Lazaroosie Kyak (1919-1976)

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Author: Pilot, R.S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1984
• Subjects: Biographies; Expeditions; Explorers; Fur trade; History; Inuit; Kyak; Lazaroosie; 1919-1976; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Sleds; St. Roch (Ship); Baffin Island waters; Nunavut; Baffin Island; Ellesmere Island waters; Ellesmere Island; Grise Fiord (Settlement); Northwest Passage; Pond Inlet (Hamlet); Arctic; Bylot Island; Grise Fiord; Patience; Pond Inlet; Baffin; inuit; Northwest passage
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65224

. Kyak was born in a small Inuit hunting camp near Button Point on Bylot Island, at a time when events in history would have a profound effect on the lives and culture of his people. . Kyak was engaged by the RCMP to assist many patrols out of Pond Inlet during the early 1940s. Members of the RCMP who had the good fortune to travel with Kyak recognized his sense of justice and protection. His dedication to duty led eventually to his engagement as a Special Constable in September 1943. Being an ardent seaman, he patrolled hundreds of miles of Baffin and Ellesmere island coastline. Kyak realized the potential of the site for the existing community of Grise Fiord and was instrumental in its selection. . Unwritten stories about the adventures and achievements of this exceptional man abound. He will be long remembered by those members of the RCMP who served with him. . His one desire, as a member of the RCMP, was to provide a bridge between the old and the new. Many in today's Arctic owe a debt of gratitude for his patience and quiet understanding. .