Brent Reaney
Northern News Services

Baker Lake (July 06/05) - With Nunavut Day coming up on July 9, husband and wife Mary and Martin Kreelak remember stories told by their elders while growing up on the land.

In an isolated camp in Chantry Inlet, about 228 kilometres northwest of Baker Lake, Mary says "we were in contact with our elders all the time."

But now, the community's youth grow up in a different environment, full of modern distractions, such as television and computers.

Only speak English

Some kids who spend time with their grandparents are fluent in Inuktitut. But Mary says many Baker Lake youth only speak English, which creates communication problems with Inuktitut-speaking elders.

"In my opinion, I don't think there's a lot of communication going on between elders and youth, but I think they're starting to get together at the school," says the 56-year-old.

The couple has been married for 34 "wonderful" years, Martin says.

Born in an iglu

He was born in an iglu and his mother nearly died of blood loss during the birth. An elder gave him his Inuktitut name after having a dream about a man standing around a pool of blood.

"That's how my culture became strong, from hearing these kinds of stories," he says.

Bringing elders and youth together is "very important," he says. "Especially today. It's really very important to bridge the gap between our elders."

There are few better ways to create a connection than to go on the land.

"By going out onto the land and just staying there for days and weeks, it really helps us connect with the past and our culture and traditions," he says.

Every elder has a different kind of knowledge, Martin says, and every person should seek wisdom from a different elder.

Samson Quinaanaaq is one elder Martin likes to spend time learning from.

Through his work at the Inuit Broadcasting Corp., he included Quinaanaaq in a documentary he made.

"We're living now in a very fast life, but everyone has to learn their own things."