Federal government apologizes for Dundas Harbour forced relocation

Acknowledging the harm caused by relocating 52 people from Kinngait to Dundas Harbour more than 80 years ago is a way to “rebuild” the relationship and trust between Inuit and the federal government, says Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree.

The Liberal cabinet minister travelled to Arctic Bay from Ottawa on Thursday to apologize for the forced relocations of what he described as four “extended families” between 1934 and 1948.

They were forced to move about 1,200 kilometres to the south shore of Devon Island, north of Baffin Island, to what the federal government today describes as “unfamiliar and unforgiving lands.”

Anandasangaree told a group of elders and survivors at the hamlet’s community centre that their courage, determination, resilience and advocacy led to the government’s apology.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree (File photo)

“You have carried the weight of these relocations, and your perseverance ensures that these stories and experiences are not forgotten,” Anandasangaree’s speaking notes said.

He called it a “very sombre day.”

“It’s ultimately about acknowledging the harm and making sure that those who are survivors and descendants have some closure, but also to rebuild that trust that was lost,” Anandasangaree said Thursday in a phone interview.

The Dundas Harbour settlement was abandoned more than 75 years ago.

The apology came with $4.5 million in federal funding for the Dundas Harbour Relocation Society to help Inuit families affected by the relocations.

Anandasangaree commended Isaac Shooyook — a former MLA, who was a toddler when the relocation occurred — along with descendants of the families that were moved.

Shooyook began in 2010 asking the federal government for an apology.

Isaac Shooyook, former MLA. (File photo)

The Dundas Harbour relocation was one of numerous instances in the 1900s of Inuit being moved from parts of what are now Nunavut and Nunavik to remote areas of the Arctic. The moves were done in the name of asserting Canada’s claim to Arctic sovereignty.

“These forced relocations prioritized Canada’s sovereignty at the expense of Inuit lives, disregarding the well-being of children, youth, and their families,” a government news release issued Thursday said.

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, who was in Arctic Bay to hear Anandasangaree’s apology, called it “a first small step towards reconciliation.”

Calling the relocations a “genocidal policy,” Idlout said the federal government made promises to the families without any real intent to implement them.

“The pain and suffering of these actions permeates through intergenerational trauma,” said Idlout, who was not available for an interview but provided a written statement responding to the apology.

Anandasangaree also apologized in November to Inuit in Nunavik for the historic slaughter of sled dogs that occurred in the 1950s. The killing of sled dogs was an attempt to separate Inuit from their traditional way of life, which includes using dogsled teams for hunting.

With that apology, the federal government gave $45 million to Makivvik Corp., the Inuit rights-holding organization in Nunavik, to be used for programs that promote healing and cultural revitalization.

Federal funding is part of the Dundas Harbour apology, Anandasangaree said, but he added the two historic episodes are different because the dog slaughter affected a bigger number of people in many different communities.