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Stay off the thin ice

HALUUQQAFFI IKALUKTUUTIAMIT. INUIN NAAMAINNAQTUT. NUNAKPUT PINNIHIJUQ. APPINGMATLU HIKULIQMAN. QAJAQTUKNAIKTUQ. NATTIIT KIHIMI AMIRAIKPAKTUT HIKUMI. NUNAKKUUKTUT ANGUNAHUAT 4=WHEELAKKUT. ALAPPAQNAIKTUQ. HIKINIQ PINNIQHIVAKTUQ. INUIN KATIMAJUT IKALUKTUUTIAMI AUDLAKMIJUT. QUANA INUINLU QABLUNAATLU PULAQTUT.QUANA QITIQMIUT KATIMAJIIT NIQIPGAIJUT. INUIN NAAMAJAVUT. AANNIAQTUTLU TAPQUAT AYUQHAQTUT NAAMAKLUHI. NUTAAKKAT NAAMAINNAQTUTLU. QINIQPAKLUGIT. ILIHAKVINGMILUUNIIT. HILA ALIANAQHIJUQ ANIIRIAMI. QANNIQPAKTUKLU NIPAALIQHUNILU. QUUJAQNAKHIVAKTUQ. QILAMINNUAQ INUIN AUDLAATTINIAQMIJUT IVITAAGUKHANIK. MAMAKTUT IQALUIT. AUDLALIGAGNAT AUDLAJUITTUT AVALIITTUMIK. NAAMMAKLUHI.

Welcome to beautiful southeast corner of Victoria Island, land of the Kiilikmiut, Inuinnaujurut.

It is fall time up here in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut as the snowfall has left beautiful land and sea all white, the Arctic Ocean is now slowly freezing up and all ponds and lakes are pretty well settled for winter now.

We have had beautiful snowfalls and a little bit of rain that freezes then it makes it slippery on the roads in town, please be careful when walking or driving.

Weather up here is certainly changing with climate change and it is starting affect our people who always go hunting and fishing out on the land and sea. It is dangerous right now to not go on the ice to travel or ice-fish as it is just starting to freeze.

Please stay off the ice.

Those who love to go hunting now travel on land by ATVs for now. Later on when the ocean is thick enough then people can go ice-fishing and hunting with snowmobiles and alliat (wooden homemade sled).

We use to watch caribou and omingmait (muskox) migrating from Gravel Pit going to Ovayok (Mount Pelly and area), but not anymore. It has been hard without caribou on the island, but people still go hunting to 30 Mile and mainland and other hunting spots. Caribou are now so scarce that we have to order tuktu from other communities, if anyone does get tuktu, it is not enough and is shared still with family and Elders in our community of Cambridge Bay.

We will have foxes, wolves, lots of different species of birds, geese, ducks, fish, rabbits,and much more, occasional polar bears wandering close by town. Hunters in town usually monitor the bears and chase it or them away from the community. We also get grizzly bears now on the island, couple of times we had whales, both narwhal and beluga, coming into the bay. Not very often I have seen whaling in my community in my lifetime anyways. People from Kugaaruk are very successful with whaling so a lot of residents share or order muktaaq from there. Soon people will be able to go ice-fishing for red-bellied char up at Ovayok and other lakes nearby Cambridge.

Now that Christmas is close by again, everyone will be busy sewing and carving, saving up for Christmas gifts and trips out of town. Haven't heard when the annual Christmas bazaar is yet, usually one in November and a last chance bazaar in December.

The Cambridge Bay Childcare Society is again holding the annual dinner and auction to raise funds to help operate the centre and keep it in operation, supplies, toys etc. This year's theme is INUINNAUYUGNA. Such a beautiful theme. The dinner and auction will be held on Saturday, Nov. 30. Tickets will go on sale soon. Any donations for auction items will be appreciated. Please contact Denica Nahogaloak, Manager of the daycare centre.

Good luck to all our candidates who are running for election on various positions in our wonderful community. Please watch for notices, times, dates, polling stations to go vote. Voting day is Oct. 28, and the advance poll is Oct. 21. This year I saw posts on Facebook that there is mail-in voting being held also, also with mobile polls. Again please listen to your local radio stations, posters and announcements for voting day.

God Be With You Son, forever in our hearts.