Iqaluit (Oct 27/03) - Charlie Akpalinluk remembers his days in Panniqtuuq, living and hunting on the land.

At 76, Akpalinluk has seen a lot of changes happen in the North. He now lives at the Elders Home in Iqaluit.

Charlie Akpalinluk remembers what it was like living on the land. Through the years he has seen many changes take place in Pangnirtung and Usualuk, the camp where he grew up. - Neils Christensen/NNSL photo

He grew up in a camp called Usualuk near Panniqtuuq, which no longer exists. Although some of his brothers and sisters have died, he still has a lot of family living in Panniqtuuq and Iqaluit.

"I liked growing up there," he said through a translator. "It was a good place to live."

Akpalinluk has been able to travel home to Panniqtuuq every spring to see his family. "There are so many vehicles and snowmobiles now." he said. "It was difficult when I first learned how to drive them."

The population growth is probably the second biggest change he has noticed.

What Akpalinluk remembers and misses the most about growing up in Panniqtuuq is hunting caribou and seal. He said being out on the land was always when he was happiest.

"I used to go out hunting a lot," he said. "It was always a lot of fun."

Akpalinluk would sometimes hunt foxes and sell the furs to the old Hudson Bay Company.

"We could get about $5 a fur, depending on the size and quality," he said.

The money they received from the furs would go to purchase food like bannock for the family.