There was a time when the lure of Arctic energy reserves caught the imagination of the nation.

Industry clamoured to stake their claim and government -- reacting to the energy crisis of the early 1970s -- was also eager to tap the wealth hidden beneath Arctic ice.

Apology A story in Wednesday's (Oct. 25) Yellowknifer headlined Stanton Cuts on hold, stated that Health minister Jane Groenewegen "is withdrawing support for spending cuts at the Stanton Regional Hospital." In fact, the minister supports the board's efforts to eliminate its $1.3 million deficit. Yellowknifer apologises for any confusion or embarrassment the error may have caused.

The people of the Northwest Territories weren't ready then and plans for a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, key to developing reserves in the Beaufort-Delta and Mackenzie Valley, were shelved.

For the most part, we are ready now.

Oil and gas companies could spend up to $1 billion on exploration alone during the next five years and developing the reserves and building a pipeline could generate billions more for the NWT and the country.

It's enough to make one gasp. And to echo Inuvialuit Regional Corp. chair Nellie Courneyea, it's a project of "national significance."

And it wasn't long ago that we questioned whether the NWT would be able to prove the Mackenzie route viable before Alaska and the Yukon sway industry and government to back their pipeline plans.

That seems to be changing, as evidence mounts to show why the NWT route is the best option.

The Aboriginal Pipeline Working group is doing its job by working with communities to clarify where the pipeline would go and how people can benefit from it.

Federal bureaucrats have been working behind the scenes to put the regulatory building blocks in place.

And while it will be the oil and gas industry that will ultimately decide whether or not the pipeline is commercially viable, Northern development needs to take the next step -- to the national political stage.

Apart from being a major plank in incumbent MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew's election platform, Northern energy doesn't appear to fit into national political priorities.

That has to change. The federal government must put its weight behind Northern development, much in the same way it backed Newfoundland's Hibernia project and the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta.

Politicians and media are locked in a love-hate relationship and there is nothing like an election campaign to magnify their differences.

The game is now afoot, as both struggle to shape the images and stories that reach the voters. When things go poorly, reporters accuse their quarry of misrepresentation or worse; politicians plead that they were misquoted.

The World Wide Web should be the answer to a politician's prayer: endless exposure in a controlled situation. No difficult questions; just mount the soapbox and spiel. Each of the parties has a web page to showcase their platforms and policies. What they say unprompted should be a fair indication of their priorities.

With the exception of Joe Clark's Tories, who have no hope of forming a government in the foreseeable future, the web pages ignore Northern issues. This could change before voting day, but in the meantime, what are Northerners to make of the situation? Should we understand, that despite what local candidates might say, the Liberals, Alliance and NDP have no real interest in what happens here?

Nadia Wilson wanted a big birthday Oct. 4, but she didn't get any gifts.

Instead, Nadia and her parents asked the 30-plus kids invited to Nadia's pool party to make a donation not exceeding $10.

You see, Nadia, at the tender age of seven, loves babies. So she donated the $180 collected at her party to the Stanton Regional Hospital Foundation.

The money will be used for the hospital's pediatric and obstetric wards.

Nadia's mother, Anu, encouraged her daughter to give instead of receiving so that she will learn to "give of yourself without being recognized for it."

We can all learn a lesson from Nadia and her family.

Officials at Inuvik's campus of Aurora College are struggling to find room for everyone.

The situation has been brought about mainly by two factors. The proposed new campus has been delayed, and impending oil and gas exploration activity in the area has created a demand for more courses this year. In fact, the number of students is up about 25 per cent.

The delayed campus was a frequent topic of debate during the recent municipal election campaign. The current situation is a reminder, if any were needed, of the important role the college plays for Inuvik and the entire region.

Youth views

One local teen has decided to break a trend.

Kristine McLeod was recently elected by her peers at Samuel Hearne Secondary school to be the new youth rep on Inuvik Town Council.

McLeod explained that this all came about because she realized that many young people from the area like to complain about how things are, but they never do anything about it. She decided to do something about it, and became involved in several organizations before earning the right to provide council with a more youthful perspective.

The Grade 12 student looks forward to her council stint and pointed out that being youth rep there, as well as her involvement in other groups, will be a good experience.

McLeod also had a message for her peers, namely that the views of young people do matter, so they shouldn't be shy about expressing them.

Her attitude is to be admired, and coincidentally, this past weekend many young people met at the Inuvik Youth Centre as part of efforts to re-open the centre. They elected a new youth committee, which is to hold meetings and come up with suggestions for the youth centre board.

