On Tuesday May 2, 2011, we interviewed Timothy Taleriktok about working in the Rankin Inlet Nickel Mine. Timothy was a young man when he worked in the mine in 1958. He was a 19 year old back then. Timothy worked with his father Aiyarani. Timothy had three job positions at the mine. His first job was as a janator. Then he moved to the mill and he started working underground. Timothy made 75 cents per hour and worked 8 hours per day. We asked Timothy about his salary at the time to see if he was alright with it. He said that 75 cents was a lot back then because things were much cheaper at the store in the late 1950’s. He was fine with his work hours and the amount of money he got per month. The mine employees worked eight hours per day and changed shifts from 8:00am to 4:00pm, 4:00pm to 12:00am and back to 8:00am to 4:00pm. There were day shifts and night shifts.

He also said that he enjoyed working at the mine in his early age. We asked him about the food that they ate in the mine, he said that the food was good, but he liked the caribou much better. We asked him about the “Old Eskimo (Inuit) Settlement,” and “New Eskimo (Inuit) Settlement.” The “New Eskimo Settlement” had a little bit of electricity and the older one had nothing. Compared to Timothy’s shack, which was in the “Old Eskimo (inuit) Settlement,” he said that the people who lived in the “New Eskimo (Inuit) Settlement” seemed like wealthy people. In the old settlement, the people there had homemade shacks. The new settlement for Inuit had a better shacks then the “Old Eskimo (Inuit) Settlement.”

We also asked Timothy what he liked during the movie nights in Rankin Inlet. He said that he liked the western movies (especially the cowboys). Inuit and kablunaat had a different locations, for example, they ate in different areas, and watched movies on a different days of the week. Inuit and kablunaat couldn’t be too friendly with one another, if this did happen, the Inuit risked being fired from their jobs. although he was a good friend of a radio man in the mine, he said that a lot of young workers visited the radio man, ”radio man is (unknow) kablunaaq (white man)” Timothy and a few young workers visited the Rado man, quite a few times during the weekneds.

Timothy was a young hard worker in the mine in his early age, he made some inuit friends when he used to work in the Rankin Inlet Nickle mine, He remembered some of the people he meet before in the Rankin Inlet Nickle Mine they also move to Arviat when the mine closed. These people who he reconnized  were ”Richard (tutsuituq )” ”Edward (arlariayuaq)” but these two people has passed away. He also manson few other people who used to work at the Rankin Inlet Nickle Mine, but i forgot there names.

Inuit who aren’t working on the mine Lived closed to the mine, and stay close to there familys. Timothy has inspired us talking about the Rankin Inlet Nickle mine. and gave us alot of informations how the mining was like in the 1958 to 1960’s Timothy work for 2 years and had 3 job’s during the time when he was working in the mine as a young boy.