Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jun 10/98) - It all started over a cup of tea on the land and an elder who had the idea to build a Baker Lake museum.

Five years later, the community is celebrating the opening of its first museum, the Inuit Heritage Centre Itsamitakarvik. The event, held last Wednesday, attracted the Governor General and several other Northern politicians, including Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Jose Kusugak, Senator Willie Adams, NWT Commissioner Helen Maksagak, and Nunavut deputy minister of culture, elders and youth Peter Ernerk.

David Webster, who managed the project, said that the opening was the product of a lot of hard work on the part of the community's elders, who were closely involved in the project since its inception.

"I felt really proud because I promised the elder Barnabas Piryuaq five years ago ... over tea ... that I would help him do it," he said. "He really wanted to do it."

Work on the project intensified last year when Webster moved back to Baker Lake from Ottawa, where he was working with Parks Canada. Since then, he had been working against the clock to finish the project in time for the June 3 opening.

"We have been working on this up to 16 hours a day for the last few weeks to make sure it was finished on time," he said.

Gov. Gen. Romeo LeBlanc said that the new facility is an impressive education tool for both Baker Lake residents and visitors to learn about the history of the area.

He also commented on the warmth of the Baker Lake people. "I'm very impressed -- the whole town is out, which means they are interested," he said. "I don't think I've ever felt as welcome."

Webster said this is just the beginning.

"Now that it's finished, we don't want it to sit here," he said. "We want it to be a living heritage centre."

The elders plan to add on a collection room that will let the community display their world-famous artwork. The climate-controlled mini-gallery would be a first for the community.

"We would like to repatriate some of our collection back," said Webster.

He said there is no reason why the community won't be able to continue to do more work, judging what they've already done.

"It's really an accomplishment for the elders," he said. "They can't do it alone and I can't do it alone, but together we can do it. We have proved it and we can do a lot more."