Beloved elder dies out where he loved life

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

One of Rankin Inlet’s most beloved elders died last week where he was born ­ out on the land in the central Arctic.

Lucien Taparti, 71, never returned from a trip on the land to hunt caribou.

Taparti went out hunting last Saturday with his wife Mary-Anne and family friend Monica Bruce.

When he didn’t return, the two women walked back to Rankin Inlet, and searchers were dispatched.

Searchers found him inside the box on his qamutik.

“He’ll be greatly missed by the community for his Inuit traditional knowledge and for his leadership,” said one Rankin Inlet resident.

Taparti was a former miner in Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife, and was active in the Roman Catholic Church since the 1960s.

His body has been sent out for an autopsy.

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