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Back to December, 2002 Archive Index
Letters to the Editor December 6, 2002 - 5 letters A fledgling business says thanks This letter is written to show our great appreciation to a few special people and businesses in Iqaluit. Too often we neglect to tell or talk about the positive aspects of our lives, but rather spend a lot of energy on pointing out the wrongs of our world. We would like to give acknowledgment of kind deeds that have come to light, due to us starting our own business a couple months ago. Starting a business in Nunavut is very hard. It is a rollercoaster with many ups and downs along the way. There are many frustrations, so much so that at times, it makes you wonder if Nunavut wants any small businesses to be established at all, and although it looked very grim for us at first, Mr. Editor, we did come across some very good people, who did not have to help our business at all, but did so with the goodness of their hearts. Good people, our very own Santas, who reached down to lift us up when we really needed a break. Who are these people? Well, we would like to take this time to tell you and all your readers so that their kindness may be know to many. The Nunavut Construction Corporation, for giving our business a place to call home at an affordable rate for a small business. Without you, we would not have been able to go as far as we have today. Also, thank you for always having the attitude of "just ask if you need anything" — who could ask for anything better? To all the staff at NCC, thank you for making us feel so welcomed. Thomas and Associates, your generosity is really appreciated. Without your assistance and generous heart, our small business would have never been able to complete our first contract when other arrangements fell through. Thank you Shawn for the understanding and kindness you have shown us. Mr. Dan Kane of Canadian North, you gave us Canadian North’s support when we really needed it at the time of our first contract. Thank you so much for being so kind, your generosity gave our business the boost that it really needed, thank you for coming through for us. On a more personal level, we would like to thank Jackie Simms, who is employed at Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. as director of social development. Jackie went beyond the call of duty when it comes to volunteering. Jackie volunteered her time to help us with our first contract from 3:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon to 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. If that is not friendship, then we don’t know what is. Jackie, words are often not enough, but thank you very much for your support and kindness. You are really someone who can be counted on! A big thank-you goes out to Nunavut Tunngavik, Qikiqtani Inuit Association and to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board for your support and for making that wise choice in contracting our business to work in partnership with yours. Thank you for your trust and willingness to give us, a new business, a try. We will strive to always give our best for you! Last, but certainly not the least, we would like to thank our wonderful families who encouraged us even when things at first did not seem to be working out for our business. Thank you for always being there and for the help you have all provided towards our success to date. At this time of year, we are all reminded to give generously. The people and businesses that we have thanked are good role models for us personally and we believe, for others. Our words are only words, but our gratification is from within our hearts and we just want to tell everyone just how great these people really are! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! May we all receive the spirit of giving generously this year. David Kunuk and Pat Angnakak December 6, 2002 Southern women have flexible birthing too I think Rachel Qitsualik is a thoughtful and creative author, and her columns are often enjoyable and also enlightening. But as a Qallunaaq (and mother of two) living in the South, I must take exception to the following: "Inuktitut and Qallunaatitut have always differed greatly on approaches to childbirth. For example, Inuit women traditionally gave birth in a kneeling position, allowing gravity to assist in the delivery. This is virtually forbidden in the South, presumably under the assumption that it will harm the child.... So I remain puzzled." I agree that our cultural traditions regarding childbirth differ greatly. In fact, I find these differences very interesting. But it’s completely untrue that giving birth in anything other than the knees-up-feet-strapped-down-in-a-labour-bed position is "virtually forbidden" in the South. I take some offense to Rachel’s implied suggestion that we here in the South have backward and unforgiving birthing practices. You guys understand that gravity helps childbirth and we don’t? Hogwash. I cannot speak for the many people who have midwives, or arrange for home births, but in many modern facilities, pregnant women are highly encouraged to do whatever it takes to help gravity assist the delivery — from walking, kneeling and crawling to soaking in a jacuzzi (yes, my hospital had private hot tubs). In prenatal classes we’re instructed on how we can both hasten delivery and make labour more comfortable through various positions. It seems to me that hospital staff really don’t care what you do, as long as you’re comfortable. In fact, nowadays you can probably have your baby however you want it, and this would include the simple act of kneeling or crouching. I’m sure a quick phone call to a southern city hospital would have cleared up what is clearly a cultural misconception. Andrea Tomkins December 6, 2002 Individuals are responsible for their own health Yes, healthcare in Nunavut has a lot of deficiencies. Yes, Nunavut has its own particular problems due to its physical size, as well as climate. However, a preventative health and dental program could help drastically reduce