Ottawa apologizes for dog slaughter, gives Makivvik $45 million
Killing of qimmiit in 1950s and 1960s was ‘terrible historic injustice,’ federal Crown-Indigenous relations minister says
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree, speaking in front of a poster of Inuit sled dogs, apologizes for the slaughter of qimmiit, or sled dogs, in the 1950s and 1960s. (Screenshot courtesy of Makivvik Corp.)
The federal government will give Makivvik Corp. $45 million as part of its apology for what it called the “unjustified killing” of sled dogs in Nunavik in the 1950s and 1960s.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree was in Kangiqsujuaq on Saturday, where he delivered a formal apology on behalf of the federal government.
“Today, the Government of Canada accepted responsibility for its role in a terrible historic injustice and expressed its deep regret and sincere apology for the harms inflicted by the slaughter of qimmiit in Nunavik,” Anandasangaree was quoted as saying in a government news release issued after the apology ceremony began at the Kangiqsujuaq community centre.
More than 1,000 dogs were fatally shot primarily at the hands of RCMP and Quebec police, although other community members, including teachers and Hudson Bay Company employees, took part in some communities.
The dog slaughter caused food and economic insecurity and the loss of traditional ways for Inuit in Nunavik, government news release said.
“Dog teams were an integral part of our history and day-to-day lives. Dogs were not only our workhorse but part of our family,” Makivvik vice-president Adamie Delisle Alaku said during the ceremony.
The federal government’s apology, along with $45 million to support cultural revitalization, is a “a step toward healing,” says Makivvik Corp. president Pita Aatami during a ceremony in Kangiqsujuaq on Saturday. (Screenshot courtesy of Makivvik Corp.)
In addition to the formal apology, the government is providing money to Makivvik to support programs that will promote healing and cultural revitalization, the government news release said.
Makivvik president Pita Aatami said Inuit have worked “tirelessly for this acknowledgement and apology” for decades.
“While we cannot undo the pain and loss caused by these actions, the funding announced today is a step toward healing for our communities,” said Aatami, who heads the organization responsible for protecting the rights and interests of 13,000 Inuit in Nunavik.
He called the federal funding “a step toward healing” for Nunavik’s communities, adding it will address “the deep traumas of the past” and make sure the federal government is a partner in the healing process — something Makivvik has had to carry on its own for too long.
Clarification: This story was updated to include more information about who participated in the dog slaughter.
Are there any academic resources documenting this?
An investigative report on the matter was done in 2007 by Quebec Superior Court judge Jean-Jacques Croteau. He was mandated by the Government of Quebec and Makivvik. If you’d bothered to read the report, you’d find that it is very well-documented, and based on official records from the SQ, the RCMP, the Government of Quebec and of Canada, as well as testimonies from elders.
$45,000,000 / 12,000 = $3750 each inuk cheque 🤑 The feds destroyed too many Inuit
Use the money to build houses
“It’s not how one falls. It’s in, how… one gets back up…”
Apologies accepted. Time to shake hands with “today” and go forward.
Leave the younger generation better than the last…
Sorry bud, but politicians are politicians. That money will be so small that people receive, you gotta be part of the old boys club of politics to get a real payout from it
yes. Both hands wide open for the freebie of 45 M$. Hey Makivik, this does not mean the hierarchy of the Makivik Corporation is not entitled to have fat bonus at the end of the year. this 45 M$ is for the Nunavik Inuit. I;ll buy myself a box of spiderman and batman bandages to cover my scabby wound.
Dogs are being slaughtered every week in all communities in 2024 for the same reasons cited in the 50s and 60s.
No, this is false information. Two commissions (one in Nunavut and the other in Nunavik by a judge) documented the reasons why sled dogs were killed and the main reason was to facilitate the settlement of Inuit in the communities and keep them out of the land. They were to be educated in the schools and had to buy their stuff from the HBC or whatever company was servicing the community. The excuse of too many dogs in the communities was used to deflect the attention from the real reason. This policy almost wiped out the Canadian Eskimo dog (a recognized breed) and later a distemper epidemic wrecked even more havoc. The breed survived but is still threatened.
