by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Aug 27/97) - After months of looking for money, community and council support, one elder's dream is about to come true.

Rankin Inlet's Mariano Aupilardjuk is finally getting the house he's always wanted and it's made of sod.

He was hard at work last week with a couple of other elders and two hired-hands constructing the facility.

"I'm not building it just for myself, it's for anyone. It doesn't matter if they're Inuit or non-Inuit. I want it to be used by everyone," Aupilardjuk said through a translator, while packing down the dirt floor with his feet.

Plans have been in the making for a long time for the house. Aupilardjuk asked Rankin Inlet Council last year if they would support him on the project. They allotted him $10,000 to buy materials and hire a couple of people to help.

"I thought about this for a long time. I didn't only visualize it but I also made sketches of it on paper and I even made a little model, but this is completely different to the model I made," said Aupliardjuk.

The sod house, similar in shape to an igloo is made of plywood. It is covered by tarps which will be covered in sod.

Before any walls were built last week, the men had to dig a hole about 90 centimetres deep with a circumference close to five metres. Once the walls were up, the dirt had to be thrown back in and evened out to make the floor.

Aupilardjuk will call on the public in the future to keep the sod house warm throughout the winter. He's planning to build two Qulliqs (small stoves) inside which needs whale and seal fat for fuel.

The Rankin Inlet Justice Committee is overseeing the sod house project.

Once completed, which should be anytime soon, Aupilardjuk and the justice committee hope to run community wellness programs out of the house.

Aupliardjuk told council last December people could use it to offer marriage counselling, teach cultural skills and practice family togetherness.