Nunatsiaq News: Canada apologizes to Qikiqtani Inuit for sled dog killings, relocations
By Emma Tranter:
It was standing room only at Iqaluit’s Frobisher Inn when Carolyn Bennett, Canada’s minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs, apologized to Qikiqtani Inuit on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Bennett apologized on behalf of the federal government for colonial practices imposed on Inuit from 1950 to 1975, including sled dog killings, forced relocations and family separation.
“Without any consultation, and often without any clear explanation, the Government of Canada promised Qikiqtani Inuit a better life by beginning to administer southern solutions on the northern way of life. However, in reality, we forced the removal of your children, robbed you of independence, and did not treat you with the dignity you have always deserved,” Bennett said.
This mistreatment was documented by the Qikiqtani Truth Commission from 2007 to 2010, through interviews with almost 350 witnesses during 16 public hearings across the region.
The apology comes in response to the commission’s final report, released nearly 10 years ago in 2010.
QIA flew in 40 elders from across Nunavut’s Qikiqtaaluk region to attend the apology.
“As the Qikiqtani Truth Commission outlined in its final report, the changes to Inuit life from 1950 to 1975 were rapid and dramatic,” Bennett said.
Crown Indigenous Relations minister Carolyn Bennett and QIA president P.J. Akeeagok sign the memorandum of understanding between QIA and the Government of Canada as part of Wednesday’s apology to Qikiqtani Inuit. (Photo by Emma Tranter)
“We failed to provide you with proper housing, adequate medical care, education, economic viability and jobs. We took away your independence by imposing our own priorities and forcing you to survive in a difficult environment and in locations that were not of your choosing, nor your traditional home.”
Others who spoke at Wednesday’s apology included former Nunavut premier Eva Aariak, Qikiqtani Inuit Association President P.J. Akeeagok, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Aluki Kotierk.
