In the 1950s, because of a severe famine in the Keewatin District, many Inuit arrived in Baker Lake. A federal dayschool was opened at Baker Lake in 1957. Pre-fabricated subsidized government housing constructed from the mid-1950s. The Northern Services Officer—Doug Wilkinson— encouraged the development of the arts and crafts industry in Baker Lake. At that time the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources (DIAND) established arts and crafts projects in Inuit hamlets as part of socio-economic development (Goetz, 1985:43). Bill Larmour was the DIAND arts and crafts officer in Baker Lake from 1961 to 1962.