ULUKHAKTOK/HOLMAN
Jacob Klengenberg knows not all young people in Ulukhaktok have had the opportunity to hunt with their families. That's why he believes hunting trips with Helen Kalvak School are vital.

Although they were unsuccessful in nabbing their own muskox, Helen Kalvak students in Ulukhaktok learned a lot during their spring hunt in April. The hunt, organized by the school, gives students the chance to connect with the land and their elders. - NNSL file photo

"Not everybody gets a chance to get out and hunt, so the school doing that, it's really important," he said. "We keep the culture and our heritage. We just keep it going."

Klengenberg was one of seven students who participated in the school's annual spring muskox hunting trip in April. Local hunters Adam Kuptana and John Alikamik guided the students.

Kuptana said the trips are a way to connect students to the land, each other and their elders.

"One of the most important things is it brings a real big link to our cultural side of our community and our way of life," he said.

Preparing for the trip begins long before the groups head out, Kuptana said. First, students are taught how to properly pack sleds for a long journey and how to test equipment.

Once out on the land, they learn how to safely navigate the landscape.

Having experienced hunters teach youth about their changing environment is key to ensuring future hunters stay safe.

"One of the most important things is I think it brings together the old world to what our youth are facing now," Kuptana said. "It can bridge the gap to adapt to our changing climate."

Climate isn't the only thing that's changing, he added. Muskox hunters now have to travel farther from the community to make a catch.

"One of the things we noticed over the past is exploration programs going on, which increase the amount of noise that's up that way or up in our area," he said. "It's not only one cause, it's a combination of a number of different causes that makes it difficult to harvest animals close to Ulukhaktok."

The original plan for the school hunting trip was to have students hunt with a compound bow, Kuptana said.

Klengenberg said students weren't able to find any muskox the day they went hunting but they still had a great time.

"We started off travelling up the coast of Victoria Island. Someone had told us there was a group of muskox maybe 17 kilometres away from town. We went to go check it out and we couldn't find them," he said. "We didn't see anything but it was a very fun trip."

While Klengenberg has gone hunting many times with his family, he said he learned a few new lessons about how to track animals.

"We were checking how old the tracks were, which direction they go," he said.

Klengenberg and local hunters, including principal Richard McKinnon, went out on another hunt later in April. They were successful and brought the catch back to the school so students could learn about proper butchering techniques.

Grade 10 student Nigel Kopomik said cutting meat can also teach about anatomy.

"You just cut right down the leg and there is always a circle bone, you cut around that circle bone," he explained. "Just like your knee, it attaches like that."

In addition to tangible lessons, hunting also helps students understand the importance of a sharing culture, Kuptana said. All animals caught on school hunting trips are shared with local elders.

For Klengenberg, that's one of the best things about being a hunter.

"When we bring the meat to the elders, the elders are very happy," he said.

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