‘All that we eat from the land is our delicacy’

With Nunavut Day coming up, Nunatsiaq News asked readers to share what makes their corner of the territory special to them.

I lived in Nunavut since it was Northwest Territories. Since it has become Nunavut, it has become so much better for Inuit and their traditions and cultures.

The climate and the land and sea have become more protected for Inuit to hunt, harvest and to sort of live off the land a little bit easier.

I love the land, the wildlife and the fauna is great.

The traditional food and clothing is slowly coming back with government help also it is a very good way to keep our culture going, hoping to keep Inuit traditions and languages going for generations to come.

The land, the caribou, the fish, the muskox and seals — all that we eat from the land — is our delicacy. It is part of who we are and I hope that Nunavut can keep it going as I grow older.

I would want my children and theirs to enjoy the camping trips, hunting trips, the sewing and cooking, the ways we lived with for centuries and centuries. And my hope is that it continues to grow the same way in which the modern society can accept and we, in this new day and age, can bind the two together for future generations to survive the new world that has become today.

My experience growing up in Nunavut had been a great one, with fishing trips lasting a month and going out during the cold winters for the seal or caribou. The tundra also provides very rare delicacies which sometimes we get once a year, such as roots, leaves and berries which we can mix with other foods to something similar to spices and we can also make juices and teas which I find quite delicious.

Oh, I love Nunavut and all that is here — the wildlife, the people and the tundra and fauna that is Nunavut.
I love the culture. I hope it stays with us.

Tanya Hiqiniq lives in Baker Lake but was raised in Gjoa Haven.