Philippe Morin
Northern News Services
Monday, June 18, 2007

PAULATUK - Let's say you are 15 years old and live in Paulatuk.

It's a hamlet of 300 people, which is a plane ride away from Inuvik.

On one side of town is the Beaufort Sea. On the other, a vast open landscape.

How do you pass the time? What keeps you occupied? And how do you find pocket money?

These questions are familiar to Aiden Green, who is a student at Angik school.

He said young people must be creative in Paulatuk because distractions aren't easy to find.

His personal favourites are hunting trips, such as the community's annual goose hunt, and journeys on snowmobile.

"We also play soccer," he said on May 26, adding the hamlet's snowbanks should soon melt.

But of course, with a lot of free time on his hands, Green said he'd rather be working.

He said he asked the hamlet office for a job, but was told there wasn't anything available.

So instead, he and his friends' only recourse, was to go into business for themselves.

"We ask to shovel (porches) and help elders," Green said, adding a few bucks are always appreciated because the Paulatuk convenience store charges $10 for a half-hour pool game.

Hamlet assistant recreation coordinator Aaron Ruben said there are cheaper alternatives.

For instance, he said Angik school's gym is open from 7 p.m. to midnight on weeknights, and hosts games of soccer, dodgeball, and basketball for free.

"We're also trying to set up beach volleyball at the sand-pit," he said.

While sports are a good pastime, Green said he can't wait for the community's youth centre to open.

The centre will be built in the hamlet's multipurpose building, which received funding under the territorial Community Capacity Building Fund.

With this space, he said, young people in Paulatuk might be a bit closer to having something to do.

"Yeah, it's a little boring sometimes," he admitted. "It'd be nice to have a place to hang out."