My Little Corner of Canada, April 10

(Continued from last week)

After the skin of the polar bear they had caught in late winter had been cleaned, the family decided to visit the settlement and the Hudson Bay Co. to trade the bear skin, fox furs, and seal skins for supplies they would need for the summer and fall. It took them two days to travel to the settlement.

Upon arrival, they put up their tent on the beach about a half mile from the trading post. The father and Suyuq tied up the dog team among some rocks near their tent site.

There were other families who had also travelled from other camps to the settlement to trade for supplies. Their dogs were also tied up among the rocks along the beach.

The family stayed in the settlement for two days trading their furs with the Hudson Bay Co. for such things as flour, tea, baking supplies, ammunition, sugar, socks and other clothing items. They also traded for such treats as raisins, prunes, hard candy and chewing gum. The mother also bought balls of yarn, thread and needles.

The family also socialized and visited with their many cousins and other family members from the area.

Qakutalik enjoyed watching Mitsima and Suyuq playing and having fun with their cousins in the settlement, but he was anxious to get back on the sea ice and back to their spring camp. He didn’t like being tied up.

The rest of the spring was spent hunting along the floe edge for seals, beluga, and the thousands of sea birds which returned to the Arctic each spring. Suyuq got his first ugjuq that spring.

In late summer, a caribou hunting expedition left camp to walk many miles inland. Qakutalik was one of five dogs chosen for the hunting trip. He carried a pack filled with hunting equipment and rope. They were gone for a week.

The hunting trip was successful and they came back with hundreds of pounds of meat and skins. That night, the camp celebrated with a feast. Qakutalik enjoyed a long peaceful sleep.

In late fall, when the long bay had frozen over, the father and Suyuq made a quick trip to the settlement for their winter supplies. Upon their return, they settled in their wintering camp about five miles from the floe edge.

That winter, Qakutalik learned more hunting skills. He learned to find the aglu, the seal’s breathing hole and wait patiently some distance away while the farther stood over the hole with his harpoon in hand.

On one of their seal hunting trips, they came across fresh polar bear tracks. The dogs took off on a fast run. This time, Qakutalik was one of the dogs released to run down the bear. It took them 15 minutes to catch up with the running bear.

The bear climbed to the top of a large ice hummock. The five dogs surrounded the bear and darted in and out taking quick nips at its legs, tail, ears, and snout. The bear managed to strike one of the dogs with his huge paw. The dog yelped but came right back with another nip to its hind legs.

Ten minutes later, the hunters arrived. Qakutalik saw Suyuq come forward with his father’s 30-30 in hand. He knelt on one knee, took aim, and fired. The bear fell down.

Qakutalik came to Suyuq after making sure the bear was dead. He was panting heavily with his tongue hanging out. Suyuq smiled and his dog seemed to be smiling back.

About the middle of May, the family travelled to the settlement. They put up their tent in the usual spot and tied up their dogs in their usual place among the rocks.

The family had been in the Hudson Bay store for about half an hour when Suyuq heard gun shots in the distance. He ran outside. His father followed.

In the distance, they saw three policemen standing among the dogs. They were shooting them!

Suyuq and his father ran as fast they could towards their dog team. When they approached the policemen, the father shouted, “Suyualuvisi?” He was ignored.

The first policeman had already shot Nashalik. The second policeman shot Kayuq. The third was aiming at Qakutalik. Qakutalik didn’t understand why but he knew what was coming.

He looked at Suyuq who was crying and whimpered. He didn’t hear the bang. His head exploded.

Qakutalik and thousands of huskies like him (estimated to be about 22,000) were slaughtered in a similar manner in the 1950s and 60s. It happened mainly in eastern Nunavut and Nunavik.

The Government of Quebec has acknowledged the slaughter in Nunavik and apologized to the Inuit. The Government of Canada and the RCMP remain silent on the slaughter in Nunavut.