Latest news with #QikiqtaniTruthCommission
CBC
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
8 mushers cross the finish line at the Nunavut Quest
Eight mushers competing in the Nunavut Quest crossed the finish line in Igloolik on Wednesday. The Nunavut Quest, also known as Pangaggujjiniq, is a dog sled race from Pond Inlet to Igloolik that takes place each spring. This year, competitors took eight days to complete the 500-kilometre journey. The participants in this year's race were Donovan Qaunaq, Tom Naqitarvik, Isaac Irngaut, Joshua Qiliqi Ivalu, Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak, Lee Inuarak, Daniel Inuarak and Aiden Qaunaq. Lew Phillip, one of the spectators, travelled from Iqaluit to Igloolik to see the dog teams cross the finish line. "The whole trip was all whiteout everyday while travelling…. Some areas also have a lot of deep snow," Phillip said. Whiteout conditions forced mushers to stay at camp and rest on Sunday and Monday, but they were met with clear skies in Igloolik when they arrived at the finish. Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak crossed the finish line first, but the official results still need to be verified. The winner will be announced on Friday night at the closing ceremonies, which will also include games and a hukki, or square dance competition. Shanshan Tian has been the timekeeper for the race for the past three years. She's responsible for determining the final results. "I'm gonna have to do some time crunching and adding bonus times and penalty times, but yeah, it was an incredible race. Everyone raced incredibly well." The winner will take home $20,000 in prize money. There is also a $15,000 prize for second place, and $10,000 for third. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association provides the prize money using funding from the Qikiqtani Truth Commission. Tian says the race is about so much more than taking home the prize money. The Nunavut Quest is unique, she says, because it brings together generations of people. "In the end it really is just a time for people to be together and to be on the land, to share stories, to heal, to be with one another, friends and family from different communities," Tian said.
CBC
15-04-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Nunavut Quest competitors set off from Pond Inlet
Eight mushers started the Nunavut Quest dog sled race on Tuesday – a journey from Pond Inlet to Igloolik that's expected to take them each a week to complete. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association uses revitalization funding from the Qikiqtani Truth Commission for the prize money for all eight mushers: this year the top prizes are $20,000 for the first place winner, $15,000 for second and $10,000 for third. The participants this year are Donovan Qaunaq, Tom Naqitarvik, Isaac Irngaut, Joshua Qiliqi Ivalu, Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak, Lee Inuarak, Daniel Inuarak and Aiden Qaunaq. The race got underway at 1:30 p.m. Quvvaqtaaq Inuarak is an elder helping out with the race this year. He'll be guiding mushers from a snowmobile – a job he says is important.
CBC
27-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Federal government apologizes for 'profound harm' of Dundas Harbour relocations in Nunavut
The federal government has offered a long-awaited apology to Inuit families affected by the Dundas Harbour relocations in Nunavut nearly a century ago. Gary Anandasangaree, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, delivered the official apology at a ceremony in Arctic Bay, Nunavut, on Thursday afternoon. "We recognize and acknowledge the profound harm done to your families, your communities and your way of life, for taking you from your homes and families, for the hardships you endured and the displacement and ruptures of kinships," Anandasangaree said before a crowd gathered in the local community centre. "We offer our sincerest apology. We are sorry. We are sorry. Mamianaq." Among those gathered to hear the apology were descendants of some of the relocatees who have advocated for years for an official apology and recognition of the impact the forced moves had on their families and communities. The Dundas Harbour relocations were early examples of government-directed moves of Inuit. In 1934, according to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, a ship carried 52 Inuit and 109 dogs from several Baffin Island communities — Kinngait, Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet — to Dundas Harbour, an abandoned RCMP post on Devon Island. A Hudson Bay Company clerk also went to operate a trading post there. A 2013 report from the Qikiqtani Truth Commission says the government's motives for the relocation were "complex." "Reopening Dundas Harbour made a sovereignty statement at little or no expense to Canada, and also brought Inuit to an unpopulated area from more southerly locations that were considered to be overhunted," the report reads. The move proved to be disastrous for the relocatees, as they faced harsh weather conditions and limited resources in the area that was unfamiliar to them. After two years, the Dundas Harbour trading post was abandoned, and some Inuit were taken back to Pangnirtung. Others would be moved again, several more times over the following years — to Arctic Bay, Fort Ross and Spence Bay — despite having been promised that they would be returned to their home communities. Anandasangaree acknowledged that the relocations, while considered "voluntary" at the time, were not in fact voluntary at all. He said the federal government "took advantage of its dominant position over Inuit living in the Arctic and moved them to further its geopolitical goals without due regard to the desires of the relocatees." "We understand better than ever that the power imbalance between the colonial government and its officials meant that participation in the relocation was not voluntary, and Inuit were not provided with accurate information to make informed decisions for themselves." Lucy Qavavauq, a descendant who's with the Dundas Harbour Relocation Society which had been advocating for the official apology, said it was "something that has been coming a very long time." Qavavauq said that while she welcomed the official apology, she wishes it "would have happened sooner." "It would have been great, ideal, for the elders that actually experienced it to be able to witness that apology," she said. In a statement on Thursday, Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok called the apology "an important step towards healing and reconciliation." "I want to encourage all Canadians to remember the sacrifices made by Inuit in the name of Arctic sovereignty. Teaching our children the truths about our country's past is an important step towards true healing and reconciliation for our country," the statement reads.
