WATCH THOSE BEARS

Saturday, August 23rd, 2025

Iqaluit, Nunavut

Goodbye to Nunavut!  It was a great visit and that sentiment was shared by my travelling companions, most notably, Jai, Mahadev, and Annapurna.  Thanks to Vasey and his dad, Dhira Nitai, for the accommodation, meals, and engagement.  The last farewell hugs were at the Iqaluit Airport, and we were about to embark on Canadian North Airlines for Ottawa.

I sat with a couple, Maddie and Amaujaq of the Inuit community, on the plane when I asked them a little bit about themselves and what was life like.  Part of Amaujaq’s history is his roughing it in the wilderness.  One day, his family, situated snugly in a remote cabin, had a polar bear visit.  The door was closed, and so was the window.  The big predator smelled the food inside, pressed his weight against the window which came crashing in.  The hollering and screaming from the family scared the fellow away, but a second return to the cabin meant a bullet.

On another occasion, Amaujaq, his father, and friend fell through the ice and struggled for their lives to get to rock and land.  If that wasn’t enough that day, a bear came at them.  This polar bear received his reincarnation before he knew it.

One thing I learned from Janet (the Mountie’s wife) about the different types of bears is the following:

“If he’s black, fight back.  If he’s brown, lie down.  If he’s white, good night!”

How the Indigenous people lived in these parts with all the wilderness around them in days gone by, I don’t know.  The Creator offered protection, I’m sure.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!

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