health-care costs. We are responsible for what we eat. If we choose to persist in eating foods that put us at risk for diabetes, heart attacks, cancer and high blood pressure, and smoke, why should the government subsidize this lifestyle? Children of three, four and five years are still having either all their teeth pulled or capped, yet their parents continue to indulge them with pop, chips, candy and chocolate bars. Responsibility for oneself and family resides in the family at home and not in the education system. The education system can reinforce what is taught in the home, but primary learning needs to take place in the home. Surely these are areas where health costs could be dramatically reduced and used for more worthwhile lifesaving endeavours. Kyra Fisher December 6, 2002 Help for family members of alcoholics A lot has been written recently in Nunatsiaq News about the plight of children living in homes where alcoholism is present. Many have also responded and written about what can be done and what might help explain why this seems to be so prevalent in the North. I may be Qallunaaq, and I grew up and live in the South, but I am no stranger to the effects of alcoholism. I grew up in a family where both parents were alcoholics and, in fact, died from the effects of alcohol. No matter where you are or who you are, the effects of alcoholism on family members and friends are devastating. It is not only the violence and the abuse, but the frustration. Frustration that no matter what you do or say, you can’t get the alcoholic to stop hurting themselves and the ones that are closest to them. It took me nearly 25 years to accept what had happened to me, and to understand that there is no clear answer to why my parents drank. All I know is that now I have compassion for my parents, where before I had nothing but resentment. What most people do not understand is that alcoholism is blind to race, culture and religion. That is because alcoholism is a disease. An alcoholic cannot just decide to stop drinking, just like a diabetic cannot choose to stop being diabetic. Alcoholics do not have any control over the alcohol. Nor do they have any control over what they do or what they say when they are drinking. These were all very difficult things for me to accept. I consider myself lucky that I survived, and now I am even grateful to have had alcoholic parents. I realize now that they were trapped in a personal hell and couldn’t see a way out. I was also lucky to have received a lot of help and understanding from other people with the same experience. Realizing that I was not alone and that other people, even people from different cultures, understood what I went through was a big help. I do not know if there are any Al-Anon or Al-Ateen family groups in Nunavut or Nunavik. A group can be as small as two people, and there are no "leaders," only "members." And the only criteria for starting or belonging to a group is to be affected by somebody else’s drinking. The Al-Anon hotline in Montreal is 514-866-9803. For information on starting a group write to: Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters Inc. 1600 Corporate Landing Parkway, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23454-5617. Phone: 1-888-4AL-ANON. There is also a lone member service if no groups are available in your area. Ray Taylor December 6, 2002 Could the Calanus be saved? I visited Iqaluit in April 2001. Walking by the bay, I came across the famous research vessel Calanus. I took a photo and now I would like to write a short note to the Arctic Journal about the fate of Calanus, which, by the way, was the subject of a historical note in the same journal in 1995. It seems that this wonderful boat could be saved for future generations and turned it into a museum. It would be a first-class attraction for every visitor. Moreover, the boat could be restored enough so it could sail again as a floating museum. Igor Belkin Editor’s note: The Calanus was built in 1947 for oceanographic research in the Arctic. Researchers such as Max Dunbar and Edward Grainger did the first ecological studies of the waters around the eastern Arctic. What is the gun registry’s human cost to Inuit? It is not surprising to the Inuit of Nunavut that the auditor general has found that the cost of implementing the federal Firearms Act is impossible to calculate at this time. Canadians should know that the costs will go far beyond the $1 billion now predicted, since the true costs to Inuit will not be known for generations. Hunting is essential to the Inuit way of life — a way of life that the Firearms Act criminalizes despite our treaty, which was designed to protect our harvesting rights. Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. represents the Inuit of Nunavut, as set out in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. We are now seeking an injunction to stop the act’s registration requirement from applying to Nunavut Inuit. If our injunction is not granted, many Inuit may risk criminal charges when harvesting wild game for their families and communities after Jan. 1, 2003. How do you calculate the costs to a community denied its traditional source of protein and must rely instead on expensive meat flown in from the South? What is the cost to our children of not being allowed to learn to hunt at an early age, as we have always done? How do you calculate the costs to a community that is forced to give up our custom of sharing country food? Too many of our Inuktitut-speaking hunters have already been adversely affected by the Firearms Act because they do not have the English-French possession certificate that allows the co-op to sell them ammunition. The federal government is ignoring the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. A law designed to protect urban dwellers will deny Inuit our right to spend time together out on the land, harvesting for our social, cultural and economic well-being. I hope the auditor general will remember to take the true costs to the Inuit of Nunavut into account in her final report on the Firearms