Iqaluit organizers gearing up for annual Toonik Tyme festival
This year’s events run from April 5 to 14
Two snowmobilers race neck-and-neck around a corner on Frobisher Bay during the 2023 Toonik Tyme festival. (File photo by David Venn)
Iqalummiut can mark it on their calendars — this year’s Toonik Tyme spring festival will run from April 5 to 14, organizers say.
Pitseolak Alainga, who leads 123Go, the organizing committee that took over the event nine years ago, said a schedule of daily activities is being worked on to mark the 59th anniversary of Toonik Tyme.
“This year, we will be inviting organizations like the City of Iqaluit, Government of Nunavut and others to organize their own games,” said Alainga, in an interview in Inuktut.
Pitseolak Alainga, a leader with the 123Go organizing committee, says Toonik Tyme wll run from April 5 to 14 this year. (File photo)
“On the day of the opening ceremonies, we’ll announce who will be playing. As well, we will announce who will be this year’s honourary Toonik.”
People in the community such as Alainga’s late father, Simeonie Alainga, helped shaped the festival as a way to come out of winter and enjoy spring with activities in 1965.
One of the founders, the late Bryan Pearson, played a key role in bestowing the first title of honourary Toonik on former prime minister John Diefenbaker.
Since then, other notable honourary Tooniks have included King Charles, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, former governor general Roland Michener, and former Northwest Territories commissioners Bent Sivertz, Stuart Hodgson and John Parker.
Where did the name Toonik Tyme come from?
It is named after the Toonik, an individual of the Tuniit. Known to archeologists as the Dorsets, the Tuniit lived in Greenland and the eastern Canadian Arctic before the ancestors of today’s Inuit, known as the Thule.
According to Inuit history, Tuniit were superb hunters and possessed almost superhuman strength and speed. Tuniit disappeared from Greenland and the Canadian Arctic about 600 years ago, but their ancient stories live on.
“We are welcoming everyone to come out and get out of winter blues. We don’t want people just to stay indoors and do nothing, but to participate,” Alainga said.
He added that over the years, more people from around the world come to Iqaluit where “events like the iglumiutautiluni (igloo-making contest), snowmobile races, dogsledding are just one of the popular events.
“It is always good to see people from other communities and all walks of life in the capital during the days of Toonik Tyme.”
Glad to see this article addressing the connection between the Tuniit and the name of the festival. It’s interesting it notes the Tuniit disappeared when the Thule arrived, but stops there.
The disappearance of the Tuniit was not a coincidence however, as Thule were a more militaristic society at that time, well armed and more organized than the Tuniit, Thule (Inuit) became settler colonists, pushing the Tuniit to the margins of a very precarious environment, where they were unable to adapt.
Let this history be known, and lets consider whether the name Toonik time is truly an appropriate one.
A colonist is a member of a government backed group that arrives at a new area and claims the land as their own and imposes their ways on the native inhabitants, often through violence, intimidation, or manipulation. It is a strategic and deliberate act of taking over. This is hardly the case for Inuit and Tuniit, specifically in the Canadian High Arctic. Within Inuit culture there was no concept of land ownership, so this was not a “this area is now mine so get out” attitude. And in the vastness of the entire Arctic the land and resources were merely used alongside Tuniit. There is a highly cooperative nature amongst Inuit, a social structure centered around sharing and mutual benefit. A competitive approach to inhabiting the Arctic in the old days meant certain death. People are a product of their environment, so a cooperative society was necessary by all who inhabited the Arctic. Look at the sharing custom with country food amongst Inuit that exist today. Oral histories, shown to be highly accurate, say Tuniit were very shy and would run from Inuit at any interaction. The oral accounts also show no violent interactions. And this is not a skewed historical narrative where the victors “rewrite” history. It is observation reflected in the oral histories. The displacement of Tuniit, was not a colonial act, just a something happening from circumstance. Let THAT history be known.
