ULUKHAKTOK/HOLMAN
Kolten Inuktalik will never forget presenting Ulukhaktok elder Jean Kagyut with meat from the muscox he helped catch with his classmates last month.

Front row from left, Kolten Inuktalik (hunter), Alexis Gow and Hailey Akoaksion. Middle row from left, Kiera Olifie, Mitchell Inuktalik, Michael Kaodloak, Nigel Koplomik and John Alikamik (guide). Back row from left, Ron Kallok (hauler), Richard McKinnon (teacher), Joseph Haluksit (hauler), Lucy Ann Okheena and Preston Aleekuk (hunter). Not pictured, Adam Kudlak (education assistant and photographer). - photo courtesy of Adam Kudlak

"I was just telling her about how I caught it and she was really happy," Inuktalik said.

The Grade 8 student fired the shots that took down one of two muskoxen caught during Helen Kalvak Elihakvik's muscox harvesting trip on March 25.

Giving the meat to local elders is one of the best parts of the experience.

"It just feels right," he said.

Students in Grades 7, 8 and 9 travelled more than three hours from the community in their search of muskoxen, teacher Richard McKinnon said.

It is the fourth trip since the beginning of the school year, but the only one during which muskoxen were caught.

"Once the snow is down and we get the sleds and Ski-Doos running, we take the kids," he said.

As part of the journey elders and local hunters teach students what and how to pack for a trip out on the land. Then the students perform all the tasks themselves.

"They do everything right from the day before we leave," he said.

That means double-checking equipment such as satellite phones and emergency beacons as well as learning the best way to pack sleds.

As they travel, elders teach how to watch for trails, how to track animals and how to stay safe when travelling on the sea ice.

Inuktalik said while he's been hunting before, the trip gave him a chance to practice his tracking skills.

"You look for the types of prints that the animals make, see which direction they're going," he said.

Inuktalik said hunting muskoxen and caribou require different methods. He said to hunt caribou, the hunter needs to make sure he doesn't approach the animal from behind.

"Don't go straight behind the caribou, go on one side," he said. "Because when you go straight behind it, they'll get scared and run."

Once the group found the muskoxen, Inuktalik used a rifle to take one down. McKinnon said weather during last year's trip allowed them to hunt using bows, but this year was too windy.

For some, the school harvest is the only opportunity they get to go hunting, McKinnon said.

"It's to maintain part of the culture and it teaches them about safety involved in going out on the land," McKinnon said. "For a few of them, both this year and last year, it was the first time they've actually got their own animal."

Once the muscox was caught, students learned how to properly skin and butcher the meat before heading back to town.

They then gave portions to the community's elders.

"We keep a small amount for the school that will be used for the graduation ceremony," McKinnon said. "Other than that, it goes all out to families in need and elders around the community."

In addition to learning valuable skills, the harvest helps foster another important tradition - sharing the catch.

"They get a feeling of success and accomplishment," McKinnon said. "They get to give back to the community, which is a big thing. It's about building that community relationship and allowing them to be contributing members."

McKinnon said funding for the harvest comes from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, as well as support from the Beaufort Delta Education Council, the local District Education Authority and the community.

"It takes a big crowd to put these things together," McKinnon said. "If we didn't have everyone working together, they just wouldn't be possible."

Currently the harvest is organized as a day trip, but students are helping to build two cabins outside the community as part of a resiliency pilot project this year, McKinnon said. Once completed, the cabins will allow the hunting group to stay out on the land overnight.

In the meantime, Inuktalik said he had some advice for other students looking to improve their hunting skills.

"Aim for the heart," he said. "So you could try and get it down in one shot."

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