Act. James Eetoolook December 13, 2002 Will always support decentralization I have always supported the concept of decentralizing government positions to communities other than the three main regional offices of Iqaluit, Rankin and Cambridge because of the need for all residents to see their government in operation and to benefit from full-time employment, training and business initiatives that it spreads to all residents and not just a few, like we had with the old GNWT, where Yellowknife benefitted but the other communities got the crumbs, so to speak. We also knew that some civil servants would resist moving to another community because of family ties, or because they had personal property, such as houses that they didn’t want to leave. But in the long run, I always felt that the residents of Nunavut come first and foremost, in that they share and benefit from the running of the Nunavut government. You have to understand that the Nunavut Employees Union will always look after their membership, in that they will secure and negotiate a package where the member will always get similiar jobs if they don’t want to move or will be given a fairly good severance package if no similiar job is available to them in their community and refuse to move. And additional training is in the package to ensure that the civil servant can maintain the same level of employment as per pay scale at all cost, so the economic situation of the full-time civil servant will always be looked after under their collective agreement with the Government of Nunavut. My argument has always been for all residents and communities to benefit from the decentralized governement and not just a few. So I’ll always support the goals and objectives of the Bathurst Mandate that the premier, cabinet and the members of the Nunavut legislature follow in trying to meet that mandate and ensure that all residents benefit from Nunavut government programs, be they financial, economic, business, jobs or training for all residents of Nunavut. Allen Maghagak December 13, 2002 All firearm owners must unite to oppose registry Now on the eve of the deadline for gun registration, Allan Rock’s promised price tag of $85 million for public safety approaches a billion dollars without a significant reduction in gun-related crimes. Canada has been registering handguns for over 60 years and it hasn’t kept handguns out of the hands of criminals. Yet the Liberals ignore the evidence, continue work on the registry, all the while threatening to turn lawful firearm owners into criminals if they don’t register their long guns. The last few months have been very stressful for lawful firearm owners in Canada. They cannot understand why their trusted government would treat them with such contempt. Despite more than a decade of attacks on the lawful firearm owner, too many are still afraid of a government supposedly elected to serve them. The responsible firearm community lost the long gun registration battle because it preached to the converted, promoted the wrong message to the wrong audience and lobbied the wrong people. The only way to combat what we believe is wrong is to stand up, unite and fight back using everything at our disposal. If the responsible firearm community wants to get the job done, it needs to unite through the creation of a new national organization comprised of all the firearm groups. We need to get our best minds together, stop the bickering and fighting over individual turf, and put the interests of lawful firearm owners first. Then we need to lobby hard. Professor Al Dorans of the Recreational Firearm Community in Ottawa has been promoting this idea over the last many months. I’ve been in this fight for over a decade, and it’s been all downhill. We can’t give up. We must be prepared to make a huge mental shift. Don’t hold your breath for the Liberals to reverse their position on long gun firearm registration. It will take a change in government before any positive changes occur. The wisest path for the firearm community to follow now is to unite in preparation to take on all future governments. Inky Mark Editor’s note: Inky Mark is the Progessive Conservative member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette in Manitoba. Searching for Inuit grandmother I am looking for info on my Inuit grandmother. I was told you might be able to help me. I have some information to go on, but not much. Her name was Hannah Jane Stattler. She was born in Labrador on Oct. 11,1896. She was shipped out of her village at the age of 12. She was put on on a ship that landed in Ingonish, Cape Breton, around 1908. Her father was John Stattler, and her mother was Mary Johnson. There were two brothers, Jim and Ham Stattler. I think there were six sisters: Elizabeth Stattler, Constance Stattler, Rose Stattler, Doreen Stattler, Beatrice (Cormier) Stattler, Violet (Bolden) Stattler. I am trying to find out what village she came from in Labrador. If you can help me or know of someone that might put me on the right track, I would appreciate it very much. It seems like I always come to a dead end, so hope to hear from you soon. Thank You. Annie Boudreau December 20, 2002 Empty buildings in Baker await PPD employees While I might risk being accused of supporting your editorial in the Dec. 6 issue because I’m a Qamanit’uaq (Baker Laker) booster, I have listened with some amusement for the past three years as the GN screamed that it could not find enough housing and office space in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet for GN staff. It has even reached the point where jobs are advertised now without housing. For the past three years there have been almost two dozen empty GN family housing units here in Baker Lake and a half-empty GN office building, both waiting for decentralized tenants and workers. It makes perfect sense to have PPD move to Baker Lake and put Qulliq Energy and NPC and PPD under the same roof. Welcome to Baker Lake! It’s about time! Orin Durey December 20, 2002 Hello to the people of Igloolik I’m writing this to the people of Igloolik. I’m enjoying