Iqaluit (Sep 20/04) - Terry Itulu likes to go for long walks in the summertime outside his home town of Kimmirut, and for as long as he can remember he has had a knack for noticing objects on the ground no one else sees.

Terry Itulu believes this pipe he found outside of Kimmirut this summer is made of walrus tusk. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

Itulu, 38, just moved to Iqaluit from Kimmirut, and brought with him pieces of home -- a large collection of colourful stones he has amassed over the last few years.

He is proud of all the eye-catching green, blue, black, even pink rocks he has collected.

Kimmirut is becoming known for its colourful stones, especially the valuable sapphires.

Itulu even took a prospecting course recently in Kimmirut just to be aware of all the possibilities out there.

While walking in July with his brother, however, Itulu stumbled across a small piece that could possibly be more valuable than a sapphire to him if it can be traced back to his own ancestors.

"We had been walking a long time. And I looked and saw something, it was really white. It stood out."

When Itulu picked up the small white object, he could sense immediately there was something special about it. Upon close inspection Itulu realized it was part of a pipe, and from the looks of its hand-carved shape, it was quite old.

"I have no idea how old it could be," said Itulu. "I showed it to my parents, and they said 'Show it to more people, make it public.'"

Elders in the community were also astonished when they saw the pipe, commonly used by Inuit in the 1950s and earlier.

Itulu is pretty sure the pipe is carved out of walrus tusk. But he has never had the piece formally appraised by anyone.

He also prizes an old bullet shell he found in June 2004 while walking alone, two hours outside of Kimmirut. Imprinted with "D.C. Co.," the bullet shell is believed to be from the 1920s or '30s. Itulu loves looking at these artifacts, but isn't sure what to do with them next.

"People have made lots of offers," said Itulu. "Some want to make a pipe out of this," he said showing how the pipe fits curiously well with the bullet shell.

"Maybe I'll put it on the Internet," he said.