A scientific expedition gives Inuit workers a unique glimpse of a weird way of life

DEVON ISLAND – The mayor of Grise Fiord is spending his summer with black hole physicists, molecular geneticists, and guys who build robots.

Most years, Jarloo Kiguktak, 45, would be spending July fishing. Instead, he's at the Haughton-Mars Project, a camp ran by the Mars Institute, with support from the U.S. Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Canadian Space Agency.

"I find it interesting," he says, while escorting several researchers on an ATV ride. "It's nice to be out on the land," he adds.

The scientists are here because they believe the Haughton impact crater, formed millions of years ago when a meteorite smashed into the Earth, closely resembles the landscape of Mars.

Kiguktak is here, with a rifle slung over his shoulder, so none of the scientists are eaten by polar bears. Bears usually keep their distance from the camp during the summer, but they're around. During the winter, bears tore into some of the heavy canvas tents to poke through the supplies.

With Kiguktak is his nine-year-old son, Joseph, and two other residents from his community: Ben Audlaluk, 17, and Robbie Kakkik, 20.

Kakkik spends much of his time hauling supplies by ATV from Twin Otters that land at the airstrip to camp, while wearing a big pair of headphones and listening to rap and rock. He likes Kid Rock and Tupac Shakur.

It's his second season at camp. He likes it: he eats well, enjoys working outdoors, and after all, it's a job. There aren't many in Grise Fiord.

He says working at the camp has even made him interested in going to university.

Another camp worker, Pauloosie Jr. Attagootak, 18, from Resolute Bay, says his job at camp "makes me want to go to school and graduate."

He dropped out last September. "I got really far behind, and that made me not want to go to school," he says.

There are two other Resolute Bay residents here, helping cook: Brandy Iqaluk, 29, and Uluriak Amarualik, 16. Dance music thumps inside the mess tent while they work.

When Attagootak and the others aren't busy unloading supplies or cleaning up camp, they relax in folding chairs under the sun. They've seen blue skies for the last week, with temperatures reaching 20 C. And there's no bugs around to bother them.

"It's too hot," says Attagootak. "We got to go swimming by the river, for real."

Another perk of the camp? The Internet connection here is about 80 times faster than elsewhere in Nunavut, and one tent has several laptops free for anyone to use.

During another quiet lull, Attagootak shows the camp mechanic, Jesse Weaver, 17, from Tennessee, an online video of two Grise Fiord residents riding their motorbikes off plywood jumps.

"That looks pretty bad-ass," Weaver says. "I wish I could jump that."