Ilatsiak - 76 - The Move

Uyaraluk was a traveler. He had been born in the Bathurst Inlet area far to the west along the coast, but even during his childhood he became known for wandering ways. His parents were always having to go searching for him and even began calling him ‘Wanderer’ as a nickname. As a young man, he was no different and in his early twenties, he slowly began making his way eastward sometimes following coastlines, but more often rivers inland. He didn’t seem to have any particular destination in mind or need companions for these voyages of discovery, but occasionally a woman would join him for a while and by the time he ran into Qayaq’s people on the Fish River, he had several children and two wives to look after them. He and David hit it off right from the start and the two families were nearly inseparable, fishing together and ranging over the tundra in search of caribou each fall. It was rare for them to be found apart and in a way David blamed himself for heading up-river to fish without his friends this one time. Perhaps his friend would have noticed the children getting into danger along the river’s edge and been able to prevent the tragedy from happening.
When the news spread about the loss of Tulugak, Uyaraluk knew it was time to head back to Bathurst Inlet. He didn’t know why, but suddenly it was clear to him that returning home was the thing to do. He began to wonder about his own family and more and more was anxious about how they were. He made up his mind to return as soon as traveling was good again in the spring. He decided to talk with David and see if his family would join him. It would do them all good to get away from this river which had caused so much trouble recently. He was sure David would want to come. His own family was gone for the most part and Qajaq did not seem to be recovering from Tulugak’s death as she ought to be. She needed to be somewhere she could begin again without the constant reminders the river kept providing every time she look at it.