Nunavik’s newsmakers in 2005

Lisa Koperqualuk
On April 8, Lisa Koperqualuk, the director of communications for Makivik Corporation, became the first-known Inuk to climb to the Everest base camp in Nepal.

Thanks to her physical stamina and general fitness, Koperqualuk, 42, a karate expert and marathon runner who was sponsored by Makivik, won a place on the research-focused trek.

When she reached the base camp, Koperqualuk built her own inuksuk, higher up than all the rest, standing on its own on a peak facing the famous mountain.

“I wanted to place an Inuk mark there,” Koperqualuk said.

Koperqualuk returned safely back to her home in Montreal, but she continues to leave her mark on the world. In December, Koperqualuk was elected president of the Association of Montreal Inuit.

The Kativik Regional Police Force
In a year full of violent crime, the Kativik Regional Police Force did what it could to keep the peace in Nunavik, and always with dignity and patience — even when some of their own constables were shot at and harassed.

KRPF constables, under the leadership of Chief Brian Jones and Deputy Chief Jobie Epoo, dealt with a flow of challenging issues during 2005 — murders, vehicle accidents, and suicides, in addition to drug and alcohol fueled mayhem.

As well, the KRPF collaborated with the Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit this past May to break a long-time drug pipeline from Montreal to Nunavik and Nunavut in a series of early morning raids. The operation resulted in 325 charges against more than 40 people.

Saputiit Youth Association
Youth in Nunavik made themselves heard in 2005. During the summer, Saputiit sponsored a “Living Life” kayak journey, a suicide prevention project, up the Hudson Bay coast, and will continue this kayak trip in 2006.

Jonathan Epoo, president of Saputiit, Nunavik’s youth organization, said during during a symposium on Nunavik self-government held in November in Montreal that youth in the region need immediate action.

Epoo had a long shopping list of concerns to share. He said young Nunavimmiut need more access to higher education, provided closer to home, so they don’t have to leave the region to get a college education; they need jobs locally, so they can see more reasons to stay in school; they need housing, so they can become more independent; and, they need to see more integration of traditional culture into schooling and daily life, so they can deal better with their identity crises.

“Who are we? Where am I going? What does the future hold for me?” — difficult questions to answer, Epoo said, when “southern indicators don’t apply.”

Muctar Akumalik and Naalak Napaluk
Muctar Akumalik of Arctic Bay and Nalaak Napaluk of Kangiqsujuaq were show-stoppers at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, where they talked about the effects of climate change in their communities.

“Due to climate change, due to circumstances beyond our control, there are a lot of changes in the country food we eat,” Napaaluk said.

The elders’ messages reached many hundreds of delegates and media during the 13-day conference.