HALOKAFFI. KAUMAKTUK NUNAKPUT IILA. HIKINIK KULVAKPAKTUK ITSIRALUKLU ILANI. ALIANAKHIYUK AUDLARIAMI IILA. UMINGMAKHIUKTUT INIKYUKILIKMIYUT. NIKIKAKVIK TUNIKHAINAHUAT NIKIMIK INUNGNUT KITIKMEONIT. QUANA TUNIKHAIYUT NIKIMIK. UMINGMAUP AMMIA ANGUNAHUATKUTNUN ATUKNAHUAKTAIT. NIRIPKAINAHUATLU KAMIUNITIHAMI 20 MARCHIMI. NIRIAKTUTYAVUHI. AMEGAINIKLU OKHINA EVETALEGAKLU UMINGMAKHIUKPAKTUT. QUANA IKAYUKTUUT. NUTAKAT UNARUHIKNIAKMIYUT ILIHAIYIITLU APRIL 1 MIT UTIKLUTIK APRIL 13 MI. ANIIKNAKHIYUK IILA. HITUAKATAKPAKTUT ANIRAGNATA. INUIN NAMAINAKTUT IKALUKTUTIAMI. QUANA UPLAKIAKTUKHIMAYUT UKTUKPAKTUT AKHUKHUTIK. KUVIAHUKPAKLUHI. NIGNAHUHIMAITUKMIK ULAPKIVAKTUT. PITIAKPAKLUHI. INGNUTANUARA AKANANUAK ANGIKLILIKTUK UKALIKPIAKTUKLU ILANI INNUINAKTUT TUHALIKPAKTARA. NAMAKPAKLUHI. IHUMALUKPALAKHIMAITUMIK. PITIAKTAUVAKTURUT IILA. AYUKNAKMAN ILAIYARAGAGNAT. MUNARITIAKLURIT NUTAKATITLU ILANUATITLU.

Welcome to almost spring time in Cambridge Bay! Weather has been warm again, and yes we are still getting more and more snow. With lots of snow comes lots of fun out on the land. The sun has been peeking out once in a while when there is no ice fog.

When there are snow blizzards, planes don't land in Cambridge Bay. No plane means no fresh milk, while produce and mail and other goods that have to be flown in. It gets boring when there's no mail and no passengers who wait to come home. But at the same time it's nice to be able to be in places like Yellowknife and Edmonton to be able to shop and eat Chinese food or McDonald's. Folks travelling in and out of Cambridge Bay usually have good air service daily. That is helpful, unlike the past, when an old air force plane would come in once a month, and if the weather was bad they would wait till the next month. Many people travelled by boats, too, and dog teams. Even the RCMP would travel by dog team, delivering mail and visiting camps or nearby Hudson's Bay stores to restock shelves.

I remember my grandfather Buster Kailek, my mother's father, was the manager at Canalaska store out by Kent Peninsula. My father Johnny Tologanak was a special constable for the RCMP and travelled with members doing this. One book recommended is Dog Tales and Mounties by Robert Ward. It tells about how the past was. Robert Ward is retired now and living in Alberta out at the lake. He has many good stories to tell, if you ever get to meet him and enjoy listening to stories. Red Pedersen, too, of Kugluktuk also has many good old-time stories and photographs.

Cambridge Bay had the pleasure of watching some professional wrestling this past week. The Community Wellness Centre invited special guests to speak mainly with our youth, and topics covered during workshops were peer pressure, staying in school and getting a good education, bullying, setting and attaining goals, traditional and family values, being proud to be aboriginal, drug and alcohol awareness and prevention – how drug dealers target youth, the effects and consequences of drug or alcohol abuse, and living an addictions-free lifestyle.

Today, youth face so many challenges, some good, some bad, with so many choices, some can lead to addictions either with drugs or alcohol. That's when we need to take time to help our youth in the communities. Having not much to do leads to wrong decisions at times. Motivational speaker and promoter Ernie Todd of the Canadian Wrestling Federation was invited along with youth wrestlers from across Canada to help promote drug and alcohol-free lifestyle, stay in school, how to be free of boredom, getting our youth motivated in the right direction and to let them know they can be successful. There were talks at the schools and wrestling matches with a real wrestling ring and all. They spoke about how drugs can affect you, gangs can trap you, prostitution, etc. Having a good education and staying in school is a good path to continue for the rest of your life.

