The Hunt

Morning came with the sound of boiling water and a “good morning” from my friend. He was dressed and ready to go. We ate more bannock and more tea. We stuffed some dried meat in a pack sack and got our gear in order. Field glasses were used but at this time of year days are short and they had limited results. We left our camp hoping no wolves or bears were in the area who wished a meal of our food. The only animals we saw were Arctic hare and foxes. A couple of muskoxen were pawing at the tundra trying to uncover some tender morsels of Arctic Willow for breakfast.

We left camp and approached a rise. Ikey motioned me to get close to the ground as he spotted something. Sure enough there were a dozen caribou walking slowly towards the shoreline. There was a clear pathway tramped down by the numerous hoof prints of passing caribou. Their nostrils belched steam as if they had been chased for a while. I key pointed out the culprit which was a lone Arctic Wolf looking for a meal. We also saw that he was using only three legs. An accident perhaps or a old wound but surely something that separated him from the pack.

I was experiencing the time of my life and the coldness that was pressing on me in my immobile position was a small nuisance. Ikey looked the situation over and decided to let these animals get to the ice and safety. Caribou that have been run have a bitter taste and this was not what we came for. Ikey did claim the wolf with a clean shot. On examination the wolf had been in a trap and would not have been able to survive the winter. The animal was skinned in minutes and he showed me how and why it was done that way. He also showed me the proper way to fold the hide to keep its value at the auction.

We travelled slowly in land to a flat area which appeared to be covered by thousands of caribou but actually I counted about a hundred. Eight herds of female caribou with a dominant male were moving in our direction. We dismounted our ATV and moved to a spot behind some large rocks and waited. I had 6 tags and of course Ikey did not need tags. We planned to wait until the animals were passing and to avoid shooting the dominant herd leader.

It was over in minutes and I had 4 and Ikey 7 prime animals. My next lesson was cleaning and skinning the animals. I had experience with deer and moose but caribou were so easy. We had a clean patch of snow on which to take care of the meat. We kept everything - hearts, liver and Ikey used more. We quartered the animals and wrapped them in the hides. This meat would be shared with the elders and other needy people in the hamlet.

We went back to get our sleds and when we returned the foxes were already having a feast of the leftovers. The spiritual bird of the Inuit, the raven was in numbers as well. Nothing was lost or wasted. This was the way of the Inuit for centuries and I was privileged to take part. I repeated this harvest every year I was in the Arctic.

When we began to gather the animals, Ikey stopped me until he took snow and put it in his mouth, and then in the mouth of the nearest caribou. He said thanks to the spirits for the food they had provided to his family; very spiritual and meaningful in the context of the moment. He repeated this with each of the animals. He invited me to do the same for my bounty and I did, but the spirituality was not there at that time. As other occasions befell me I became more in tune with nature and the opportunity to experience the circle of life up there in the High Arctic.

We stayed overnight and cooked the hearts and liver - at least some of them - and talked of the hunt, how good life was, and our thoughts of sharing the meat and the stories of the Caribou Hunt. I am ever grateful for the time and experiences I had up there and with my friend Ikey.