INUVIK - It wouldn't have been uncommon to find sunken graves, damaged burial crosses and land overrun with weeds at the Inuvik Cemetery just three years ago.

That was about the time Mayor Derek Lindsay, with council's support, shored up $100,000 from the territorial government's Capacity Building Fund in 2007 to get started on fixing up the cemetery, which currently holds more than 500 graves.

A crew attending Cemetery Blessing Day on Sunday fill in the grave of an unidentified child whose bones were found about 4 km from Inuvik. From left, Derek Lindsay, Curtis Taylor, Rev. David Parsons, Peter Joe, Rick Campbell and Dave MacDonald. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photos

"I just had the urge to clean it up," said Lindsay. "It was starting to look like Boot Hill, and I buried a lot of my wife's family over the course of a year and I wanted to spruce it up and make it into something we should be proud of."

The town has since spent more than $200,000 transforming the town's only formal graveyard. Inuvik Works employees have replaced more than 200 wooden burial crosses. Each section of the cemetery has been levelled and reseeded where currently each grave is surrounded by grass. A sign at the entrance has been erected listing the names of people buried in the cemetery and the location of their graves. The town is making plaques to go on the back of each burial cross bearing the person's name, date of birth and death.

The cemetery has also been expanded to make room for more graves.

Cemetery Blessing Day was held on Sunday afternoon to mark the renewal. Rev. David Parsons offered a prayer and a blessing among a small group of residents and town officials.

The ceremony also included the burial of an identified child's bones that were found about four kilometres from Inuvik. Lindsay said a police investigation turned up nothing and the discovery was treated as an archaeological find.

Shirley Kisoun attended the event. Several of her family members are buried at the cemetery, including her father, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother. She said the money to maintain the graveyard was well spent.

"It's well worth the investment," she said. "It looks nice and clean, cleaner than the last time I was here. I think a lot of people will feel more comfortable coming here, knowing that it's clean and being cared for."

Lindsay said the town will spend $50,000 annually to maintain the cemetery. He's hoping the community will be motivated enough to ensure graves are looked after.

"We've cleaned up the cemetery and we have something to be proud of," he said. "It's your job as residents of the community to look after your loved one's grave site. That's the message I'm trying to get across."