It was well attended with approximately 1,200 spectators all weekend competing with the Kitikmeot Cup Hockey Tournament. It was nice to see youth being drug and alcohol free, no smoking cigarettes, no steroid use and so happy within themselves. And proud. Giving a clear message and being role models is all our kids need, and they really enjoyed themselves and were very influenced by good encouragement from this group how to live a healthy lifestyle. There were so many wrestling fans in Cambridge Bay and were asked to come back to visit again, all depends on funding. This trip was funded under the Solvent Abuse Program. Ernie and his group are highly recommended and are amazing, professional, honest. Koana very much for taking time to be with our youth and to show them friendship, care, patience, understanding and never give up, there is hope. We hope that Ernie and the group received their wrestling ring on the plane. They drove up from B.C. to Yellowknife to come to visit Cambridge Bay.

Soon it will be spring break again for our school students, teachers and staff. Spring break this year begins April 1 at noon and ends April 13. Kullik students and staff have been busy again cheering on the Arctic Winter Games athletes. Olympics first, now AWG: they hope to get back on regular routine soon.

The Kullik Ilihakvik and Kiilinik High School held their annual science fairs. This year's winners: Kullik Ilihakvik in the Experimental category – 1) Alysha Maksagak 2) Maya Niptanatiak and Brandi Nanegoak 3) Linda Howard. In the Research category, 1) Eliza Crockatt 2) Skye Corey 3) Amanda MacFarlane.

The elementary students made some awesome presentations, doing display coloured mixes of rainbows, rocks and how important they are to us. The Grade 2 students did iglu building experiments, making different mixtures on which one makes a good iglu and to see which mixture freezes the fastest. Find out from the Grade 2 students which is their secret mixture. Our wee ones in kindergarten experimented with strings doing sewing with stitches, macrame, weaving and other string games.

Well done to all our 2010 Science Fair winners at Kullik Ilihakvik. The Kitikmeot Regional Science Fair will be held in Gjoa Haven this year near the end of March and our stars of Kullik, Alysha, Maya and Brandi will be representing Kullik Ilihakvik. Good luck girls and very well done. We are all so happy for you.

Cambridge Bay is so busy lately. Once again Kitikmeot Foods is doing their muskox harvest and there are two hunters and seven haulers busy hunting and bringing muskox daily now for the past couple of weeks. David Amegainik and Kevin Evetalegak of Cambridge Bay hunt close by on the island, Baby, Pelly and around. The hunters bring in their harvest twice a day to the abbatoir (the old meat plant) by the shore. Kitikmeot Foods is donating 250 pounds of muskox meat to each Kitikmeot community. There will be a community feast with spaghetti and muskox meatballs on the menu on March 20. Koana to Canadian North for shipping the meat free of charge to the communities of Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Kugaaruk, Kugluktuk and of course Cambridge Bay. North Best Distributors of Yellowknife will be donating the spaghetti sauce, spaghetti and dinner rolls for this upcoming feast. The Culinary Arts Program students will be doing the cooking.

At the feast, the Wellness Centre staff will be giving out coupons to take home one-pound packages of ground muskox. Come out and show appreciation for all these hard workers at the feast. Koana to Monique and her staff for all this good work they are doing at Kitikmeot Foods and come out and taste our chefs' cooking from the college.

This will be my last column for a while. I wish to ask for your support and patience and koana for all your compliments for Tea Talk. As you know, my beloved son's inquest will be on April 12 and will need some time with family as this will be one of the hardest times in our lives, but we need some answers as to why this happened to my beloved son, Julian.

May God be with you son, and to everyone who have given their care, love and support, we thank you so much. I will always remember you all, each and everyone of you. God bless. There is hope and I will never give up as a mother to help search for my beloved son and to lay him to rest so that our people, his family, friends and many across Canada can rest and have some peace.

God be with you son. We love you always and miss you so much.