SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The interior walls of the North Slave Correctional Centre are a little livelier this time of year.

With garland made of construction paper and cartoon reindeer drawings, they resemble corridors in a school or a university residence.

In one stairwell, inmates posted a mural of a Santa in a green suit, the same colour as the shirts men wear at the jail.

"My red suit is at the cleaners," reads a sign next to the image, a little bit of irony in a place most people don't associate with laughter.

This holiday season, the minimum security jail has been home to upwards of 140 men who spent Christmas away from their families and communities. For some, it's an opportunity to be sober and escape parts of the their lifestyle that led them into the criminal justice system. Inmate Carl Yakeleya said being in jail has allowed him to reflect on his experiences. He spends a great deal of time thinking about the years he spent in residential schools, and the many Christmases he was forced to spend away from his family as a child and teenager.

"Back then (at school), I couldn't leave, I had no choice. Here's it's different," Yakeleya said. "I've come to accept and forgive. It wasn't my fault the way I am."

He attends talking circles and church services and looks forward to next Christmas, when he won't be in custody.

"It's a healing time. It's gotta be done here, now," he said. "If you don't use the time now, you'll leave here angry and be back here angry."

But even a release date isn't enough to take the sting out of Christmas far away from family.

"It's sad. You feel it at night when you're alone," said Yakeleya. "It's hard on my kids. I say, 'don't be sad I'm in here. Be happy I'm alive.'"

Another inmate, Gerald Stuart, said he often thinks about his two small children and what he's missing. With a phone card gift, he was able to speak to his family for the first time in almost a month.

"It's tough to look at decorations. We used to decorate together. Seeing this now, it's hard knowing it's going on at home," he said, gesturing to the Christmas tree set up in the visiting area of the centre.

As president of the Inmate Association Committee, Stuart helped organize a decorating contest and daily recreation activities.

Like Yakeleya, Stuart looks forward to the future. He said being in jail and getting involved in the association gave him insight into what he's capable of doing. He hopes to use those leadership skills back Tuktoyaktuk.

"If I can continue this behaviour on the outside, I can see myself being a really positive, productive person," he said.

Guy LeBlanc, a deputy warden, said it's been important for both staff and inmate morale to focus on fun during the holiday season, within reason, of course. Visiting regulations were loosened in special circumstances for visiting family and friends. Starting at the end of November, special events have marked the festive season, "so the guys don't get too lonely, too bored," said LeBlanc.

Santa Claus dropped in. Staff challenged inmates to a volleyball game and participated in a jam session with inmates. Local musicians played free shows and a DJ played during some of their meals and a group of drummers kicked off events. For Christmas dinner, turkey was served with all the trimmings and some dry meat and fish was donated for the occasion.

Many of the 125 staff members kept working through the holidays so it was business as usual in some ways, but LeBlanc said the holidays are a difficult time of year to be incarcerated. He said the mood changes, not aggressively, but to "more of an empty, lonely-type behaviour."

He said the activities help lighten the atmosphere.

"A lot of these people are healthier now, emotionally and psychologically, physically then they are when they're out," said LeBlanc. "We can't replace home ... but a lot of these guys realize that being in here has been, in some respects, a lifesaver."

LeBlanc said inmates can receive gifts, but depending on what the gifts are, they may be put in storage until people are released. Presents were limited. They included watches, necklaces, feathers, slippers, photos and small items.

"Our list for Santa was really small," said Yakeleya. "A lot of these things are eye-openers. We really appreciate the little we get in a big way. Out there we take things for granted."

Stuart and Yakeleya said they and the other men in the centre wanted to wish their families a merry Christmas.

"We will come home better men," said Yakeleya. "God bless everybody, our families and communities."