‘Healing is messy,’ NTI president says at Iqaluit Orange Shirt Day event

Knowing the truth will help get to a ‘calm, peaceful and loving existence,’ Kotierk says at National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony

A crowd in Iqaluit’s Cadet Hall, filled with orange, listens to speeches and a prayer for Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Saturday in Iqaluilt. (Photo by David Lochead)

By David Lochead

Bad weather would not stop Iqalummiut from recognizing Orange Shirt Day and Day for National Truth and Reconciliation Day as around 200 people packed into Cadet Hall for ceremonies.

“Truth and reconciliation is such an important thing,” Nunavut MP Lori Idlout said in a speech.

“As I’ve always said, it is a heavy day.”

Orange Shirt Day and Day for National Truth and Reconciliation Day both take place on Sept. 30. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led day that raises awareness of the intergenerational impacts and trauma of residential schools. Similarly, Day for National Truth and Reconciliation is meant to honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as the families impacted.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to attend residential schools between the 1830s and 1990s.

Saturday was the third time the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation has been observed in Canada, after Parliament designated Sept. 30 a holiday in 2021 in response to the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action, which called for a day to acknowledge people who were affected by the residential schools system.

Initially, the plan in Iqaluit was for a march from Igluvut Building to Iqaluit Square, but rain and wind forced the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, who hosted the march, to bring the event into Cadet Hall.

“It really hurts,” said Don Kunuk, a residential school survivor who was at the the Cadet Hall ceremony. He added that most of the people he went to residential school with have died.

Johnny and Nancy Qammaniq are residential school survivors who attended the Cadet Hall ceremony as well. Johnny said today is an important day to him.

On seeing the Cadet Hall being filled with people wearing orange shirts, Johnny added, “it’s really nice.”

Once Cadet Hall became packed around 2 p.m. speeches started.

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Aluki Kotierk gave a strong, emotional speech about the intergenerational trauma that Inuit carry from residential schools and the importance of healing.

“It’s really important that we spend time talking about the truth of how children were taken away from our families,” Kotierk said.

She spoke about how pain can show up when one least expects it.

“But I want to remind everyone that healing is very messy,” Kotierk said.

“And by talking about these very difficult things we will be able to get through to a more calm, peaceful and loving existence.”

She added that she hopes Inuit are able to work on the burdens they are carrying “so that we may have a brighter future in Nunavut.”

Nunavut MP Lori Idlout followed Kotierk with an equally moving speech.

Idlout spoke about how she remembers adults older than her refusing to share their experience about residential schools.

“It was too painful to share,” Idlout said.

“For them it was too embarrassing.”

But Idlout said that we are now in a time where it is OK to share those stories and that it helps the healing process.

“Those times of hiding that history are over,” she said.

Idlout then spoke about her recent experience in Rankin Inlet, where they spoke about the need for intergenerational love.

“We can start making sure we’re not only talking about intergenerational trauma, but we can start talking about intergenerational love,” she said.

There was loud applause following both Kotierk and Idlout’s speeches.

A prayer followed the speeches. As well, there was a performance from the Inuksuk Drum Dancers, who sang and drum danced to Inuit music.

The ceremony ended on a positive note, as children gathered near the end of the Cadet Hall for a candy toss.

Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Olayuk Akesuk was one of the people tossing candy. He said that it is an important and sad day, and adding a candy toss allows for people to leave the building happy.

  • Orange shirts are given to people entering Cadet Hall on the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Saturday. (Photo by David Lochead)
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(14) Comments:

  1. Posted by Tony on

    After the auditor general’s latest report on the failings of the GN Department of family services, all those politicians in “Every Child Matters” T-shirts are giving me a wicked case of whiplash.

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  2. Posted by Oranges on

    Very messy indeed, from many aspects. Ok, let’s look at something, let’s suppose: my grandparents were taking away to the residential school. They were abused by the priests, the nuns and teachers. Onward through the years, my grandparents abused my mother and say, two sides are affected, my fathers side too. So my parents went on to abuse me. So, today, my parents and grandparents are dead. I’m the survivor. Who do I forgive? Or do I forgive at all ? Who do I accept an apology from ? From the religious persons who are now dead as well, or from my grandparents or parents who are also dead ? From the government who never actually abused , but was involved with the taking of children? Who is to blame for my abuse ? Is it the clergymen and women, government? Or is it my grandparents or parents ? Do I blame the residential school, and not my parents and grandparents who actually abused me, or the residential school who actually started the abuse? If I forgive the school, and let my grandparents and parents off the hook, is that healing? This is very messy and confusing for those who are not thinking this through properly.

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    • Posted by Further to the oranges on

      Adding a further question as by the survivor in the comment. If the survivor of such abuse went on to become an abuser, does the conditions of the abusive history excuse that survivor from the actual abusive acts perform by the survivor?

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      • Posted by The Answer Is on

        Excuse? No. Explain, yes.

