Governor General honours 5 northerners
King Charles III Coronation Medals awarded Thursday by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at Rideau Hall
Rev. Canon Aigah Attagutsiak, left, was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal Thursday from Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. She received her medal during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. (Photo courtesy of Petty Officer 2nd Class Louis-Philippe Dubé, Rideau Hall)
Five people known in the North for their work in areas like reconciliation, mental health and education were presented King Charles III Coronation Medals this week by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.
They were among 52 recipients honoured Thursday during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.
The five northerners in the group are:
- Rev. Canon Aigah Attagutsiak, from Arctic Bay, for “offering dedicated and compassionate pastoral care” and for offering a communal space for meals and gatherings, according to a news release from the Governor General’s office;
- Leena Tatiggaq Evic, of Iqaluit, for her work on retaining and revitalizing Inuktut;
- Lisa Koperqualuk, from Puvirnituq. She is the president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada and an Arctic anthropologist who advocates for Inuit rights and education;
- Adriana Kusugak, from Rankin Inlet, for developing training programs that combine essential skills with traditional Inuit knowledge;
- Mary Piercey-Lewis, of Iqaluit. She’s a musician and teacher honoured for “adopting ethnomusicology and education as a means to celebrate and explore Inuit identity and tradition in innovative ways.”
The Coronation Medal program, launched to honour the coronation of King Charles in 2023, recognizes people who have made a “significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community in Canada,” according to the Governor General’s website.
See photos of the winners in the slideshow below.
Mary Piercey-Lewis, left, was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Thursday during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. (Photo courtesy of Petty Officer 2nd Class Louis-Philippe Dubé, Rideau Hall)
Pretenders!
Finally trying to honour so Inuit.
Hope there will be an investigation on Nunavut government for their lack of work. Corrupted system just blaming the innocent Inuit and they vote for them.
What an embarrassment this comment is to all Inuit. Gross.
but I can’t comment as I can’t understand it.
It’s because you are pretenders like them. Can’t see and hear what the government workers are doing.
I’m sure if you asked most members of the Montreal Inuit community is Lisa Koperqualuk worthy, many will say no due to her leading the destruction of the 7 year running volunteer charity – Association of Montreal Inuit.
Not only did she lead the charge to destroy the AMI, NN gave her a free pass to explain why she did it and how she “improved” things, allowing for no rebuttal by anybody, myself included!
to the Editor for this content. I would like to see the shaming comments and judging comments to be removed. is there not a regulator? The recipients of a very honorable recognition should be the focus and honor the work they do. thank you
There’s this little thing somewhere about the Freedom of the Press and some nonsense about Freedom of Expression.
Wait. This is Nunavut. I forgot.