MMIWG commissioners prepare to host first Nunavut hearing

If you haven’t yet registered to share your story with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, you can reach the commission at 1-844-348-4119. The inquiry’s toll-free support line is listed above.

Commissioners with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls are set to host community hearings in Rankin Inlet Feb.19-22 at the community’s Siniktarvik hotel. Residents who have yet to register but would like to take part can come register in person any time next week, organizers said. (FILE PHOTO)

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls is finally set to host its first full community hearing in Nunavut, when commissioners visit Rankin Inlet Feb. 19 to Feb. 22.

Rankin Inlet was initially the last stop on a nine-community hearing tour scheduled in December 2017, but commissioners had to postpone the hearing due to privacy concerns with the community hall booked to host the event.

Now, the opening ceremony for next week’s hearing is set to begin Feb. 19 at the community’s Siniktarvik Hotel, which will precede a three-day hearing that runs Feb. 20 to Feb. 22.

Though commissioners have made informal community visits to other Inuit communities, Rankin Inlet marks the inquiry’s first official hearing in the Inuit Nunangat.

Barbara Sevigny is a health manager with the inquiry’s Inuit working group, whose role is to ensure there are culturally relevant supports in place for participants.

“We know it’s going to be emotional, because of the nature of this issue and people sharing past traumatic experiences,” Sevigny said.

“It’s not going be to a pleasant topic and it may not even feel right. But I would say to participants that they don’t have to go through this process alone.”

The inquiry is bringing in a nurse, interpreters and a number of Inuktitut- and English-speaking counsellors who will be on hand to work with families who take part in the hearing.

The three-day hearing will be hosted by two members of the inquiry’s four-member commission: Nunavut-raised Qajaq Robinson and Quebec’s Michèle Audette, and supported by its Inuit working group staff, including lawyer Lillian Aglukark-Lundrigan.

There are just over 20 participants currently registered to share their stories at the hearing, Sevigny said, some from other Nunavut communities and elsewhere in Canada.

But that could change. The inquiry accepts walk-ins, so Rankin Inlet residents are welcome to show up any time next week to register to take part, she said.

“When people hear other people sharing stories, their memories are triggered,” Sevigny said. “Noticing there’s enough health support, they may decide they want to share as well. We do have statement-takers there should someone want to share last minute.”

Inquiry staff visited Rankin Inlet last August as part of a pre-community visit, though Sevigny noted that many residents were out on the land at camps or berry picking at the time.

The commission’s planning efforts were further hampered when the inquiry postponed its hearing in the Kivalliq community due to privacy concerns over the venue.

Within its own ranks, the inquiry has faced a staffing crisis with the departure of more than a dozen people over the last year, including two executive directors and an Iqaluit-based lawyer.

More than halfway through its two-year mandate, commissioners have also asked the federal government for an extension to give them time to visit more communities.

Nunavummiut who remain unsure about the process or sharing their own story can call Sevigny directly at 343-998-9772 or inquiry liaison officer Looee Okalik at 613-762-9983 with any questions or concerns.

Nunavummiut can also reach the national inquiry by phone toll-free at 1-844-348-4119.

Feeling uneasy or unwilling to share a painful memory is completely normal, Sevigny said.

“I think people in Rankin Inlet are happy that [the inquiry is] coming, but nervous at the same time, because of all the history it brings up about things they’ve never had a chance to deal with,” she said.

“That’s a very normal reaction. When you’ve held onto fear for so long, it’s all that you know,” Sevigny said. “Sometimes it’s just a matter of reaching out and connecting with someone.”

Check back to Nunatsiaqonline.ca for coverage of next week’s inquiry from Rankin Inlet.