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        • Posted by And what do explain mean? on

          Do you think the abuser should face charges for continuing abuse from being abused ? Or can an explanation relieve the guilty verdict? You know I was abused ! Therefore I should or should not be found guilty if I continue the abuse? And remembering that the priest , nuns , other clergy may also have been abused in their life, and passing the abuse to the next generation also? Where do all this start and end? How do we determine who’s blessed and who’s to blame, with the way we look at the whole picture? I’ll say that with a conviction that usual the court and laws are as confusing as anyone else.

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          • Posted by North Star on

            First, realize this happened only 50 years ago, regardless of grandparent or parent or self. Evert Inuk you meet is either a residential survivor or related to one. It is only now that awareness is beginning to come out and this is the first step to healing.
            This will take time for families to heal and hopefully for some move forward. Until this time the blame falls on everyone until the cycle is broken. This may take generations or less, depends on the individual. So we stand with the community and help each other survive and heal. Hope that explains a bit more And what do explain mean?

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            • Posted by The Question Is… on

              Well, that is a factually incorrect statement. The question is – it is misinformation or disinformation?

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            • Posted by Big dipper on

              It’s 50 years as you are aware, but sexual abuse is as old as humans. That’s the part that needs more explaining , but who can do that explaining? Inuit have been affected longer than the missionaries have been around as well, as are many many people. Can anyone explain why some inuit or anyone affected by sexual abuse, became an abuser as well? We must hold anyone that abused sexual or otherwise, accountable, it doesn’t matter if it’s a clergy, residential school survivors, or any other abuser or survivors. We must also address it as a reality, not to exempt one party or another, no one should abuse another, even if they were abused themselves. With that being said, let’s call all abusers to be responsible for their behaviour. It’s like being guilty with an explanation ! But still guilty, don’t forget. The devil didnt make you do it , therefore it’s not somehow ok. Like wise the clergyman/woman wasn’t made to do from their abuse, and neither should a survivor that abused , as the clergyman didn’t make them that way either. It’s a choice, a sick choice that needs addressing.

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  3. Posted by Northman on

    The first step of healing is to forgive the person or persons involved,no amount of money can do what forgiveness can do.

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    • Posted by Forgiveness is not all good on

      Forgiveness is good for the victim mostly, it can even be good for the abusers if it don’t just stop at that. There must be change for the better along with forgiveness. I’m seeing many people forgiving especially after an apology and it’s doing nothing, as many can fake that kind of apology and forgiveness can seem good for the victim, but cautiously. As if nothing changes then nothing changes. There must be action that come with accountability. Too much forgiveness in the north, that does nothing but words spoken to someone who is not listening and continues to abuse. Sure the victim may feel good that they forgive, but some other victim is enduring the same abuse by the same abusers.

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  4. Posted by S on

    The gravity of events that signify ‘residential schools’ has been exceeded by generations of people around the globe before those schools came into being.

    Colonialism is a red herring for the type and extent of abuses that have occurred in every culture since humans first formed societies many tens of thousands of years ago. No society is excluded, not distant-past ones and not current ones. That applies to every square centimeter of the globe.

    Lori, Aluki, Justin, and all their disingenuous and pretentious brethren here and elsewhere are completely offside. They need to be pushed to the wayside so that we can grow and prosper

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    • Posted by Meh on

      “Child abuse existed before Residential Schools therefore what’s the big fuss?” might be the the all-time worst take on a subject with no shortage of terrible takes.

  5. Posted by Messy you. on

    When you start hear Inuit speeches about Turtle island homeland , you can bet that something, someone, somewhere is a wee bit off track from Inuit perspective. That’s what we heard from some Inuit speaking on the radio. Turtle island ? Fell right under the First Nation . Inuit are not First Nation. Inuit are Inuit. And then you get little kids following along in orange shirts , wondering what the confusion in the adults is all about. I’m concerned that all this rally, orange shirts, First Nations, Inuit is not carefully thought out in a way to be effectively applied. It’s people just reacting to the unknown for the most part. When turtle island comes north, I’m not confused, but concerned. As concerned as shouts from the school children put on the big screen by mislead adults. Even the little kids from the south that are attending school in the north, as by family living there, are asked to shout out that we are proud to be Inuit. Hey, is it so narrow that other people got to say we are Inuit? And inuit got to say we’re from turtle island ?

  6. Posted by Mr dress up on

    Orange shirt day could become another insignificant noise made by a few people that make noise with other days and events as well. International women’s day for example. You’ll hear so and so on fm wishing this one and that one, happy international women’s day. Not a though as to its meaning , other than another day to wish you happiness for I don’t know what. Like merry Christmas , happy Easter , trick or treat. It becomes a normal nothing, no more than a color put on something, but the heart and soul of its meaning not relevant. People listening to it from outside the culture or area , are saying , oh yes another one, it’s either gay and lesbian rights , or bigger still transgender expression our not grow children , encouraged to make some kind of statement or noise, just for that sake. I’m concerned about my family with all this uselessness out there that’s making Inuit look bad again and again. No consideration as to what’s going on, and understood. If you look at places like Montreal , Winn, Ottawa, it’s either showcasing Inuit as drunken drugged street people or suddenly out behind another group of First Nations. We need to evaluate our position in this and not just become useless noise and colours.

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