Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Panniqtuuq (Mar 18/02) - Literally translated, Panniqtuuq means the place where there are many bull caribou. Thanks to migration cycles, the hamlet can once again live up to its name.

"Maybe five or six years ago, we started to see them again," said Peter Kanayuk, a hunter and board member of the Panniqtuuq Hunters and Trappers Association.

Kanayuk said he remembers as a child in the early 1950s having to travel long distances to harvest caribou.

"We didn't have very many caribou in our area. That's what I remember," explained Kanayuk. "Most people had to go to Netsilik (Lake) for caribou. By dog team, it took three days to go one way."

Kanayuk said in recent years, they used to have to walk long distances inland to hunt, but now Panniqtummiut regularly see caribou along the shoreline towards Iqaluit.

"That makes us happy," he said. "There's lots more meat."

Elders in the Cumberland Sound hamlet said it was the migration cycle of the caribou that caused them to travel far away for so many years. "That's what our parents and grandparents told us," he said. "We used to have lots of caribou before. That's how we got our name."

Unfortunately, the nearby location of the herd made for less government funding for the hamlet's annual community hunt.

Moe Keenainak, the manager of the HTA, said because the animals were closer, the government cut dollars for the hunt. The $1,000 they received from the Department of Sustainable Development was used to hire four hunters to harvest 16 caribou.

"It was given to the elders or the young people who have families but no snowmobiles to go hunting with," said Keenainak.