Student learned from Inuit hunters and guides
Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (May 28/01) - Chris King learned the most important lesson of his career outside the classroom.
It came as he prepared to present a polar bear management report during an Environmental Technology field camp in April. The overnight camp was to be attended by respected Inuit hunters and guides.
"Here I am, a white guy who was going to talk about what I know from a book written by a white guy. I couldn't do it," said King.
Instead, the Nunavut Arctic College student turned the presentation into a question-and-answer period -- a move he said created excellent dialogue and earned him an "A".
King finished the two-year program in May.
People graduating from ET often find work with Sustainable Development, Wildlife Management and Parks Canada.
King hopes to land a job with the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience department after cooking for a research camp on Ellesmere Island this summer.
The $1,000 President's Award earned for the highest grade point average at Arctic College is already spent. He bought massages for his wife and a hunting rifle for himself.
The latter purchase stems from killing his first seal a month ago.
"I felt like a little boy. I was in awe of the people I was with," he said.
Those people were respected hunters like Meeka Mike and Joshua Kango.
King was born in England, lived in Ontario
until the age of 14 when he moved to Yellowknife with his family. After 13 years, at the age of 27, he and his new wife Sue Cooper moved to Iqaluit for her law career. The couple have one daughter Justine, 7.
When asked if Iqaluit is home, King paused before answering.
"I wasn't born here, but this is Baffin Island and it's not my home but it feels like home."
