Spence Bay (Feb 16/04) - With winter in full force, people in Taloyoak are turning to the old ways to stay active and enrich their lives.

All ages are learning proper skills to make harpoon heads for hunting, traditional sleds and caribou skin clothing for warmth.

The courses are made possible by funding received from the Northern and Co-op stores. Peter Peetooloot, 65, is one of the instructors of the traditional courses developed by people in town.

"He's teaching the youth so they really know how to hunt," said Jayko Neeveacheak, who translated for Peetooloot last week.

"They don't want to lose their culture," Neeveacheak said.

Peetooloot still hunts and likes using a traditional harpoon, with a metal head.

He has been showing a group of young people how he crafts his weapon.

"He learned all these things in Taloyoak," said Neeveacheak. "Spence (Bay) would be kind of in the middle of where he grew up, which was mainly around Gjoa Haven."

Peetooloot will hunt bearded seal, ringed seal, fish and caribou with a harpoon.

The change from purely caribou antler harpoon heads to ones made from modern materials came about with the arrival of the Hudson's Bay Company.

The first white people Peetooloot ever met were with Hudson's Bay.

He was living around Somerset Island and was eight-years-old when he met southerners who sold fox furs.

Peetooloot recalls they also took a great interest in Inuit hunting tools.

Soon Hudson's Bay was carrying materials, like metal, to make harpoon heads.

This year, Peetooloot had four students watching his every move with the harpoon.

He likes them to watch him first, then try to make one on their own.

"He gives them direction," said Neeveacheak. "He lets them do the work."

Neeveacheak is even taking part in the harpoon head-making course.

"It calms me down," he said of the activity. "It makes me proud that I can do it, that I know I can go out and survive."

Peetooloot would take his students hunting if he could afford the gas for the snowmobiles, Neeveacheak added. Considering how cold this winter has been in Taloyoak, the group is fine with sitting indoors working on their projects.