Yellowknife (July 09/01) - It was the smell that tweaked Jorgan Aitaok's recollections. As he walked through Akaitcho Hall's corridors, he noted that the smell hadn't changed much.

"It brings back memories," said Aitaok of the slightly musty aroma that, to this day, lingers in the old residence.

Joe Wood, the first student ever to step into Akaitcho Hall, helps Sir John's principal Mieke Cameron (left) plant a tree in front of the old building. - Kevin Wilson/NNSL photo

Aitaok came from Cambridge Bay, with fiancee Vicki Bobinski, to pay his respects to the place he lived in while he studied in Yellowknife in 1986 and 1987.

Looking at the pictures on the walls, he picked out some of his neighbours and classmates.

"These guys work for Polarnet," said Aitaok. His sister Cathy's picture is also on the wall, but she was unable to attend.

Akaitcho Hall will probably not see the end of another summer, however, as it is old and has outlived its usefulness.

Akaitcho used to be the residence for students across the Territory who didn't have a high school in their home community. Nowadays, virtually every small community has their own secondary school.

Still, Akaitcho Hall seems to be a rare success story in a time when people speak ill of residential schools. Marg Hall began teaching in the NWT in the 1960s, first in Inuvik, and then at Akaitcho Hall, where she taught home economics.

"In Inuvik, we had 600 kids and 50 teachers," said Hall. "It used to bring tears to my eyes, because some of the kids were in kindergarten and that just wasn't right."

Akaitcho Hall was different, says Hall.

"These were young adults who were making choices for themselves," she said.

Mieke Cameron echoes that sentiment. "It (Akaitcho Hall) has not been tainted," she said.

Cameron has taught at Sir John Franklin High School since 1971. She's now its principal. Cameron said there had been "magic" at Akaitcho Hall.

"What I noticed was the sense of family," she said. "Students would put on shows and plays and the teachers would be invited to them. We (husband Les is also a teacher at the school) were very much attracted to that environment."

Philip Stobo came to Akaitcho in the early 1970s from Fort Smith. Now a teacher in Calgary, Stobo said Akaitcho Hall was "certainly a high point" in his life.

The combination of a tightly knit learning environment and a small population allowed students like Stobo to shine.

"It's a great place for memories," said Stobo. "I got to be valedictorian at the school."

During a banquet Saturday night, Nancy Karetak-Lindell, MP for Nunavut, and a kid from the Hall reflected on the efforts to make kids from remote communities feel welcome.

"The staff, took us bowling at the Con Mine bowling lanes," said Karetak-Lindell, "and they also took us cross country skiing."

When Karetak-Lindell ran in the last election, her time at Akaitcho served her in good stead. Crisscrossing the communities that would elect her, she continuously encountered former residents.

"How can you beat 25 years of friendship," she asked.

The reunion wound down on Canada Day. After two days of greeting old friends and dancing to the wee hours, the former residents gathered outside Akaitcho Hall to plant a commemorative tree.

Many tears were shed during a silence period dedicated to remember lost friends.

While Akaitcho Hall may not see another Raven Mad Daze, the former residents hope the tree will take root and continue to grow long after the building that housed and nurtured them, is gone.