that Jarvis and James were from Edmonton and though many of his friends had been there Napachee had never had an opportunity to visit. There were other whites who lived in Sachs Harbour as well, school teachers and government employees, but most of them had been living in the North for many years and didn't often talk about their earlier life. This was his chance to hear everything first hand.
When Napachee arrived at the camp, the men were already up and working with equipment. They appeared to be packing up to leave. Napachee spotted James and headed towards him.
"Good morning. You're just in time," James said.
"Are you leaving for the South already?"
"No. We are going out with the helicopter one last time to try and get a second cub. Our contract was to capture two cubs for the zoo. This is our last day here, so if we don't get one today we're out of luck."
Napachee felt a rough hand on the back of his neck. Jarvis had walked up while they were talking and held a pail out to Napachee with his other hand.
"First, clean the cage. You can use this pail to wash it out and there is some clean straw over there you can spread on the bottom. Once that is done you can give it some of the food over by the tent."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jarvis. It's not safe. We will be gone all day so you'd better feed the cub through the bars of its cage for now, and then after we get back to help you, you can clean the cage. Don't try to open the cage door while we are away. We'll see you later," James said.
With that the two men walked off leaving Napachee to the task at hand. He picked up the pail and walked over to the cage. Seeing Napachee, the cub snarled and backed up into its familiar position against the bars at the rear of the cage.
"Qanuripit," Napachee said, surprising himself by speaking to the cub in Inuktitut. "I won't harm you. You must be hungry. I'll get some of your food." Napachee walked to the tent and spotted the frozen fish among the provisions the men brought with them.
The young cub no longer snarled. The men had said not to open the bear cub's cage, but Napachee reached for the handle anyway. Surely it was no threat.
"There, there little one. Do not be frightened, I won't harm you." The cub did not snarl or move to the back of its cage this time. It just sat there as Napachee opened the door. It watched as Napachee filled its bowls with food and water. Napachee looked at the small cub and slowly reached out to touch its fur. He placed his hand gently upon the cub's head. The bear started to growl.
"What is this?" Napachee could feel a large bump on the side of the cub's head. He tried to inspect the wound more closely but the cub whimpered and pulled back. After a few seconds, he slowly returned his hand to the bear's head and began to feel the rest of its body. He found a series of bumps and dried blood along its left ear.
Just then his sister, Pannik, called to him. She wore an amoute their mother had sewn and it held Napachee's little brother in the hood on her back.
"Come on. Father is looking for you and you don't want to be late!"
"How did you find me?"
"Mother thought this might be where you had gone and she asked me to get you right away."
Napachee hurriedly closed the cage door and set the pail down before leaving with his sister.
"I will be back later little one," Napachee shouted over his shoulder. The cub cocked its head in curiosity as they disappeared. Alone, it slumped to the floor of its cage and tenderly began to lick its wounds.
The morning was a very slow one for Napachee. He worked with his father, but heard nothing that was said. Napachee was certain that Jarvis had something to do with the lumps that covered the young cub's body. Something had struck it and it had not been by accident.
"The spool! Napachee pass me the spool!" Napachee surfaced from his thoughts and passed his father the spool of string they were using to mend their fishing nets. They used the nets to catch Arctic Char. Napachee loved Char, especially when his mother took the fresh fish, froze it in layers before cutting it into small pieces and served it raw. This was called quaq. Caribou could be served the same way, but Napachee preferred Char quaq.
"Joseph has a new dog he wants me to meet. Can I go before it gets too late?" Napachee asked, feeling guilty for the lie.
His father nodded. "Don't be late for lunch!"
Enuk heard the porch door open as Talik brought him a cup of coffee. He took the cup, gently.
"Who can figure these young ones out? It seems the more they learn the more they want what they don't have. They want to move to Inuvik, Yellowknife or the South. Will they leave their elders behind?" Talik gave him a comforting look and then Enuk returned to the the task of mending the net.
Once beyond his father's gaze, Napachee took off his fur hat and replaced it with a baseball cap. As he wandered along the road he stared out across the frozen expanse of ice. The road didn't go beyond the community itself. The only way to travel to another community was to fly, or go over the ocean and land without aid of a road. He imagined what lay on the ocean's other shore. He had been to Inuvik of course, but he had never been to Yellowknife or Edmonton. Napachee watched his feet as they crunched on the hard packed snow.
"Napachee! Come on in!"
Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned to wave to Joseph calling him from the steps of the game hall.
"If I hadn't shouted at you, you would have walked right past," Joseph said.
"It's my father again," Napachee said with a sigh. "He never understands what I want. I don't think he wants to understand."
"He's kind of old-fashioned, but what can you do? My father doesn't understand me either. I've given up."
"Joseph, I don't even understand you most of the time, so how can you expect your father to?"
The two friends looked at each other and started to laugh as they entered the game hall.
"I saw your father yesterday with the dogs and sled. Are you going out for the hunt again? I told my father I had better things to do with my time."
"Like foozeball." Napachee agreed and the two friends went to the foozeball table and started a game. Every day was the same: school, the game hall, the community centre, video games and hunting. Nothing ever changed! He liked his friends and the hockey and volleyball games they had at the centre but there had to be more.
"Yah!" Joseph said as he scored to end the game.
"I'm not concentrating very well. I can't stop thinking about the fight I had with my father."
Looking over Napachee's shoulder, Joseph put his finger to his lips to signal him to be quiet. Napachee turned and saw his father approaching.
"Let's go, Napachee," Enuk said sternly.
"But we just started to—"
"Napachee I don't have time to argue with you. The ice is perfect for sealing and I want you to come along."
Napachee opened his mouth to argue but gave up before he uttered a word. He went to the door with his father, but he turned back in time to see Joseph shake
