Ulukhaktok, North West Territories

It was just 116 years ago that the first white man visited the region on the west side of Victoria Island on the Amundsen Gulf.  This is the land of the Copper Inuit. A land of slate and copper, of bluffs and rock.

Ulukhaktok, which is Inuktitut for “the place where ulu materials are found”, has not changed too terribly much in the ensuing century.  

Before I get much farther- I must explain what an “ulu” is.  It’s a knife- sort of half-moon shaped with a handle of bone, wood or antler.  With practice, one can skin a caribou, fillet a salmon and cut sealskin for a pair of mittens.  Handy little thing.

The 400 Inuvialuit who live here fill their days fishing, trapping and hunting.  They are hearty and welcoming- and utterly charming.

After donning all my zodiac “wet landing” gear, we headed ashore.

My "supplies"-everything from chapstick and  batteries to eyedrops and handwarmers..

You can always spot a southern girl by the things she finds to monogram.

Kitted out - almost

Ready for the cold.... I hope!

Heading toward my first zodiac adventure!

It's not often that guests get to see "below stairs"- or in this case, deck 4...

I spent a good two hours walking around the hamlet, as it is called.  If you look on a map and have trouble finding Ulukhaktok, look for it’s English name, Holman. As with many Inuit communities, the Inuit name only officially returned in 2006.

Believe it or not, “Ulu”, as high Arctic residents call it, is  a thriving artists' colony, thanks to a French missionary, one Father Henri Tardi.  Printmaking, carving, and needlework hand crafts provide outside income and name recognition across Canada.

Ulukhaktok is also home to the world’s northernmost golf course. No greens on the tundra?  No problem-they have specially made mats for tee boxes and greens.I told you that you should have come, Brother…

I was so happy to chat with Susie, a lovely lady that continues the tradition of printmaking from her father.

And I met several ladies who gather musk ox down to be spun into qiviut, that is returned to them to be knit into beautiful hats and headbands.

I visited the Holman Co-op, which has a little bit of everything.  A freighter visits once a week.  The prices continue to amaze me.

The sweet Anglican mission - 

and the K-12 school.

I chatted up this delightful granny- we traded stories and showed photos of our kids and grandkids.  She was ever so proud of her family, who had performed aboard Serenity the evening before.

Before I boarded the Zodiak to return to the ship, I talked with a lovely lady as she demonstrated how to "defur" a sealskin to make the leather that will form the soles for a pair of mukluks.  She uses just sand and an old bone to gently scrape the sealskin until it is clean.

Then through the boot wash station to make sure nothing comes back with us.

What did I take away from my visit to this lovely village?  Community.  A deep sense of love for one another.  Heritage. A great pride of place.  Hospitality. Joy that we came to visit their home. 

For the hours that we were in Uluhaktok, we were part of the community- we were home.