Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Coral Harbour (Oct 19/05) - Smiles were everywhere during a special ceremony in Coral Harbour this past month to celebrate the help given to a young group of hunters more than six decades ago.

A group of Inuit hunters set sail for walrus hunting from northern Quebec around the 1943-44 era.

The group was headed to Nottingham Island when illness struck, claiming the lives of the party's two most-experienced hunters who were buried on the island.

Tommy Nakoolak of Coral Harbour was also on Nottingham island.

Nakoolak had been hired by the federal government to work at a small radio-communications station it had built on the island.

Coral Harbour Mayor Johnny Ningeongan said every once in a while, Nakoolak would be paid with rations to share with his family instead of money.

He said if Nakoolak hadn't been there to help the three surviving members of the hunting party, they probably would not have made it home to Quebec.

"Tommy helped the three young hunters bury their friends and shared some of the rations he had received as payment with them," said Ningeongan.

"There was hardly any means of communication in the Kivalliq in the 1940s, and it would have been very hard on those younger hunters with the experienced men in their party having died.

"It would be fair to say if Tommy hadn't been there to help out, everyone on the trip may have died."

For decades, the desire to pay tribute to the Nakoolak family was passed on among descendants of the Quebec hunting party.

Ningeongan said surviving family members of the two men who died on the island decided something had to be done now to recognize Tommy's help.

"Even though all this time had passed, the people who came to Coral wanted to pay tribute to Tommy Nakoolak for his actions at Nottingham Island.

"You don't come across this type of gesture very often in this day and age.

"It was a unique and special event that was well received by the community.

"It was touching to see the pride among Tommy's descendants, and to see our visitors' pride in officially recognizing his help."