Ottawa’s International Inuit Day brings communities together

Clyde River seamstress Sarah Kiliktee had never seen a traditional sealskin tent before she helped build one in Ottawa.

Kiliktee travelled south to teach members of Ottawa-based Isaruit Inuit Arts how to construct an ittaq, a traditional Inuit tent made from sealskins.

Pangnirtung singer-songwriter Joey Nowyuk performs in Inuktitut for a crowd at Isaruit Inuit Arts’ sixth annual International Inuit Day celebration at Annie Pootoogook Park in Ottawa on Saturday. (Photo by Nehaa Bimal)

The project began Oct. 26 and was completed 10 days later, just in time for Saturday’s International Inuit Day celebration at Annie Pootoogook Park in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood, near the University of Ottawa.

Twenty-five sealskins were stitched together to make the tent that was on display at the park for visitors to step inside.

Kiliktee said the group of nine seamstresses relied on Google Images for reference because sealskin tents are no longer commonly used. They repeatedly checked measurements and patched holes around the flippers and tails of the skins.

“This is our first time and it turned out good, so we’re happy with it,” she said.

Kiliktee said she came to Ottawa specifically for the celebration and was scheduled to leave early Sunday morning.

Austin Joseph Lafreniere Kaufhold, left, and Khalid El-Masri stand in line for the traditional feast at the International Inuit Day celebration at Annie Pootoogook Park in Ottawa on Saturday. (Photo by Nehaa Bimal)

It was the sixth annual celebration, organized by Isaruit, and it brought together Inuit artists, performers, vendors and visitors for an afternoon of cultural activities and food. International Inuit Day was first observed 20 years ago, in 2006, and is named after Alaskan leader Eben Hopson Sr., the organizer of the first Inuit Circumpolar Conference.

The feast featured frozen caribou, or quaq, and beluga, or muktuk, as well as roasted caribou.

Among the vendors was Aupaluk Designs founder Eleanor Partridge, who is originally from Kuujjuaq, and now based in Ontario.

It was Partridge’s third time selling her work at the celebration, she said, adding that non-Inuit attendees often ask about her earrings, which feature miniature ulus, and what the traditional tool is used for.

The event also attracted visitors from First Nations communities interested in learning about Inuit culture.

Khalid El-Masri, from Ochapowace Nation, a Cree First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, attended with 16 students from the Indigenous Leadership Opportunity Year at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont.

The program gives First Nations, Métis and Inuit students an opportunity to experience university-level education and military life.

El-Masri said the event offered an opportunity to learn about Indigenous cultures beyond his own.

“We’re all a bunch of different tribes, a bunch of different people. Each reservation practices something different,” El-Masri said. 

“Inuit communities are, especially in this area, really underrepresented, so we’re coming down here to experience the Inuit way of life, try muktuk and hopefully speak to some elders,” he added.

The afternoon’s entertainment included musical performances in Inuktitut by Pangnirtung singer-songwriter Joey Nowyuk, Ottawa-based drum dancer Donovan Gordon Tootoo, originally from Rankin Inlet, and the Nunavut Sivuniksavut students’ performing group.