Drum dancer honoured with new stamp

A drum-dance teacher and knowledge-keeper based in Cambridge Bay is featured on a new Canada Post stamp.

The stamp, which features a portrait of Julia Haogak Ogina in her drum-dancing regalia, was unveiled June 13 in her hometown of Ulukhaktok, N.W.T. The unveiling kicked off the community’s annual Kingalik Jamboree.

The stamp is one of three issued this year as part of the fourth set in the Indigenous Leaders series, which recognizes the achievements and contributions of Inuit, First Nations and Métis.

Ogina travelled to Ulukhaktok for the ceremony, which was held in the Helen Kalvak School gym. She was flanked by her husband Jerry Puglik and her children Derek Kudlak Ogina, Kenneth Ogina, and Trisha Ogina.

“I was with my family in Ulukhaktok to visit and see everyone that is very close to me, so it was a whole bunch of mixed emotions,” Ogina said of the honour.

“I really appreciate my family and extended family and the community families that we gained through sharing knowledge.”

The unveiling recognized Ogina “for her achievements in helping to preserve Inuinnaqtun language and drum dancing,” said Atul Deshkukh, senior administrative officer for the hamlet.

Drum dancing traditions are strong today, Ogina said, thanks to the cultural preservation undertaken in recent decades. Young people hold the key for Inuit culture to flourish, she said.

“We have to teach and sing the songs to create singers to lead us to sing and tell stories — to be able to create the music for the dance,” she said.

Five Inuit have been honoured on Canadian stamps since 1990. Artwork by six Inuit artists has been featured on Canadian stamps over that same period.

A print by Ogina’s great-grandmother, Helen Kalvak, titled The Dance, was featured on a 1979 stamp.

The territory of Nunavut was featured on stamps in 2017 and 1999.