Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 07/05) - When the American ambassador visited Iqaluit last month, he didn't arrive empty-handed.

David Wilkins arrived with $10,000 worth of books and equipment for the Arctic College libraries in Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit.

Wilkins welcomed the crowd gathered at the Arctic College in Inuktitut, with a unique pronunciation of ullaakkut in a Carolina accent, sounding roughly like "oo-le-coot."

The night before, the ambassador sat down to talk about American issues in Nunavut at the Frobisher Inn in a very informal manner.

At the Caribrew Cafe, without security, artists approached him, and the ambassador was smiling at the antics of youngsters in the foyer.

His helper on the trip -- U.S. Consul General in Quebec City Abagail Friedman -- explained to Wilkins that in Iqaluit, the art comes to you. He asked if it was traditional to barter with the artists.

Wilkins met with the premier, the mayor, members of Habitat for Humanity and took a tour of the museum during the trip.

The donated books included Living History by Hilary Rodham Clinton, a biography of Democrat president Lyndon Johnson, works by poet Walt Whitman and tennis star John McEnroe, and the Encyclopedia of AIDS.