ride from Kugluktuk’s airport into town.

“My heart was beating like crazy, “ Adjun said.

From there, Helena Bolt, a recent Kugluktuk high school graduate, took her turn running with the torch before handing it to Grade 12 student Gavin Ayalik.

“I was really nervous when I was about to run, but when I was running it was a really good feeling, and good to have everyone cheer me on, “ Ayalik said.

As he ran with the torch, Ayalik tried to stop to have a photo taken with his daughter Lana and girlfriend Mahik on the way, but the crowd was too overwhelming, he said.

The last member of Kugluktuk’s relay team was Terry Kuliktana, a blind parathlete, who made the last stretch with the torch up to the community recreation centre with the help of two guides.

The crowd — large because nearly everyone in town had the day off — swarmed behind Kuliktana, cheering him on.

Kuliktana brought the torch to the cauldron set up on an outdoor stage and lit the flame. Then Kuliktana held his torch up high, as the crowd chanted his name.

Against a backdrop of Olympic banners, everyone sang “O Canada” — in Inuinnaqtun, French or English. Then after speeches and drum dancing, the torch relay celebrations continued with square dancing and a feast of Arctic char soup and caribou stew.

The torch also travelled the farthest north it’s ever been, with stops at the Canadian Forces base in Alert, Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay, before a big rally in downtown Iqaluit Nov. 9.

There, hundreds of Iqalummiut braved winds and frigid temperatures to see the Olympic flame, live music, break dancing, a sealskin fashion show and an aggressive display of corporate sponsorship by drummers representing a famous brand of pop.

But dozens of beaming Iqalummiut got a change to carry the torch on a run from Apex to the city centre.

“It’s pretty fantastic,” said torchbearer Janna MacLachlan, who carried the flame in Apex. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Iqaluit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik said the televised spectacle was good exposure for Nunavut’s capital.

“There are people around Canada…that would never have the opportunity to come North, so they get to see that and get a glimpse of what Iqaluit looks like,” she said.

From there it was on to Kuujjuaq early in the morning of Nov. 10, where Canadian Rangers in bright red sweatshirts formed an honor guard leading from the 737 Air North jet down to the airport terminal.

Holding the lantern whose flame had been lit in Greece, Chad Larocque walked down the steps of the plane and past the Rangers to the terminal where scores of Kuujjuamiut waited.

Martha Greig then blessed the flame, lighting a qulliq “to honor the flame, “ she said, before torchbearer Lukasi Tukkiapik carried the torch on the first leg of its trip by dog team to the Kuujjuaq forum.

Along the way many in this community of 2,000 stood by the road, waving Canadian flags to cheer on the relay.

“This is a special day for us here, ” Pita Aatami, president of Makivik Corp., told those present about the event, which also included a feast and entertainment.

“We recognize that the tour could have gone to many different places. We’re one of 14 communities in northern Quebec and for the tour to stop here, well, it’s made everyone feel good about themselves. It makes people feel good about the country. It makes you proud to be a Canadian, what can you say?” Aatami said.

“This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened in Kuujjuaq. It’s history.”

With files from Vanessa Mosek in Kugluktuk