Tell us what makes you hometown proud:
Aklavik is always home to me, no matter where I travel. I was born and raised in Aklavik and my family is of Sahtu Dene, Gwich’in, and Irish and Scottish heritage. Aklavik is unique compared to other communities as it comprises of a very diverse ethnic heritage. The Gwich’in and Inuvialuit and Métis are the traditional settlers to this area and Aklavik was created as a meeting place of these cultures by the Hudson’s Bay Company. One of the reasons Aklavik was created was because of its richness of fur bearing animals, abundance of traditional food. Aklavik soon became the regional center for trapping hunting and soon attracted many white and other aboriginal trappers who populated the now thriving community. I often refer to Aklavik as a mini-replica of Canada because our community was populated by aboriginals, Irish, Scottish, French, Danish, Russian, Norwegian, Polynesian, and other European people. Many of these immigrants married aboriginal woman and the names are prominent in the area today. My Aklavik was a fun place to grow up in and Aklavik was a bustling community that housed many stores, hotels, theater, armed forces, a radio station, two hospitals, and residential schools, operated by Catholic and Anglican missions. There were also a number of other religious denominations all out to Christianize the heathen Aboriginals. But my true memories of my hometown are of the activities we as families shared around the seasons. I always loved the spring when our families went on the land for spring hunt for muskrats. Most families left for spring hunt in April and trapped muskrats till mid-May when open water hunting took place until June 10th or so. We were rich on the land for food as the water fowl, ducks, geese, and swans all returned and everyone feasted. There were also many other species as our Delta is the breeding and nesting area for birds. At first open water our parents set their nets and we enjoyed fresh fish cooked in every way, with fish guts and eggs fried up with fresh pan fried bannock to chase. In the summer our parents again went to their fish camps to smoke and make dry fish. In mid July was yellow and blueberry picking time and again we feasted and lived a very rich life. The Inuvialuit also harvested the beluga whale, a delicacy in our community. In august we saw the migration of arctic char and caribou and again we feasted on traditional foods. In the fall our parents continued to harvest cranberries, caribou, moose, sheep, and rich white fish, and Coney. In October and November we all went jiggling (ice fishing) and eating fresh loche, liver and eggs with bannock, we were kings. Most of our parents went out on the land to trap and the big preparation for Christmas began. Our mothers, aunts, all began sewing mukluks and parkas for all of us to wear to the Christmas concert and church. Most of us never saw turkey or ham, but we enjoyed traditional food like, swan, geese, caribou head, for Christmas dinner. Aklavik holds many memories as to why it will always be my Hometown Pride.
Tell us what would make your hometown even better: