ITK supports Yupik bowhead hunt

To the people of Sivuqaq, Alaska:

First, as the President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Canada’s national Inuit organization, I would like to express deepest sympathy and pass on condolences on behalf of all Inuit in Canada for the tragedy that struck your community in April.

The Inuit of Canada and the Yupik of Alaska share common ancestry. Our language, our traditions, and our roots all share a common foundation. It was the tradition that Jason Nowpakahok was continuing that allowed my ancestors to move, thousands of years ago, from what is now Alaska east into what is now Nunavut. Without the bowhead whale, and the bountiful hunt it provides, the Inuit of Canada wouldn’t be here today as we are. In fact, my home community of Repulse Bay, Nunavut is preparing for their own bowhead whale hunt this summer.

So when I read the comments made by Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society regarding the accident, I shared your community’s disbelief and outrage. I was also saddened that he attacked the tradition of passing on hunting knowledge to children so they can practice the old ways. It is imperative that we educate our children, to keep the traditions moving forward in time to their children and to the generations yet to come.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami publishes Inuktitut magazine, and I have a column on the back page where I can say my piece on any issue that is important to me. I was compelled to write about the tragedy in Sivuqaq, about the transfer of knowledge to our children, and the comments from Watson. But my space in the magazine is limited and I wanted to write this letter to the Yupik people of Sivuqaq to express my personal condolences, and the solidarity the Inuit of Canada feel with you in this trying time.

What happened in your community on April 27 was a tragedy. Watson couldn’t see that, but the people of Sivuqaq can take solace in the fact that he is part of a small minority.

We – the Yupik, the Inuit, and other aboriginal peoples of the Arctic – cannot let the severely misguided comments from one fanatical man force us to abandon our ways. The future of our traditions, and the future of our children, depends on our resolve today.

Jose Kusugak
President
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami