Erika Sherk
Northern News Services
Monday, July 30, 2007

NUNAVUT - The territory of Nunavut is working to create a soapstone industry, according to a new government action plan.

Soapstone quarrying has been done in the territory for years, often by individual artists who need the stone to make their quintessential Nunavut creations.

Charlene Lloyd voices her concerns about dispute resolution at Con/Rycon trailer park during Monday's city council meeting at City Hall. - Adam Johnson/NNSL photo

However, according to the report published by the Government of Nunavut, many artists have been unable to get their hands on adequate stone in recent years. Some communities in the territory are nowhere near soapstone deposits and carvers are finding that they can't depend upon inter-community shipping, as the weather often makes moving the heavy stone impossible.

Thus, the GN is focusing on the creation of a soapstone industry, complete with an overseer, to make sure that all artists have access to the stone that is vital to their craft.

Ukkusiksaqtarvik - "The Place Where We Find Stone" - is the name of the Carving Stone Action Plan recently released by the GN.

Two major parts of the plan include hiring a person to work full-time co-ordinating the soapstone industry and also providing funding to help quarriers buy tools.

The organization factor is crucial, said Chris Cowx, senior advisor for business with the department of economic development and transportation.

"All the pieces are in place," he said. "We have people to do the harvesting. Northern Store and Co-op have sold stone on and off for years. Somebody just has to get on the phone and work out details."

By the end of 2008, the GN is aiming to have a person hired, trained, and hard at work ensuring stone is making its way to carvers, said Cowx.

The soapstone plan is actually a spin-off plan of Sanaugait: A Strategy for Growth in Nunavut's Arts and Crafts Sector - the GN's arts and crafts strategy that was released in June.

It is important that people realize that arts and crafts in Nunavut are a big part of the territory's GDP, Cowx said.

"Sometimes people outside don't realize it is an industry, not people just carving for their own pleasure," he said.

"Out of our 29,000 people, at least 4,000 make at least part of their living off art," he added.

The fact that funding is now available for quarrying equipment was good news to Chris Pudlat, the arts coordinator at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op, which has been selling soapstone for years.

"It's lots of hard manual physical labour," said Pudlat, "there's no heavy equipment down there, they quarry it by hand."

They regularly buy stone from about four main quarriers, he said, but "a lot of people go down for bits and pieces."

Even before the soapstone action plan, the Co-op has always been dedicated to its artists, Pudlat said.

"We try to have stone so that our artists can have stone year-round, it's not really for profit," he said.

This is what the carving stone action plan would eventually like to see everywhere, according to Cowx.

In Pangnirtung, there are about 10 quarriers who go out regularly, estimated Daniel Akpalialuq, craft gallery manager at the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts and Crafts.

The 10 go and painstakingly remove the stone for their own carvings, said Akpalialuq, but non-quarrying carvers are still without their vital material.