Iqaluit goes orange for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

An all-ages demonstration of hope, healing and solidarity — decked out in orange T-shirts — filled the main street of Iqaluit Monday as part of the annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Staff from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, which hosted the event, handed out hundreds of orange shirts to kick off the ceremony, each emblazoned with a new design by Iqaluit-based multimedia artist Becky Qilavvaq (Kilabuk) and featuring the message “every child matters.”

“The wave of orange is so inspirational,” said QIA president Ayuk Akesuk as he addressed the crowd which grew to more than 400 people.

“It’s really impactful, and it’s so powerful to see the community come out. It is our time to start healing and working together and to care for each other.”

Multiple generations of Iqalummiut marched shoulder to shoulder or, for the youngest, shoulder to knee, many waving orange flags.

Alexina Kublu, former Nunavut language commissioner, speaks about the truth of residential schools. (Photos by Daron Letts)

Alexina Kublu, former Nunavut language commissioner and a survivor of the Sir Joseph Bernier Day School and residence in Chesterfield Inlet, led the march with her grandchildren and other family members.

Premier P.J. Akeeagok and MP Lori Idlout encouraged people in the audience to seek healing and help when confronting the intergenerational trauma caused by Canada’s residential schools.

It’s estimated more than 150,000 Indigenous children were taken, many forcibly, from their homes to attend residential schools. Canada’s last residential school closed in the mid-1990s.

“I know that today can be a very difficult day because of the memories that you hold on to,” said Idlout. “There’s always help. You can help each other. There’s lots of help in the community.

“You don’t need to hold onto that pain and to that anger. You can release it so that you can raise your children and grandchildren with love and forgiveness and so that we can all of us help make sure we are creating a future with hope and happiness for our children.”

Kathy Hanson presses her handprint onto a mural that was co-ordinated by the Nunavut Department of Health. The finished mural will be displayed in public later this year.

Staff with Mental Health and Addictions Services represented the Nunavut Department of Health with a cloth mural that quickly filled with orange handprints from obliging participants.

The afternoon ended with a parlak, or candy toss, as Jeremy Tunraluk, QIA secretary-treasurer and chair of the Kakivak Association, joined the other dignitaries in hurling handfuls of treats and stickers into what was by then a gleeful young crowd.

Iqaluit outreach services offers support and assistance to Iqaluit residents needing access to mental health and wellness services. For more information, contact 867-979-7631 or visit AKAMH@giv.nt.ca.