Rankin Inlet (July 12/06) - Pierre Kolit and his ancestors have been living off the bounty of the Kivalliq for generations.

Like thousands of Inuit before him, the Rankin Inlet resident felled his first caribou before he reached his teens. His uncles showed him how to survive on the tundra, skills that Kolit wants to pass on to younger generations.

But the 48-year-old, who works with teens and young adults at Rankin's Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre, has run into a roadblock: insurance.

"We want to teach them what we have been taught,"said Kolit, who has hunted across the Kivalliq. That despite a childhood bout of polio that left him with a weakened left side.

"It is frustrating... that we need insurance to do that."

The friendship centre co-ordinates on-the-land expeditions a few times each year. Novices, some of whom do not have access to ATVs and snowmobiles, learn the basics of hunting, fishing and setting up camp from their elders.

Kolit, though, is still awaiting for a final quote from insurance providers and without coverage, he said there will be no hunt. "I worry it will be too much,"he told the Kivalliq News last week.

This summer, Kolit wants to spend about 10 days at the Josephine River, a traditional camp site 67 km from Rankin Inlet. The trip takes about 10 hours on an ATV. "It is beautiful country,"he said.

The kids are getting "bored"with the usual routine of heading to Diane River, he said. Catches at the popular community fishing hole - about 15 km from Rankin - are also dwindling and Kolit wants his pupils to be familiar with other areas.

Kolit understands the need for the friendship centre to protect itself; the organization could face a lawsuit if the teens or young adults get hurt, he said.

But he worries some people have forgotten the Inuit tradition is inherently chancy.

"We have radios and satellite phones, but there is a risk every time you go out onto the land. It is part of our lifestyle, to be out there."

William Tiktaq, now a board member with the friendship centre, went on a handful of those hunting trips during his teenage years. They gave him survival skills and a solid grounding in his Inuit heritage."It is important for teenagers to learn where they come from,"said the 20-year-old Tiktaq. "And it is important for them to learn from their elders while they (still can.)"

Kolit is worried that younger generations are losing touch with the land - a problem that worsens with provisos like insurance for hunting and fishing expeditions.

"Kids are into computers. They are spoiled today,"he said.

But Kolit remains hopeful. He believes that once kids, teenagers and young adults experience the land, they will be forever entranced.

"There is nothing like it. As Inuit, the land is a part of us."