Twelve years after the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) launched a truth commission to record the federal government’s systemic efforts to colonize Inuit of the Qikiqtaaluk region, the government issued an apology Wednesday.

The atonement included $20 million as an initial investment to begin correcting wrongs of the past.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett made the apology in Iqaluit while standing before elders from each of the region’s 13 communities.

“It’s another chapter in our history that we really are putting a closure to,” Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) president P.J. Akeeagok told Nunavut News.

“An apology is more than just words. It really allows you to let go of the strings that you’ve been holding on to your whole life, really. Some of the experiences of Inuit, when they were kids, they’re still holding on. The social issues that you see are directly linked to the experiences that they faced and that was told to the truth commission.”

But Akeeagok said, while the apology is meaningful, more was required: “true investments to revive what was lost.” What was lost includes Inuit dignity, autonomy and culture. He said future generations are the ultimate focus of the work QIA is doing as a result of the truth commission.

Read: Action on the Qikiqtani Truth Commission

Of the $20 million, QIA will place $15 million in its Legacy Fund, using roughly $600,000 of interest annually for programs.

“That’s huge in what we’re able to deliver in key programs based on the 25 recommendations (from the truth commission). This allows us to plan for the future, too, long-term and solution-oriented,” said Akeeagok.

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