“the main reason was to facilitate the settlement of Inuit in the communities and keep them out of the land.”
Wrong!
You clearly haven’t bothered to read any of the commission reports.
Please do not confuse the aboriginal landrace Inuit Sled Dog living and working in the North for thousands of years with the Canadian Kennel Club breed Canadian Eskimo Dog whose ancestors were traditional and authentic yet became “cultured” being bred outside of the north for pets and show dogs. The former were bred for performance and existed because they could survive in a harsh environment in association with Inuit surviving and living on the land with no pedigrees needed. The latter become pets or dog show champions of their breed outside of the Canadian North based on nothing more than registered pedigrees and a written appearance standard and not much else. Which would you rather have if your life depended on it?
For those who can read French, there is a book on the Inuit dog slaughter, Qimmik by Michel Jean. As far as I know it hasn’t been translated in English yet but is already translated in German and Italian. It’s a symptom of the 2 solitudes in Canada when a book in French is translated in other languages before English and the reverse is true. Michel Jean is an Innu journalist and author well known in Quebec. The book is a novel based on the true story of the killing of Inuit sled dogs and its impact on the Inuit.
Amazing how millions always brings healing.
Who , say money can t buy happines
This is a poorly researched article. It says, “More than 1,000 dogs were fatally shot by employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and other authorities…” That’s news to me. Everything we have read for decades about this issue claims that dogs were shot by the RCMP, not the Hudson’s Bay Company. to my knowledge the HBC has not been implicated at all in this story. Further, it would not have been in the HBC’s interest to destroy the means of hunting mobility for the Inuit (that is, dogs) because the HBC wanted Inuit spread out on the land, in traditional camps, to hunt, not congregated in settlements where the means of travel would mean they would be hunting over a smaller area. Makes no sense. The article says this information comes from ITK. I would expect that they know better.
Isn’t it possible that some small communities without RCMP (or other police forces’) presence had the HBC manager as “police” for the state to help keep rule?
And if so, I find that it would not be at all impossible to think that such a manager, when told to control dogs by the state for whatever reason, would slaughter dogs on their behalf. My thinking is that at least one elder being interviewed told about such an event that happened.
I mean, it would have been impossible to have police presence at a hundred percent in outlying small communities in a vast region during the 50’s and 60’s.
Of course I may be wrong and I don’t doubt your expertise in the history and knowledge that you have accrued all these years but to completely clear all HBC managers may be a bit much in my opinion.
Are we 76 years behind ? 🤔We should’ve get this long long time ago way before 300 caribou tragedy happened in Kuujjuaq, And I have A questioned are we getting cheque’s or are you building street light and side walk With it??, And thank you So much for the millions.
this is my only opinion…….. since 45 million was handed to Kakivik and for sure Makivik make so many stipulations about how to allocate that money, It would have been better to negotiate for us inuit all around lets say Nunavut, Nunavik, NWT,Labrador to get no more taxes on any vehicles which we use to go hunting ( Canoe Outboard motors, Snowmobile which replaced the dogs, Atv), Im saying this since when we purchace these Machines there is a tax saying Recreational use and its not even like that cuz we use them to make a living .
I witnessed this, my dad’s dogteam being slaughtered by the RCMP. It caused us to loose our nomadic way of life, following the seasonal wildlife to survive. We had no more transportation/protection, no more traditional food staples–we had to rely on store bought food. We were stuck in the community where I attend school and that caused a lot of changes. Changes to diet, language, family dynamics, traditional land skills and reliance on the government for $20/month allowance per family. We became poor and hungry most of the year and became a demoralized culture-always waiting for the government. Then the young children and teens were taken away to residential school. Little after that, my dad and baby brother had TB, spending 4+ years in the Charles Campsell Hospital. Those were hard years, my mom and I. I can add more but now, the focus is on the dog slaughter…changed our way of life forever!