CBC
27-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Federal government apologizes for Dundas Harbour relocations in Nunavut
The federal government has offered a long-awaited apology to Inuit families affected by the Dundas Harbour relocations in Nunavut nearly a century ago. Gary Anandasangaree, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, delivered the official apology at a ceremony in Arctic Bay, Nunavut, on Thursday afternoon. "We recognize and acknowledge the profound harm done to your families, your communities and your way of life, for taking you from your homes and families, for the hardships you endured and the displacement and ruptures of kinships," Anandasangaree said before a crowd gathered in the local community centre. "The government of Canada took advantage of its dominant position over Inuit living in the Arctic and moved them to further its geopolitical goals without due regard to the desires of the relocatees or the impact that the move would have on them." The Dundas Harbour relocations were early examples of government-directed moves of Inuit. In 1934, according to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, a ship carried 52 Inuit and 109 dogs from several Baffin Island communities — Kinngait, Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet — to Dundas Harbour, an abandoned RCMP post on Devon Island. A Hudson Bay Company clerk also went to operate a trading post there. A 2013 report from the Qikiqtani Truth Commission says the government's motives for the relocation were "complex." "Reopening Dundas Harbour made a sovereignty statement at little or no expense to Canada, and also brought Inuit to an unpopulated area from more southerly locations that were considered to be overhunted," the report reads. Two years later, however, the Dundas Harbour trading post was abandoned, and some Inuit were taken back to Pangnirtung. Others would be moved again, several more times, over the following years. Lucy Qavavauq, who's with the Dundas Harbour Relocation Society which had been advocating for the official apology, said it was "something that has been coming a very long time." Qavavauq said that while she welcomed the official apology, she wishes it "would have happened sooner."
CBC
27-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Federal government to officially apologize for Dundas Harbour relocations in Nunavut
A long-awaited apology will be given by the federal government on Thursday, to Inuit families affected by the Dundas Harbour relocations nearly a century ago. Gary Anandasangaree, the federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, will deliver the official apology at a ceremony in Arctic Bay, Nunavut. "It will be a relief, a big relief for a lot of people, a celebration — something that has been coming a very long time," said Lucy Qavavao, who's with the Dundas Harbour Relocation Society which has been advocating for the official apology. The Dundas Harbour relocations were early examples of government-directed moves of Inuit. In 1934, according to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission, a ship carried 52 Inuit and 109 dogs from several Baffin Island communities — Kinngait, Pangnirtung and Pond Inlet — to Dundas Harbour, an abandoned RCMP post on Devon Island. A Hudson Bay Company clerk also went to operate a trading post there. A 2013 report from the Qikiqtani Truth Commission says the government's motives for the relocation were "complex." "Reopening Dundas Harbour made a sovereignty statement at little or no expense to Canada, and also brought Inuit to an unpopulated area from more southerly locations that were considered to be overhunted," the report reads. Two years later, however, the Dundas Harbour trading post was abandoned, and some Inuit were taken back to Pangnirtung. Others would be moved again, several more times, over the following years. Qavavao said that while she welcomes the official apology, she wishes it "would have happened sooner." "It would have been great, ideal, for the elders that actually experienced it to be able to witness that apology," she said.
