Iqalummiut pay last respects to Jose Kusugak

During a memorial service in Iqaluit Feb. 4, Iqalummiut remembered the late Jose Kusugak, shown here at the Inuit Circumpolar Council general assembly in Nuuk on July 1, 2010. (PHOTO BY LEIFF JOSEFSEN, SERMITSIAQ)

Family, friends and colleagues of the late Jose Kusugak packed Iqaluit’s Cadet Hall Feb. 4 for one final goodbye.

Kusugak, a giant of politics and broadcasting in Nunavut, died Jan. 19, at age 60, of bladder cancer.

While he had already been laid to rest at funeral in Rankin Inlet, more than 200 Iqalummiut came out to pay their respects.

The sheer number of Nunavut leaders past and present, from every level of government, made the event seem like a state funeral, right down to the presence of two visiting members of Greenland’s parliament.

Tagak Curley, Nunavut’s health minister and Kusugak’s brother-in-law, reminisced about the pair’s early work toward Inuit self-government and Kusugak’s role as an advocate for Inuktitut.

Kusugak could make anyone feel at home because he was such a gifted communicator, whether he was speaking in Inuktitut or English, Curley said.

“Jose had a wit so quick you could burst out laughing at any time,” he said.

That strength of character lasted through the final days of Kusugak’s illness which he spent at home surrounded by family and friends, Curley said.

“His home was just as lively as you would have seen it [at] any time over the years,” he said.

“The biggest battle that he fought for us was his illness and he and his family fought it head on.”

Curley called for the establishment of a scholarship fund in Kusugak’s name.

Jack Anawak, Nunavut’s former MP and Kusugak’s uncle, said Kusugak’s intellect and drive to fight for Inuit culture made him seem older than his years.

“He felt more like a cousin or an uncle because of his wisdom and dedication to Inuit culture,” he said.

But Anawak said Kusugak’s last great gift to Inuit was how he handled his battle with cancer, urging men to take their health seriously and seek treatment if they felt something was wrong.

Speaking on behalf of current and former Nunavut Sivuniksavut students, Jesse Mike called Kusugak “probably the greatest leader that I’ll ever have the opportunity to meet and be friends with.”

Kusugak was determined to help Inuit and was unafraid to “piss people off” in the process, even while being funny at the same time.

“The one awesome thing about Jose was that he never lost that physical energy and that drive,” she said.