Paleajook Eskimo Co-operative

Community owned Co-operatives in the Arctic are multi-purpose businesses that provide a wide range of services to their members and their communities. Services provided by local Co-ops include retail stores, hotel and tourism operations, cable television, arts and craft marketing, fuel distribution, construction & heavy equipment services, property rental and a variety of agency type services. Paleajook Eskimo Co-operative began as a venue for local carvers to sell their art. They also sold hunting, camping & fishing supplies with some food staples and fuel delivery service. Today the Co-op is an active business consisting of a retail store and cable TV services, which has seen the need to expand its facilities to meet the need of the membership. In July 2010, Paleajook Co-op officially opened its brand new retail store and the “old” retail store will now be a warehouse. Taloyoak or Talurjuaq was known as Spence Bay until July 1992; and is located on the Boothia Peninsula, in Canada’s Nunavut Territory. The community is served only by air and by annual supply sealift. Taloyoak may mean “large blind”, referring to a stone caribou blind or a screen used for caribou hunting’. The first inhabitants of Taloyoak were Netsilik Inuit, and in 1904, Amundsen explored much of the Boothia Peninsula on his journey through the Northwest Passage. Taloyoak is home to many Inuit artisans. Inuit carvers work in bone, stone and ivory to create traditional and spiritual Inuit images. “Spence Bay” packing dolls are produced here.