Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Jun 22/98) - We get to hear a lot about what politicians and community leaders think about Nunavut, but how do children see it and what exactly does Nunavut mean to them?

Considering that about half the current population is under the age of 19 -- this translates into about 12,500 actual bodies -- it may be time to listen to what youths think about the formation of their territory.

Students at Nanook school in Apex generally seem to feel that Nunavut is a good thing but they're pretty concerned about the effect the fast growing population will have on their environment.

"The caribou won't come close to our house anymore because there will be more people and more pollution," says Ryan Arreak, 12.

Diana Pfeifer agrees with her classmate. "There's going to be more people and more buildings and we're going to have to go hunting further for caribou. That's bad," says Pfeifer, 10.

She also believes that more people means more substance abuse. "People from other countries are going to come and then more drinking and more drugs."

Pfeifer says that the population growth also has its positive side. "If Nunavut comes, I'm going to start having more friends and more people to play with."

Ten-year-old Jenny Ell says that sometimes she would like to see things stay the same.

"If more people come and some are no good, it will cause everybody problems. I like it the way it is," says Ell who also hopes that with Nunavut, there will be less poverty.

"There will be more jobs and more people working and some people will have enough money to buy other people clothes. The homeless shelter will be happy, too, because some people will buy others clothes and some food."

Joamie elementary school student Annie Lucassie, 12, says residents of Nunavut have John Amagoalik, Ed Picco and Jimmy Kilabuk to thank for bringing Nunavut into being.

"They said it was the best place for people to go."

Lucassie adds that people voted for Nunavut to be formed.

Lindsay Lloyd says she won't get bored after April 1st, 1999, "because there's going to be more stuff happening, more stores, more houses, more people, we won't get bored as easily."

Steve Nattaq, 12, says he is very excited about the new territory. "Sometimes we discuss it at home. We can't wait until 1999."

Lucassie Peter of Nakasuk elementary school says the whole thing is incredibly positive for the Inuit of Nunavut.

"It's a new territory that separates us from everybody else. We have to provide our own stuff and make our own stuff so we won't have to get help from other places. We'll learn to be our own country," says Peter, 12.

He says that Nunavut will create more jobs for Inuit and non-Inuit and will hopefully cut down on the violence and suicide that currently exists.

"The Inuit think they can make it on their own and they know they can because they're as strong as everyone else in the world and as smart as everyone else. Maybe we'll make it and maybe we won't, but I think so."

Most of the children interviewed know exactly when Nunavut would become official and while most of them felt that it was a good thing, few could say exactly why.

One teacher says this stems from the environment the children have been raised in.

"All their lives they've been told that Nunavut is the utopia of the North. When you realize the age they are, their whole lives they've heard about Nunavut. It's been this dream and their perception is that everything is going to be fixed by 1999," says teacher Elizabeth Tumblin.

All things considered, the children appear to have as much knowledge about Nunavut as their parents and they're pretty much on par with what the rest of the north is thinking about Nunavut.