Photo: Relocatees stand proud in Resolute

Today, Aug. 18, marks the first anniversary of Canada’s apology to the High Arctic Exiles, given by northern affairs minister John Duncan in Inukjuak last year. Anna Nungak, Louisa Gillespie, and Allie Salluviniq, who were moved with their parents in 1953 from northern Quebec to Cornwallis Island, and Susan Idlout Salluviniq, whose parents were relocated there in the 1950s from Pond Inlet, stand in Resolute Bay beside a monument to these relocatees. Dedicated last September in memory of the Inuit who arrived there in 1953 and 1955, it reads “they came to these desolate shores to pursue the Government’s promise of a more prosperous life. They endured and overcame great hardship and dedicated their lives to Canada’s sovereignty in these lands and waters.” Gillespie welcomes the return of Canadian Forces and their current Operation Nanook to her community. That reminds her of those early years in Resolute when members of the military from the U.S. and Canada operated a base there. “It was quiet when they left,” she says. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)