my stay in Alberta after being in Nova Scotia. In the middle of February, I’ll be going to Quebec, and then go home in April. Katimavik is about getting to know Canada better, and getting job experiences. It’s a good program — you live with 11 youths from across Canada. Chris Panimera December 20, 2002 Thanks from Samuel Arnakallak’s family On behalf of our relatives in Pond Inlet and Igloolik, we would like to take this opportunity to express our heart-felt gratitude for all the help, support, guidance, prayers, food, and people who just came in for moral support when we lost our beloved grandfather and father, Samuel Arnakallak, after his courageous fight with cancer. Also, thank you to the doctors and nurses at Ottawa General Hospital, and the people who work at Larga in Ottawa and the people in Pond Inlet and the Rangers for their kindness and support. We will always remember the kindness that was shown to us and remember Samuel with love in our hearts. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Lily Kadlutsiak-Tongak
and Ike Haulli December 20, 2002
Thanks from the Karpik family In this Christmas season, when it is so important to be with family and to remember loved ones who have gone before us, we have very special thoughts for our mother, Idah Karpik, who passed away on April 5, 2002 at the Heart Institute in Ottawa. Idah left her husband Joanasie, daughters Myna, Leesee, Eva, Margaret and Annie, sons-in-law, and her grandchildren, as well as extended family members, and brothers and sisters. She was a very loving lady, who raised her own kids and was very involved in her grandchildren’s lives one way or the other, was active in helping the local education council and daycares, along with other committees throughout her life. She loved spending time with kids as a teacher for Sunday school. She never asked for anything much and made sure that no matter who you were, you were loved and taken care of. Idah made sure that her children and grandchildren had enough warm clothes, food to eat, and the ongoing support and love of her family. To the following people and organizations: Thank you so much for your support. It has never been forgotten and has been very much appreciated. Mom would have been just so overwhelmed with your love! Thanks to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association staff and recent board, Uncle Paul, Eva Onalik, Canadian North, First Air, Peter and Rosie Kilabuk, Boyd and Reepa Carleton in Ottawa, Merle, Robert, and Markus from the Pangnirtung health centre. Thanks also to the Larga Baffin house in Ottawa, the businesses and committees in Pangnirtung who have given us so much, along with family members, friends and the people from different communities who came to give us flowers, cards and support. Thank you all for your love and prayers, and thank you to the Precious Day Care Centre in Pangnirtung who recently gave us financial support to get a memorial stand without being asked. The Karpik Family December 20, 2002 We must document the Inuit culture As descendants of Uumarnittuq and Aakulukjuusi, who were the first Inuit, we have to take pride in our Inuit culture. Because of their survival, we were able to be born and survive in our Arctic environment today. We have to strive towards the legacy of our ancestors, so that the life skills they taught us may survive among the younger generations. We have to teach them the principles and values of good living. Here we are, living in our ancestors’ environment, in which we were taught the value of healthy living and how to raise children with good value systems and principles. They did not create these by themselves, nor did they live the way they wanted, instead they were given a set of rules and ways they had to follow. These systems were not written, but instilled in their hearts and minds. They were taught to follow their hearts, so that their lives would be manageable and so their consciences would be clear throughout their lives. When Inuit are raised with values and principles to live by and they are in a certain situation they are aware of their ancestors’ ways. Survival skills are passed on to their descendants so that the culture and traditions may continue. Older people possess better knowledge of unwritten laws than younger people, and today there are elders who still live under the principle ways that were passed down to them from their parents. The traditional rules that are unwritten should be written down so that they are not lost, because we are losing some of them. We’ve started living without regard for the old ways, although some of us still try and continue them. The more we lose our culture and traditions, the more we rely on written documents. We have to write these rules down; there are so many, it will take time. But we have to document them for the younger generations, because they live in a world where everything is documented. The more our world progresses, the need for documentation to save the old ways becomes stronger. Lucien Ukkalianuk December 20, 2002 Nuclear retaliation is wrong "Bush drops verbal bomb in discussion of Iraq plans: President threatens nuclear retaliation as polls shows American support for war" (Dec. 12). Only a society that routinely kills people to send the message that killing people is wrong could actually contemplate using nuclear weapons — actually using nuclear weapons — to send the message that weapons of mass destruction are a threat to humanity. Jack Hicks Editor’s note: The statement attributed to U.S. President George Bush, contained in a six-page strategy paper on national defence that the White House presented to Congress last week, was widely reported in the world’s press. New words in the strategy say: "The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force — including through resort to all our options — to the use of WMD (weapons of mass destruction) against the United States, our forces abroad, and friends and allies." The phrase "all our options" includes the use of nuclear weapons.
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