I will tell you about the time when Inuit last used qajaqs in this area and when I learned about using a qajaq in my youth. I can remember the first time I had seen a qajaq made by Inuit. Angulalik had bought a qajaq made by Kupluguk and Flagstaff Island was the place where we practiced rowing and handling a qajaq. The men rowing their qajaqs in the harbour fascinated me. I decided to try it myself, and so I climbed into the qajaq and tried to paddle away from the land and out to the open water. I almost tipped over and got quite scared. I barely made it back to land without an accident in the water. I vowed that day that I would never go on a qajaq again! But time passed and my attitude about the qajaq changed.
We had spring camps at Kulgajuk (Foggy Bay) with my parents and my in-laws, Alikamik’s. There was a young man named Nahaklulik. Alikamik made him a qajaq that was short and close fitting around the waist. I tried this qajaq without fear because I had already tried Angulalik’s qajaq. This was my second experience and I enjoyed myself. I used Nahaklulik’s qajaq to search for caribou near Kulgajuk.
I found and shot two bull caribou on that trip. I removed their hides and butchered them. I then cut them into pieces so that I could pile them onto the qajaq. This was difficult because the qajaq was small and narrow. I put the hindquarters on the back and used rope all around the qajaq to tie the pieces on so they wouldn’t fall off. I also put some of the meat inside. The result was that the qajaq was barely able to float above the surface of the water. As I was loading the meat I had to keep getting on myself to see how much weight I was adding in total so I could be sure of remaining afloat. I was able to butcher only one of the caribou and put it on the qajaq without sinking. I was only a few inches above the water now.
I started to paddle towards home not knowing that my father-in-law, Alikamik, was worried about my safety because I had been gone for quite a while by this time. He had set out in search of me in his qajaq. I had to use all of my strength to paddle in my overloaded qajaq. As I paddled I had to check that I was still floating above the water’s surface. At times the qajaq would disappear beneath the water as I paddled. When I paddled harder, the more I felt I was making myself sink and when I stopped paddling, I felt like I was floating on air with my waistline right at the water’s edge.
I wasn’t afraid of drowning and I was not at all scared anymore. I had overcome my fear about drowning while using a qajaq. I enjoyed rowing a qajaq at this time. I was a young man, strong and confident. I made my way slowly home and knew I had made the most of my catch.
I know that our ancestors used qajaqs a lot. Qajaqs were useful for searching for game and for hunting tuktu (caribou). Caribou could be speared from a qajaq.