Clearly, as McLeod pointed out, young people can make a difference if they choose to do so.

Poster girl

Speaking of young people making a difference, anti-smoking posters have been going up around the NWT and Alberta featuring an Inuvik teen.

The poster features a photo of Dayna Lennie, as well as graphic representations of organs damaged by tobacco.

Lennie said she was a little surprised at how graphic the poster turned out, but that she's pleased that it seems to have caught a lot of attention.

Though much has been reported on the dangers associated with tobacco, no doubt seeing someone their own age in a campaign like this might just be enough to convince some young people to either quit smoking or never start.

Although a Mackenzie Valley pipeline is still several years away, the difficulty Fort Liard is experiencing in finding heavy equipment operators may be a sign of things to come unless a concerted effort is made to prepare the NWT's workforce.

Dennis Nelner, a Deh Cho representative on the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, said a partnership among the aboriginal groups from the Delta to the Deh Cho should provide plenty of able bodies.

He added that workers from the Akaitcho or South Slave regions could be brought in as well.

On a smaller scale, the industrial park training program for heavy-equipment operators in Fort Liard is a good first step towards fulfilling their needs in a small, industrious community. Once its got a foot in the door, the oil and gas industry is all business at warp speed. More workers brought in from the south defeats the purpose of the employment opportunities that are supposed to be beneficial to the local economy now.

Turning 100

Living through an entire century is definitely an achievement in itself.

Celine "Granny" Lafferty has seen a great deal of change in her lifetime. Having grown up in Fort Providence and having lived in Rabbit Kettle for many years, she wouldn't have been exposed to some of the rapid technological changes that a "southerner" would have witnessed as they occurred.

For example, cameras became popular in the early 1900s as did cars. Granny didn't catch the first movie in Montreal or Toronto in 1906. Chances are she wasn't introduced to the radio until she was nearing mid-life -- even indoor plumbing would have been novel for a while.

Her life in the bush would have consisted of hard work, as was alluded to by her daughter Albertine. Granny was constantly sewing, knitting, cooking and being a mother and a wife. She has obviously touched many lives over the 100 years she has graced this earth.

Whether she preferred dog teams to snowmobiles or hand tools to power tools, technology, like time, marches on. Some products and gadgets will come and go. Granny's legacy of cultural pride, however, will endure.

Small towns

For those of us who have lived in the south or stayed there for a period, the overwhelming choices in a supermarket are usually taken for granted.

In the North, the sparse populations in small communities, separated by hundreds of kilometres, are not afforded such luxuries. The logistics don't permit it. Those of us in Fort Simpson, Fort Providence and Fort Liard who complain about not being able to find this or that should remember that residents in Nahanni Butte and Trout Lake go without more often and for a lot longer.

Striving for improvements is one thing, remaining realistic is another. We can't have it all.

Preserving Inuit legend It is a good to see Inuit legend filmed while our elders are still able to convey their stories, but it is especially gratifying when the story is captured by a filmmaker with deep roots in Nunavut.

Born on Baffin Island, John Houston grew up in Cape Dorset and is fluent in Inuktitut.

His parents, James and Alma Houston, have a storied past in Nunavut and have earned themselves a place in Northern annuals.

John Houston is currently filming the legend of Nuliajuk, the second is his movie trilogy saluting the Arctic.

His first effort, Songs in Stone, garnered the Outstanding Achievement Award at 1999s Far North Film Festival in Yellowknife.

It also captured the Best Arts and Entertainment Award at the 2000 Yorkton International Film Festival.

The Houston family has developed strong ties to Nunavut since James first arrived in the Eastern Arctic in 1948.

How deep those roots go is probably best exemplified by Alma Houston who requested her ashes be scattered in Cape Dorset when she died in the late 1990s.

It is this love and understanding of Inuit culture her son, John Houston, brings with his film crew.

There are many storytellers who can gather information and weave it into a tale meant to entertain and inform.

But Inuit legend is often complicated in its meaning and takes a true sense of devotion to the subject matter to do it justice.

Such is the devotion Houston has to his trilogy of Arctic tales.

With the blending of cultures to work on the project, Houston stands a good chance of accurately portraying one of the most basic, yet complicated, legends in Inuit culture.

The creation of an archive at St. Mary's University in Halifax, N.S., with an Inuit intern to oversee the project will further enhance understanding of the Nuliajuk legend.

Time is running out on our ability to capture the telling of Inuit legend in its purest form through our elders.

And, it is the type of understanding, dedication and commitment to the legend being told felt by Houston which will help to forever enshrine Inuit legend in its rightful place among Canadian culture and Northern lore.