Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Apr 29/02) - After years of searching for something missing from her life, Dolorosa Nartok has found peace. It took her nearly 31 years.

"I'd been searching for what was missing in my life," said Nartok, from the hamlet office in Kugaaruk, where she works.

"After I adopted a child from my son, my life lifted up a little bit. I felt a little bit happier, but there was still something missing," she said.

That something was a sense of closure for her first-born, who never made it to his first birthday.

Then her oldest living son went to Edmonton to demonstrate traditional Inuit games to high school students. He started to think about his older brother, now deceased. He returned home and told his mother he'd been thinking of his namesake -- both boys were called Gilbert. He said he thought she should try and retrieve the baby's body from Edmonton, where he died so many years ago.

"He told me, "You'd be happier," said Nartok.

Nartok said she had also been thinking of her first Gilbert, but had not yet mustered the courage to try to do anything yet.

Born on Aug. 30, 1971, Nartok's first-born son filled her with untold joy. Coming from a family of girls, the arrival of a boy to the clan was a dream come true for her and her new husband. They called the baby Gilbert Iqqugaqguq and the first month of his life was wonderful.

But like a storybook tragedy, Gilbert got sick with pneumonia and needed to travel to Edmonton for medical care. Nartok was desperate to travel with him, but the nurses denied her the trip. They told her that medical staff on the plane would care for her son.

"I was begging the nurses that I could go with him. I didn't want him to go without me. I was heartbroken when they told me I can't go with him."

As the plane left the tarmac, Nartok's mother-in-law calmed her and told her Gilbert would return a healthy baby. Nartok felt better about things until her mother came to see her one bleak day in October of 1971.

"My mother told me he died. I didn't cry. I didn't accept that he died. I blocked everything out," explained Nartok.

Numbed by the hand fate dealt her, Nartok carried on with life. On Feb. 5, 1973, she was blessed with another son and in the Inuit tradition, she named him after the son she had lost. A daughter and an adopted son eventually arrived, but Nartok still felt empty.

"Four years ago, I started thinking about my first-born son. 'What if he was still alive?' is what I was thinking. I never saw the death certificate," she said.

Bringing Gabriel home

So began four years of turmoil. A letter to the Alberta government and the arrival of Gilbert's death certificate confirmed her son had passed away. Her focus then turned on bringing him home. As a Catholic, it was important to her that her son receive a proper burial.

She tried to enlist the help of various government departments and Inuit organizations, but no one would lend her a hand.

Nartok was about to give up her quest when Sharon Ehaloak stopped by on a visit to Kugaaruk.

Ehaloak works as the executive director of health and social services for the Department of Health in the Kitikmeot region.

"I told her I went to every department. She told me 'I'll help you.' She was so confident," said Nartok.

Ehaloak said she and her staff immediately contacted the hospital and were able to find the cemetery where Gilbert's body was resting. They located him within a week and made arrangements to fly the body home.

Ehaloak was moved by the experience.

"For all the things that go sideways, it was such a reward to help one person. It's such a good feeling inside -- to hear the relief in her voice was wonderful," said Ehaloak.

"I always try to walk in our clients' shoes. It is so good to know she has peace now."

Nartok said she shed her first tears for Gilbert when she received that call from Ehaloak.

"That was the first time I ever cried for my son. All those years, I was hoping against hope he was alive. When she said they found the body, it was the first time I cried."

Gilbert was recently given a Catholic funeral in Kugaaruk. Nartok said her life has changed completely now.

She feels warmth in her soul and true happiness with Gilbert resting closer to his family.

"I found so much peace at last. I'm so happy now. My son had a proper funeral. What more could a mother ask for?"