Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 08/99) - If art reflects life, the Northwest Territories must be one of the richest places on earth.

"Arts and crafts have always been an important sector of the economy of the Northwest Territories," Ed McKenna, director for commercial economic development with the Nunavut government's sustainable development department.

But, he adds, with division, the role of arts and crafts plays in the East will become even more clear.

And McKenna believes the Nunavut government will direct much attention to Inuit art. Gjoa Haven's new MLA, Uriash Puqiqnak, is a full-time carver.

And as Nunavut moves ahead, the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association will play an ever-growing role, McKenna said.

"With all the attention Nunavut is receiving, Inuit arts and crafts continue to be used as a symbol of Canada, and the symbolic quality will be enhanced by the creation of Nunavut, " he said.

"I think this part of the economy will be stimulated."

In an effort to increase how it manages arts and crafts, several recommendations, some of which centred on improving marketing and sales of arts and crafts, were generated by a group who met last November in Cape Dorset.

Most of the art produced in the East travels through one of three marketing channels. They include the North West Company's Northern Stores, the Arctic Co-operatives Ltd.'s Northern Images stores and the NWT Development Corporation's various community-based subsidiaries. The development corporation's marketing arm is Arctic Trading Company Ltd.

With division, the development corp. is also being split. In the East, the corporation's companies are Taluq Designs in Taloyoak, Kiluk Ltd. in Arviat, Ivalu Ltd. in Rankin Inlet and Uqqurmuit Centre for Arts and Crafts in Pangnirtung.

As for the dollar value of the arts and crafts sector, numbers are difficult to pin down. In all of the NWT it could be a $30-million industry with as many as 2,000 people directly involved.

Statistics from a recent labour force survey are expected to give a better picture of how many Northerners are working in the arts and crafts area.

Clyde Sigurdson, Arctic Canada Trading vice- president, said the company experienced a 25 per cent growth in sales last year to about $3 million. Arctic Canada wholesales to its retail stores in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary and Toronto. Arctic Canada also has wholesale operations in Toronto and Calgary.

As well as acquiring items from subsidiary companies across the Arctic, Arctic Trading also buys works direct from individual artists.

Sigurdson says division will mean losing some suppliers in the East but it also means the company will be able to focus more on Western artists' works.

Among the western items are carvings made of stone and bone, clothing made of hide and fur, birch bark baskets decorated with porcupine quills, as well as fur from Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk. Intricate bead work on clothing is another well-known part of the arts and crafts scene in the West, he said.

In the East, sealskin clothing continues to gain popularity while carving remains a significant source of income for many families.

Prints and jewelry are other areas that have strong products. And when it comes to potential new products, combining Northern diamonds with Northern jewelry has huge potential.

Recently, the Arctic Trading Company bought hides from the Banks Island and Cambridge Bay muskox hunts. The hides were turned into a series of leather products -- wallets, briefcases, business cardholders, passport holders and key fobs.

Sigurdson agrees though there is something of a dilemma when it comes to marketing the North's arts and crafts. The products are not always available but the capacity to sell more is out there. So far this year the only muskox hunt has been out Cambridge Bay. The planned winter hunt at Banks Island is unlikely. There is talk of a muskox hunt out of Holman.

"We have to keep the quality. That means higher prices. We find quality coming out of the North's arts and crafts sector."

The trick is to generate the needed amount of product without sacrificing quality, he said.