Funny how we just change the definitions and standards to suit our narrative.
If oral histories are accurate then what should we make of this?
“Before there were any Inuit, the first people were called Tuniit. They were strong, but the Inuit killed them and took their land away.”
Louis Uqsuqituq, Aivilingmuit. From Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut.
Also, you say “a colonist is a member of a government backed group.” I don’t agree, a colonist only need be the member of a nation (not synonymous with a state). Though I can see why this definition might be preferable to you.
Of course cooperation is a necessity in an environment like this, but the benefits of cooperation and sharing need not extent to an outgroup, in fact eliminating the ‘other’ means more resources for the in-group. That is likely what happened here.
So are you connecting what happened to the Tuniit as the same as what happened to Inuit and others in this country as the same? What is your goal here because there is no connection.
Trying to use the same logic as white fragility into Inuit or other groups for that matter isnt the same. The argument seems to try and lessen the actual issues Inuit face that still happens in their home land by saying well they did it also so, lets ignore their issues. Can you elaborate your stand on this? Are you connected to the culture or communities? I’m trying to understand your angle a bit more.
You’re quite correct that it isn’t the same.
The Inuit were successful in the complete displacement of the Tuniit.
Trying to find parallels in these instances isn’t working, this was during a ancient period where these groups were just coming off the prehistoric age. Throwing around the word colonization towards a group who doesn’t have the same power as the structures that caused harm still felt today (there is a lot of prejudice against Inuit) demeans the meaning. I think it’s important not to diminish the actuality of the issues we Inuit face. The passive aggressive comments shouldn’t be normalized – remember words are powerful.
No one mentioned any ‘parallels’ though it is telling that that is your first thought.
I think the point here is to acknowledge history, especially as it relates to the appropriation of the Tuniit legacy.
Why do Inuit have such a hard time admitting their ancestors displaced and possibly killed off the original inhabitants on what is now called Inuit Nunangat?
Why is that so difficult?
So the Inuit were settler colonists, very interesting.
Is this satire?? Why would Nunatsiaq news commentators approve it?
Are you taking what Inuit and other indigenous groups have been saying about Canada then using the same argument against this festival? Lmao. Get a life.
Illajuak lol I love the name! It’s part of the history of this region, quvianalauisimaju growing up attending toonik tyme, it was bigger then too. Everyone would get together and families from other communities would come to attend. Beautiful memories. What’s your attachment to this festival? Uvangali, seeing elders at the time be there, everyone participating, this was before social media. I was a kid then, late 90s.
Iqallummiutai qanuisangitu atingani.
i don’t know what is the quality of the honourary toonik, but can we have regular people (inuk and non inuk) who made a difference in the community? Rather see them than politician or charlie boy.
I thought 123go was supposed to provide financial governance? Why not get funding to hire people to properly plan out the games and get the community involved? Just seems like they’re always seeking donations for the races and then the other events are left to the wayside. There’s lots of funding to hire people to do this stuff. Please use it.
Getting funding to hire people is almost always prohibited in most funding approvals. Funders all want volunteer only contribution agreements
Apr 5 – 14 and which is the half day, if any holiday date associated with Toonik Tyme? for planning and for travel etc purposes.
normally a friday afternoon but which friday is the half day off for TT?
So the organizers are passing the buck off to other groups to organize the games? What’s the point of being organizers if you’re too lazy to actually do any organizing?
Your posting name is “Lazy”, and you’re complaining about someone else who volunteers and not doing enough organizing for your satisfaction. Asking other groups to participate is being inclusive and representative of our community. What is your plan to contribute? Complaining about a free festival? Some people are never satisfied. Be sure to stay at home close to your computer in case someone else needs to be told to do harder volunteer work.
Based on these comments it appears everyone has an opinion. I saw a post calling for volunteers so either volunteer or let’s tell the organizers to cancel TT.
It seems like nothing is good enough.