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Qikiqtarjuaq business celebrates decade
Guy Quenneville Northern News Services Published Monday, September 7, 2009
Leelie Enterprises, run by owner Leslie Nukiwuak and his wife and office manager, Tia, began as a small operation in the Nukiwuak's home in August 1999. As it has taken on more and more services for the community of approximately 473 people, the business has expanded its staff, which now includes five people. "It was my husband and myself," said Tia of the early days when she and Leslie – born in Pangnirtung but a resident of Qikiqtarjuaq since he was three – began selling tusks, carvings and fuel in the back of their old home. "The Pink Room, we called it," said Tia. Three years later, the couple built a storefront to sell the crafts along with convenience store items. In addition, Leslie, a lifelong hunter, organized outfitting trips and eventually the couple secured the contract to deliver fuel to the community. All of that kept the Nukiwuaks pretty busy, prompting them to stop selling convenience store items and crafts, focusing exclusively on the sale of fuel and ammunitions. Leslie also stopped planning hunting trips, as guides were becoming hard to come by. "Leslie had no time to go hunting for himself, so we decided to stop doing the outfitting for a few years," said Tia. But never ones to turn an opportunity down, the Nukiwuaks began a contract in 2008 with Canadian North to conduct all ground handling of baggage and passengers for flights to and from Qikiqtarjuaq. "Our girl will go to the airport a couple of hours before the plane arrives and she'll stay there until everything is done there," said Tia. "We're focused on the fuel and Canadian North at this time." In 1995, Tia was on holidays in Bali, coming off a teaching stint in Hong Kong. She took a job at Inuksuit School. It didn't take long before she ran into Leslie. "As I always tell everybody, as I came off the plane, there was Leslie in his red truck, looking at all the fresh meat coming off the plane," said Tia. Later that year, according to Leslie, "She was left here alone for Christmas. I thought that she might get bored, so I thought it might help her out a little bit if I took her out." Added Tia, "He calls me up and says, 'I take you out.' I said 'When?' and he says, 'Before the snow.' And it was December. I'm looking around. I didn't say anything, but I'm questioning myself, thinking, 'There's lots of snow around. What does this mean?' So I had to find out what that meant. "He meant we would take the jeep out on the ice. He wanted to take me before the snow covered the tracks. He took me to his hot spot." Theirs was not a routine first date. "We did a search and rescue … There was someone who broke down out there, so we rescued this person and brought them back. "And we were together ever since that." The couple brainstormed business ideas, then decided on a company name. "Leslie's middle name is Leelie," said Tia. "The elders couldn't say 'Leslie.' They used to call him 'Leelie' when he was growing up in Pangnirtung. "When he told me the story, I said, 'Well, let's keep it easy for the elders to say.'" To celebrate their first 10 years, Tia and Leslie served up hot dogs, hamburgers, pop and juice to the community on Aug. 16. They gave out prizes, leftover items from their convenience store days like watches, picture frames and collectible items. As for the future, the Nukiwuaks hope to begin selling tusks and carvings again and resume outfitting "We have wholesalers who are calling us and saying, 'When are you going to go back? We have customers lined up for you,'" said Tia. "We want to build an outpost camp and have the outfitting going again in 2012." To house those clients, the couple hopes to build what they call Leelie Lodges – a small hotel made up of five rooms. "That's our dream," said Tia.
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