NNSL (Oct 27/97) - Transplanted Igloolikian Michael Akitteq has taken up a new sport -- cliff-diving.

Akitteq is living and working in Yellowknife, but will be moving to Iqaluit in January to finish the Nunavut teachers' education program.

This summer Akitteq has taken to diving off the small cliffs on lakes near Yellowknife. It's something many of the young people here do.

But not many of them do it in October. Two weeks ago, Akitteq took the plunge, and went for a swim in the icy waters of Jackfish Lake.

"It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be," he reported. "It was refreshing, but I didn't go swimming very far."

The dip, he said, reminded him of the annual polar bear swims back home, often done among ice floes.

The secret to cliff-diving is not thinking about it too much.

"The longer you wait, the more you look down, the scarier it gets," said Akitteq.

Some might think diving from rocky overhangs might cause some worry back home, but Akitteq said that's not the case.

Friends and relatives have come to trust his judgment. Asked if his grandfather, Emile Immaroitok, might not be just a little worried, Akitteq said, "He used to worry when I was young, but he trusts me now. He thinks I turned out OK."

Yellowknife is fun, said Akitteq, but Igloolik will always be home.

"Yellowknife is a lot of fun, but I do miss my home. I miss friends and relatives there and speaking Inuktitut every day.

"Being around Inuit is different. We have a different sense of humor, we laugh at and enjoy different things."

"Friends here don't understand what I miss about my home -- they know it has a small population, and think there's not much to do, but I always enjoy myself whenever I go there."

There is one thing that Igloolik doesn't have -- cliffs.

"It's a small, flat island," noted Akitteq. "Cliff-diving isn't very popular there."

Hefty airfares ($1,500 from Yellowknife, and $900 from Iqaluit) prevent Akitteq from getting home as often as he would like. He is hoping to pay a visit this Christmas or in the spring.

To friends and family back home, Akitteq says, "To all my family and friends in Igloolik, I miss you and I love you."

"Tavvuavufi!"