Latest news with #RankinInlet
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Coming home: Elders return to Nunavut for care after years of living in the south
Three years ago, Eric Anoee Jr., along with his family, made the difficult decision to move his brother Bernard from Arviat, Nunavut to Embassy West, a seniors' living facility in Ottawa. Bernard had just been diagnosed with dementia and there was no 24-hour care available to him in Nunavut. As Anoee Jr. describes it, they had no choice. But after three years, Bernard is coming home. He's one of a handful of Nunavut elders who are being transferred back to the territory to live in the new 24-hour elder care facility in Rankin Inlet which opened this month. Last week, Anoee Jr. received a call that Bernard would be one of the elders sent to live in the new home. "It's been a long time waiting," Anoee Jr. said. "Obviously Ottawa is very far away from home and we can't see him ... so we were very excited about Bernard coming home." Although Rankin Inlet is still a short flight away, Anoee Jr. said there's a world of difference between Ottawa and Nunavut. "When I visit the Embassy West, I can kind of feel that the Inuit residents feel out of place," he said. "They know that they're far away from home. Coming back to Nunavut is a going to be a really good thing for patients." Elders coming back In a statement in the Legislative Assembly this week, Health Minister John Main said the first few elders have already arrived at the new care home in Rankin Inlet, which has 24 beds. He said three or four elders will arrive every week for the next few weeks. "A state-of-the art facility, the first of its kind in Nunavut, awaits them with a culturally enriching, safe, and home-like environment," Main said. He also said the health department has placed a "strong focus" on employing Inuit at the home. "We know that the elders who will live there want to hear Inuktitut being spoken. They want Inuit values and culture reflected in the activities, and in the food they are served," Main said. Anoee Jr. remembers when he and his other brother were tasked with moving Bernard out of Arviat. "It was a pretty long, emotional journey having to move him to southern Canada," he said. Despite not having full-time care available in Arviat, Anoee Jr. said the whole community helped to support Bernard. "I found out that the support system is there even though it's not a whole lot. The health department really helped us there, and the family and community. If he was wandering away from town our friend would tell us to pick him up." It was also the first time Anoee Jr. had experienced caring for someone with dementia. "It's very hard to have a loved one suffering from dementia," he said.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gold ulu heads to Hockey Hall of Fame to mark Nunavut's historic Arctic Winter Games win
It was an offer so special, David Clark thought at first it must be fake. But the offer was real, and now Clark's gold ulu from the 2023 Arctic Winter Games (AWG) is going to be displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Clark was the coach of Nunavut's U18 male hockey team when the team defeated Alaska at the 2023 games in Alberta to bring home the gold. It was the territory's first gold in hockey at the AWGs. "I couldn't be more proud," Clark said about his gold ulu going on display. "You know, like, I'm just a kid from Nunavut and I never thought I would go to the Hockey Hall of Fame for anything. "Getting my gold medal at the Hockey Hall of Fame and having those boys be part of it just means the world to me. I'm getting emotional just talking about it." The hall of fame's interest began with a recent visit from a group of young hockey players. Lee Barter is a youth hockey coach in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). He's helped to facilitate a youth hockey exchange where teams from southern Ontario visited Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, and Rankin players visited the GTA. While the Nunavut players were in Ontario, they visited the Hockey Hall of Fame archives. Barter said the museum had set aside special Nunavut items like Jordin Tootoo's jersey. Tootoo is a Rankin-born former NHLer and was the first Inuk to make the major league. Barter said his team told archives staff that several of the players on prior exchanges had been part of the gold-winning AWG team, and the hall of fame was interested in acquiring a jersey or gold ulu to pay tribute to the win. "When they realized that there was a historic moment that had happened that they could commemorate, they were happy to reach out and we were excited to help make the connection," Barter said. Having had many of the players on that winning team participate in the exchange, Barter said it's been special to follow those players' progress as young athletes and see the AWG win. "We were very proud of them from here in Toronto, so we're obviously excited to see that they'll be celebrated at the hall of fame," he said. For Clark, the recognition shows the value of working hard and dreaming big. "I knew when we were going there, I said, 'we have the team.' We got the team and I believed when we left that, hey, we're going to win." A ceremony to induct Clark's gold ulu into the hall of fame will take place this summer in Toronto.
CBC
09-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Elders moving in soon to new long-term care facility in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
Nunavut's premier says he's excited for the opening of Rankin Inlet's new long-term care facility. Some elders will start moving in the week of May 26.
