John Curran
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 05, 2007

BATHURST INLET - He may go to Yellowknife with his family to work in the winter, but home for Sam Kapolak will always be Bathurst Inlet.

The traditional community isn't big, but it's where his roots are.

"It fluctuates, in the winter about eight to 10 people live there," he said. "In the summer, it goes up to about 20."

President of Kingaunmiut Ltd. ñ which does everything from mining support and expediting services to environmental consulting and tourist outfitting ñ and co-owner of Bathurst Inlet Lodge, he's certainly a busy guy and it doesn't let up come winter.

"I've made the run to Bathurst from Yellowknife on a snowmobile three times now," he said.

Sticking on the ice road to the diamond mines until he hits the treeline and then making the cross-tundra run as the raven flies from there, the epic overland voyage to the Arctic coast from the shores of Great Slave Lake generally takes him about three days.

"It's only two days if I'm really hauling," he said. "But you have to remember, I'm usually pulling a fully-loaded, 18-foot qamutiiq."

He said he couldn't make the trip in 2006 due to the poor weather conditions, but he's looking forward to it this year. "I bring a canvas tent and all of my survival gear," he said.

Also the board chairman for the Burnside Hunters and Trappers Association, Kapolak can frequently be found hanging around airports going to and from Kugluktuk where the group frequently meets.

He looks at the dropping caribou numbers and it concerns him, adding nothing has the potential to transform the Inuit way of life more dramatically than problems with the herds.

"It's very important," he said. "But we can't forget to listen to our elders too when we're talking about it."