Top 10 events of 2005

Arctic Wisdom: saying “Nalagiit” on the ice
Iqaluit was briefly an international media star after a California man brought up a photographer and two celebrities to help him create a giant message about global warming in the Arctic.

Film stars Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal added glamour to the event, while hundreds of Iqalummiut turned out to add enough people to form an image of a drum dancer and spell out “Arctic Warning.”

The resulting aerial photos appeared in newspapers around the world.

Ministers meet with aboriginal leaders in Kelowna
“We won’t be alone anymore,” said Premier Paul Okalik, following the first ministers’ meeting in Kelowna, B.C. in November.

Prime Minister Paul Martin announced at least 1,200 new social housing units for “the far North” at the meeting, which brought aboriginal leaders and premiers together for a historic summit.

In total, the federal Liberal government promised about $4.5 billion over the next five years to bring aboriginal living standards up to par with mainstream Canadians. Specific funding announcements that could affect Nunavut include more money for education, pre-school programs, health and aboriginal organizations.

The UN climate change meeting in Montreal
The climate change meeting in Montreal last month was no ordinary scientific gathering — it included over 10,000 delegates from 200 countries.

In the end, Canadian provincial and territorial leaders signed onto an international agreement to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by extending the life of the Kyoto Protocol and starting a “dialogue” on climate change.

Nunavut, and the Arctic, made a fine showing on Arctic Day by presenting traditional Inuit food, games and crafts to hundreds of conference-goers. Several Inuit spoke first-hand about their experience with climate change.

The Inuit Circumpolar Conference took advantage of the media attention focused on the event to launch a formal petition against the United States’ inaction on climate change, which the ICC said is contributing to the later freeze-up and earlier break-up of Arctic sea ice, and the eventual destruction of the traditional Inuit lifestyle.

Echo of the Last Howl
Makivik Corp. began the push for a federal inquiry, apology and compensation for the alleged dog slaughter committed by RCMP officers in the 1950s and 1960s by staging a gala premiere of their film, Echo of the Last Howl, in Kuujjuaq on Jan. 19.

Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe joined other federal and provincial leaders, media and representatives of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association for the event. Several former dog team owners were reduced to tears as they described their memories of the experience.

At the same time, Makivik Corp. released a 25-page brief called “The Slaughtering of Nunavik Qimmiit” to federal and provincial governments — becoming the first group to document the events.

Eulogy for Nanisivik
The bulldozers were already roaring in nearby Nanisivik by the time Premier Paul Okalik and two cabinet ministers traveled to Arctic Bay for a public meeting on the fate of the former mine site — and the houses and infrastructure that were already scheduled to be destroyed.

“Some of the people felt that it was a little late for government officials to come up after most of the units have been demolished,” said mayor Niore Iqalukjuaq. At the time, Arctic Bay had 52 people on a wait-list for housing, while houses were being destroyed just a few miles away.

The mine site and its former buildings were found to be too contaminated to save.

Urban Inuit gathering in Ottawa
Mary Simon chaired this historic meeting, which drew Inuit from across Canada to Ottawa to discuss the gaps in social services that Inuit face when they leave their home territory.

“I think it’s been an urgent situation for a long time,” Simon said.

Tungasuvvingat Inuit, the only Inuit group that specifically serves urban Inuit in Canada, organized the event with money from the federal government’s Inuit Relations Secretariat.

Surveys show that at least 5,000 Inuit live in urban centres in the South, though these numbers are believed to leave many urban Inuit undetected.

Many are homeless or unemployed, and are surprised that the rights and benefits they’re used to receiving within their land claim settlement areas aren’t available in the South.

Broadband party in Rankin Inlet
The Nunavut Broadband Development Corp. launched full-scale broadband internet across the territory last year, and sealed the deal with a big party in Rankin Inlet in late May.

About 275 people and several dignitaries attended the event.

“The teachers’ jaws dropped when we were showing this to kids,” said Lorraine Thomas of NBDC.

Akitsiraq graduation
Nunavut hit another milestone on June 21 when 11 students graduated from the Akitsiraq Law Program, a joint venture between Nunavut Arctic College and the University of Victoria.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson was among dignitaries who attended a lengthy graduation ceremony at Inuksuk High School, followed by a gala dinner.

The new students are now articling with the Government of Nunavut, Justice Canada, the Nunavut Court of Justice, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and private law firms. Madeleine Redfern is a clerk in Ottawa with Justice Louise Charron of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Despite controversy over the expense of offering the program in the territory, the Akitsiraq Law Society pledges to continue the program, if funding can be found.

Taima plays Iqaluit
Salluit songstress Elisapee Isaac won over Iqalummiut when Taima played the fortieth annual Toonik Tyme closing ceremonies to a sold out crowd in April.

On April 16, Taima also put on a more intimate performance at the Francophone Centre, where Elisappee and partner Alain Auger played a 90-minute set in English, French and Inuktitut.

The Montreal-based band tried to leave after a 90-minute set of music, but came back for a few more songs after the room erupted in calls of “Aammalu,” a chant that Greenland concert-goers often use to request an encore.

Nunavut’s first film gala
Nunavut filmmakers gathered in Iqaluit in April for a four-day film gala, the first of its kind in Nunavut.

The 2005 Nunavut Film Industry Forum included speeches, screenings and workshops with groups such as the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network.

“Nunavut has people like no other people on earth,” said John Houston, president of the Ajjiit Nunavut Media Association representing the local industry. “Nunavut has locations like no other locations on Earth.”

The group will try to do a similar meeting every year, in order to press for policies that help the emerging film industry in Nunavut, and attract more outside filmmakers to consider Nunavut as a location for projects.