INUVIK
A major Inuvik landmark will soon be a thing of the past.

Workers at Sir Alexander Mackenzie School were busy readying this mural for preservation since the building will likely be demolished by Easter. The former residential school is one of the landmarks of Inuvik, but it's a polarizing building holding bad memories for many people. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

Sir Alexander Mackenzie School is likely to be mostly demolished just after the Easter weekend, bringing a close to one of Inuvik's landmark buildings, both visually and historically.

Roger Anderson of Canadian Quest Logistics Inc. is the project manager for the $3.8-million demolition effort.

He and his workers, largely from Inuvik, all recognize they are working on a piece of history, one that resonates with memories that many find unpleasant and some downright horrific.

The school was the site of one of the infamous residential schools so loathed by many people of aboriginal ancestry. It was the educational face of the school program, flanked by Grollier and Stringer halls, where some absolutely horrific abuses occurred.

If the walls could talk, it's uncertain if anyone listening would necessarily want to hear some of their stories.

Anderson said during an April 2 interview at the site that the first phase of the demolition, the removal of hazardous materials, is almost complete.

"The primary materials are asbestos and lead, both leachable and unleachable," he said. "That's what we're involved in at the moment, and that should be complete by the ninth of April. That's about a month ahead of schedule."

The attic insulation is also posing a few problems, since it's primarily a material called Vermiculite, which lets out clouds of extremely small particles.

The second phase is the demolition of the school, which will be handled by a different subcontractor. That company will raze the school and clear the material from the site.

The asbestos will be buried at the Inuvik solid waste site, while the lead will be trucked away to the south for disposal.

The project is to be completed at the end of June, and it remains far ahead of schedule.

The third phase will be to rehabilitate the site, including the removing of pilings.

Other than the hazardous materials, the school is still surprisingly structurally sound, Anderson said.

He's well aware that the demolition is a controversial subject in town. A certain segment of the population want it gone as a way of turning the page on a painful and disturbing period in town, while another segment recognizes it as one of two or three landmarks in town.

He said almost everyone who has lived in Inuvik or the Mackenzie Delta area for any length of time attended the school or had friends and family who did.

"I've heard people say there are mixed opinions on the building," he said. "There are those who want to hold on to souvenirs to remind them of this period and help with the healing process, and people who just want it down. It's the last major building associated with that period."

Anderson said sometimes when he's on the site during quiet hours, he finds himself listening to see if the walls actually are "sending anything through."

"I always believe that the more you look at a building the more it reveals itself to you. That's especially true in the Arctic, where everything is believed to have an energy and life to it."

A few people have made special requests for items from the school, including furniture, and that has been accommodated where possible, Anderson said.

Two paintings, a mural found on the exterior of the school, and another interior painting, are being preserved and removed intact, he added.

"They will be carefully crated and stored," he said. "One day, hopefully, they can be mounted somewhere else. They're beautiful works of art."

The school continues to be owned by the GNWT, which is paying for the work, Anderson said.

The Town of Inuvik owns the land, which will be merged into the existing Chief Jim Koe Park. Its future uses are still being considered.