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RANKIN INLET/ARVIAT
Kivalliq Arctic Foods in Rankin Inlet has taken a small step towards meeting market demand while helping Arviat hunters at the same time.

Davey Naulalik and Chris Meeko, front, wait to move a caribou carcass to the butcher's saw at Kivalliq Arctic Foods in Rankin Inlet this past week. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The meat-and-fish processing plant, which falls under the umbrella of the Nunavut Development Corp., recently purchased a number of caribou from Arviat hunters.

Plant general manager Brian Schindel said this was the first caribou purchase by Kivalliq Arctic Foods in quite some time.

He said, so far, the plant has purchased 90 tuktu from Arviat hunters.

"On average, we're looking at 85 to 90 pounds per carcass, so, in total, we'll bring in somewhere around 7,500 to 8,100 pounds of caribou meat for processing," said Schindel.

"One of the things I'd like to come from this is seeing some of our mikku (dried caribou) back on store shelves.

"The stores have been asking for that for the past 30 months here in Rankin and across Nunavut, really.

"Although we're, of course, based in Rankin, we like to think of ourselves as a Nunavut plant, not just a Rankin or a Kivalliq plant."

Schindel said the plant is also buying fish from Iglulik and other locations.

He said the Arviat Hunters and Trappers Organization is aware of the recent deal for caribou struck

with Arviat hunters.

"The Arviat hunters were aware of the fact we're buying caribou, as are hunters in the other communities, and things went from there.

"The hunters actually brought the caribou to us in Rankin by qamutiik.

"The hunting is based on the principles of traditional knowledge, and we're doing territorial inspecting of the meat here in the Rankin plant."

Schindel said the caribou meat has allowed the plant to make a couple of additional local hires.

He said it's also a bonus to be able to provide money to the Arviat hunters.

"In the past, we just bought where we could from a federal harvest.

"We've decertified now to become territorial, so the harvesting is based upon traditional skills and the inspection happens at our facility.

"We're still federal when it comes to our fish output, but we're territorially inspected with our meat.

"That makes life a little easier for us, but it's still done under strict inspection procedures under Nunavut's Department of Health."

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