Young Iqaluit hunters catch 3 walrus on community hunt

It was Aiden Williams' first time shooting a walrus — and he got to experience it on a community hunt in Iqaluit alongside his grandfather.

"It was exciting," says the 11-year-old.

"We chased the walrus, then we harpooned them, then we started shooting at them," he adds with a grin.

The 14-person hunting party set out on two boats on Sept. 28, and returned two days later with a catch of four walrus.

Three of the animals were shot by hunters under the age of 16  — fitting, as the event was sponsored by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association with the aim of passing down skills to young people. 

For Aiden, the youngest hunter on the crew, the experience was simply "cool."  

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Although it wasn't easy work.

​The party travelled approximately 150 kilometres down Frobisher Bay the first day without finding any walrus and camped overnight.

"The next morning we saw a group of walrus so we chased them and caught them," says Aiden.

While waiting on the boat, Aiden says he continuously worked on his harpoon to make sure it fit properly onto its shaft — the process took six to seven hours.

This was Aiden's second year going on a walrus hunt, but last year he was not allowed to shoot a gun.

"I had to watch and learn," he says.

Now, with the walrus meat tested, Aiden has another job to do.

"We're going to go give out meat to people," he says. Beside making donations to elders in Iqaluit he says he's also going to send some meat to family members in other parts of Nunavut.

'Smiling faces and full bellies'

"Nakurmiik, nakurmiik" — thank you, thank you — can be heard from elders in a crowd of over 50 people gathered at the Iqaluit breakwater, Wednesday morning.

Aiden's grandfather, Glenn Williams, is busily hauling walrus meat off one of the ships.

Although not an Inuk, he's recognized as an experienced hunter.

"I went on my first walrus hunt here in Iqaluit in 1979," he says, adding that he picked up many skills from the Inuit hunters who took time to share their knowledge.

"It's a nice feeling that we're able to continue to do a community hunt."

Few hunts, for either walrus or bowhead whales, are communal, he explains. But it's important that they still happen. 

"It's more than going down and getting meat and addressing food security," he says.

"This is a continuation of passing down knowledge and skills and sustaining and maintaining cultural practices."

The captain on the hunt, Tom Whittle, also brought along his son.

"Always nice to see smiling faces and full bellies," he says.

"And nice to share with everybody."

Whittle who is originally from Newfoundland has been in Nunavut for 13 years.

"I learned a lot from these guys," he says about the Inuit hunters who took him under their wings.

"They teach me stuff every day."