Coppermine (Feb 09/04) - Where the river meets the ocean, Jack Himiack helped build an 18-hole golf course years ago in his home of Kugluktuk.

Jack Himiack has a message: Kids, stay in school. - photo courtesy of Jack Himiack

"We've got a four wheeler now to maintain the greens," he said. Mind you, greens are really just a dream in the High Arctic in February.

But the idea is to keep the dream alive that he and his friends built together 10 years ago.

"People used to come around from all over," he said. "You go there and forget your problems ... Get out your frustrations."

There are plenty of things about life in the North that can be frustrating, he said.

The lack of housing, the absence of good jobs for Inuit and nagging social issues, like alcoholism and kids dropping out of school: these are at the top of his list of problems crippling his community today. But Himiack doesn't let them get him down.

As a Ranger, a search and rescue worker, chair of the Hunters and Trappers group, a town councillor, and maintenance manager with the Kugluktuk Housing Association, he said he is doing his part to help Kugluktuk be a better place to live.

"This is my home," he said. "We want to help the youth, especially. They're the ones who will be the leaders of Nunavut one day."

Education is linked to Nunavut's future, he said.

As a school drop-out (he left after Grade 8), Himiack knows no one can get far without at least their Grade 12 diploma.

"I've always wished I didn't quit school," he said.

Born on Reed Island, 145km North of Kugluktuk, he grew up without a father.

"It was difficult for me," he said. "I only remember when we moved to Kugluktuk. It was a hard, but a good life."

As a boy, he lived in a tent outside a nursing station, but now he knows the intricate workings of houses, from electrical to plumbing.

He learned by doing -- taking courses and working 10 years on Beaufort Sea oil rigs.

Then he worked his way up from carpenter to his current job with the housing association.

Change has been a constant for Northerners like Himiack. He laments people's focus on money today and how it makes them share less.

"Money is more the issue here," he said. "Back then, you spread the food out to other community members. The changes are tough on the elders."

As a housing worker, Himiack strives to make a difference in a land with so many housing issues.

"We don't just need better housing, but to educate people about housing," he said.