by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Mar 11/98) - Ono Fleischer, a musher from Greenland travelling 4,800 kilometres to visit communities along Hudson Bay, is an explorer with a message.

The 49-year-old outfitter from the town of Ilimanaq said he is making the expedition to bring Inuit in Greenland closer to Inuit in Canada's Arctic.

"I want to give something back to Inuit people," he said last week while passing through Rankin Inlet en route to Chesterfield Inlet.

"The purpose of this trip is to make people aware there are Inuit in other parts of the world. We're all Inuit no matter where we are. We know Inuit because we all have nice big cheek bones."

Fleischer, who's travelling with fellow musher Mathias Ingemann and Karo Thomson, who will be documenting their journey on the Internet, said that he worked for five years to raise $170,000 for the four-month trip.

The preservation of Inuit culture and language is what drove him during that time, he said.

"There are a lot of Inuit losing their language and that makes me sad," he said. "I encourage Inuit children to speak Inuktitut as much as possible, even after school. I'm anxious to see Nunavut create an excitement about that."

Fleischer and his companions flew from Ilulissat, Greenland, Jan. 3 to Kuujjuaq, Que. The trio then travelled by dog team through northern Quebec to Arviat, Whale Cove and Rankin Inlet by March 1.

March 3, they left for Chesterfield Inlet, Repulse Bay, Igloolik, Hall Beach, Kimmirut and their final destination of Iqaluit, which they are expected to reach April 25.

Travelling with two dog teams (28 dogs in total) and their equipment is what made the journey so expensive for Fleischer to fund.

"It was very expensive to carry the equipment -- we have one ton," he said.

Their gear includes a satellite phone, computer, thousands of kilograms of dog food, as well as survival equipment.

A continuation of his 1992 journey to Alaska from Greenland, the Great Sledge Expedition III, as Fleischer has named the trip, focuses on the Inuit people and educating the public.

"We are taking a big role in educating the Inuit," he said. "When we see Inuit on TV, we wanted to come over here and see our fellow Inuit."

He sees educating Inuit around the world as a continuous driving force in his life, and he hopes this trip will contribute to the ongoing enlightenment of people across the world on life in the Arctic.