Childhood Travels: We're Moving Again

Afterward, I moved out on my own to Lewisporte and then onto Mount Pearl and St. John's, Newfoundland. By that time, with the economy becoming worse, even I needed a change.

I applied to The North West Company and received a position working in the Northwest Territories in Cape Dorset. From there, I moved to Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay, to many people) and to Baker Lake.

Finally, the time came when I moved to Arviat where I was given the option to stay; I've been living here since 1994.

An interesting point to note is that without moving to another community, in 2000, I became a resident of Canada's newest territory, Nunavut. It consists of many towns including the communities stated above which were originally part of the Northwest Territories.

Living here is a different experience, indeed. There are different cultures and different dialects within the Inuktitut language which makes it difficult for outsiders to learn the language.

While residents do purchase groceries from the stores, they do hunt for fish, caribou, and other forms of wildlife. They pick berries, they still hunt and trap, and they enjoy spending time "out on the land" where they can see for miles because there are no trees nearby.

People do go to other towns by skidoo in winter or boat during warmer seasons. However, to get out of town, the most popular mode of transportation is by air.

When there is a medical emergency, such as a heart-attack, stroke, and broken bone - among other ailments - patients need to be flown to a hospital which is usually in Manitoba, whether in Churchill or Winnipeg, depending upon the nature of the emergency.

It's only recently that pregnant women have been permitted to give birth at the local health center - as opposed to going out of town anywhere from 2-4 weeks in advance, leaving their families behind - so advances are being made, for sure.

However, one of the great medical advantages of living in the north is that medical attention is granted sooner, rather than later, in many cases. There's usually no such thing as waiting for months to get an X-ray and simple infections, whether it be strep throat or urinary in nature, can be diagnosed and treatment can begin immediately - within the same visit to the health center.

Child care issues continue to grow: either child care is too expensive or isn't consistent, so people with young children continue to struggle. It makes it difficult to have two people working in a household but, at the same time, it's hard to survive with only one person working. This may or may not contribute to the increasing birth rate: the more children born to low income families, the more money is brought into the household on a monthly basis.

In general, people are isolated because of location; however, that same isolation helps protect our children. In fact, during all my years in Arviat, I've never heard of one child from the community being kidnapped. However, abuse of one nature or another runs rampant here, or so I hear.

For the person, like me, who enjoys nature but loves to spend time at home, especially in the cold winter months, this type of location is perfect; it grants time to write, keep in touch with friends, hang out with family, and appreciate that I have a warm house to come home to and a warm bed to sleep in.

Living anywhere has its advantages and disadvantages and living in the north is no exception. However, one of the greatest advantages in living in the north is that, when the opportunity is granted to travel to southern destinations, it's appreciated far more than most southern people realize. After all, northerners are not in a position to take for granted the advantages most people enjoy while living in the south.