David Kootook Memorial Inukshuk

In November 1972, a plane crashed en route to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The passengers included two patients seeking medical treatment, a nurse, and the pilot.

The nurse died when the plane crashed, and one of the patients, a pregnant woman, died a day later. The other patient was David Pisurayak Kootook, a 14 year old Inuk boy who was suffering from appendicitis. Kootook helped care for the pilot (Martin Hartwell), who had two broken legs from the crash.

With average temperates of -35 degrees Fahrenheit, weeks went by without help arriving. Kootook passed away after 20 days, and Hartwell made the tough decision to eat the leg of the nurse to survive. Hartwell was eventually rescued 31 days after the crash.