God bless Josie Papatsie

I met Josie Papatsie when I was a translator for the GNWT back in the early 1980s. It was at the Amarok hunters and trappers association board meeting.

Josie spoke from his heart about his feelings toward wildlife managment. The words were meaningful for an Inuk person, because he talked about day-to-day struggles experienced by the harvesters and the Inuit.

I have been involved in wildlife management for some time now, and I ran into Josie again when I was with the regional wildlife organization. This time it was at a professional level, because I worked for an organization that funded the Amarok HTA.

He had concerns and I felt that we must work together. In meetings he always got involved in real discussions, real discussions that meant making decisions for fellow Inuit. Most times he would give a brief history of his feelings and then suggest something to think about. That was his way.

I just wanted to give back to Josie by way of this letter because he was always welcoming (tunganaqtuq), understood cultural jokes, laughing and he was concerned. He knew how to help other people understand when he was making his point.

I will miss his smiles, his approachable way, his voice.

God bless Josie.

Joanasie Akumalik
Arctic Bay
hto.ab@polarland.com