David Pisurayak Kootook
David Pisurayak Kootook, MSC, (13 August 1958 – December 1972[1]) was an Inuit boy from Spence Bay, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut) who helped save the life of bush pilot Marten Hartwell after a crash in the Canadian Arctic. Kootook died after 23 days, and was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Cross.
The crash
Kootook had appendicitis and was being medically evacuated from Cambridge Bay for treatment. The plane hit a hill near near Hottah Lake, just south of Great Bear Lake and 400 km (250 mi) northwest of Yellowknife. Both Kootook and Marten survived the crash, but the two other people on board, a pregnant Inuit woman and a nurse attending them, died. The temperature was as low as −40 °C (−40 °F). Kootook built a shelter for both of them, lit and tended a fire, and found food for himself and the pilot. Hartwell eventually ate the flesh of a deceased passenger, but Kootook declined and died of starvation after 23 days. In an inquiry, doctors determined he would have survived if he had not used all his energy for his heroic efforts.
Hartwell was rescued by the Canadian military a week later.
Memorials and legacy
The story of the crash and the following events were written about in Edmonton author Peter Tadman's book The Survivor.
The Meritorious Service Cross was awarded to Kootook's family in 1994, 22 years after his death, for his efforts to save Hartwell's life. He was also awarded, posthumously in 1994, the Meritorious Service Cross, which is awarded for "a deed or an activity that has been performed in an outstandingly professional manner, or with uncommonly high standards."
In 1998, Kootook was honoured by the Northern Transportation Company by having a ship named after him. There is also a memorial inuksuk to Kootook in Edmonton.[2]
References
- "NTCL names ship after David Pisurayak Kootook". Nunatsiaqonline.ca. October 2, 1998. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
- "Meritorious Service Decorations". Governor General of Canada. March 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
- "Mr. David Kootook, M.S.C.". Governor General of Canada. September 30, 1994. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
- "David Kootook". Edmonton Public Library Information File. Retrieved May 4, 2016 from http://www2.epl.ca/Infofile/EPLInfofileDetail.cfm?subject_detail=Kootook,%20David.
Coordinates: 65°04′01″N 118°30′06″W / 65.06694°N 118.50167°W