Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Holman (June 24/02) - Residents here say they do not want diamond exploration in their prime caribou hunting grounds.

In April, Commander Resources (formerly Major General Resources) of Vancouver submitted an application to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs to explore in the Kagloryuak River and Burns Lake region, about 250 kilometres west of Holman.

Lillian Kanayok, resource person for the Olokhaktomiuk Hunters and Trappers Committee, says that area on the eastern tip of Prince Albert Sound is the only place Holman residents can go for caribou.

On June 6, representatives from Commander Resources came to the community to answer questions about the proposed work. Thirty-one residents attended the meeting -- considered a large turnout for this community of 500.

"All 31 residents were against the program because the Prince Albert Sound is a major hunting area for caribou for the Holman people," Kanayok said. "They're afraid the noise from helicopters and planes will scare away the caribou."

Commander Resources is proposing $1 to $1.5 million of exploration on the NWT side of Victoria Island. From June to September, the company wants to have 10 to 15 people working in the Kagloryuak area out of a base camp on the Nunavut side of the island. During that time, there would be a flight a day over target areas, with a total of about one-and-a-half days of low-level flying.

Before the company can carry out work, it must be approved by DIAND, the environmental impact screening committee (made up of Inuvialuit and government representatives), and the NWT Water Board.

Project manager Graham Gill said the type of exploration being proposed would have minimal impact on caribou. "We wouldn't be flying during calving season, and we're regulated as to when we can fly during calving and migration. We would try to work dates around their hunting season and keep in close communication with them."

Even with precautions promised by the company, elders at the meeting said the caribou are too precious a resource to gamble with. Speaking through a translator, some elders recalled times they had difficulty finding caribou when planes and helicopters were flying overhead.

Colin Okheena, a hunter and hamlet employee who last year took five caribou from the Prince Albert Sound area, said no one knows what will happen to the caribou if exploration goes ahead. "Pretty well everybody goes to hunt caribou from Prince Albert Sound some time during the year," Okheena said.

"One lady at the meeting said 'We can't eat diamonds,' and it's true. I've got four children who will need jobs when they're older. But what's more important to me is they need a place to hunt -- they need that more than a place to work."