22nd Inuvialuit Day!

The front of the IRC is transformed into a carnival of celebration. Blue and white balloons with “Happy Inuvialuit Day” floated in the hands of young ones, their smiling mouths all pink and blue with cotton candy, while adults had lively conversations as they queued up for geese soup, muskox roast and burgers. Happy Inuvialuit Day!

It’s been 22 years since June 5, 1985, the day the monumental Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) was signed between the Inuvialuit and the Government of Canada. Inuvialuit still work hard everyday towards getting the basic principles of the IFA adhered to, (to preserve Inuvialuit cultural identity and values, to enable Inuvialuit to be equal and meaningful participants in the northern and national economy, as well as to protect and preserve Arctic wildlife and environment). It’s a well-deserved holiday!

One of the volunteers working the barbeques, Bernice Joe patiently cooks the delicious muskox and beef burgers for the seemingly endless line-up. She said, “This holiday is just about being together and celebrating, being happy for who you are. This is the 2nd year my office, the Joint Secretariat, is volunteering.”

Youth such as Wanda Joe and Shannon Ciboci said, “It’s wicked. Inuvialuit Day is when we celebrate our culture.”

Tyson Ruben and his pals are happy for a free day to play.

“It’s fun. It’s good to look at what there is to eat, and it’s a holiday of happiness, celebrating Inuvialuktun (our culture) and the land.” Elders and people from all over town also graced the occasion and shared in the happiness.

Aklavik, June 1st. _ Knute Hansen, the Mayor lifted the State of Emergency declared due to flood conditions. Excessive flooding had occurred beginning the 24th of May, due to an ice jam up river. The Hamlet Council/Flood Committee made this decision after meeting with the superintendent of MACA, John Picek, Chris Beveridge, Environmental Health Officer and other officials from the GNWT. “The only concern we have at this point is to keep the kids out of the water, “ said Diana Black, SAO of the Hamlet of Aklavik “There were a lot of families that were really eager to come home. We tried to weigh the health risks against the wishes of the families, and decided it was fine.”

All the essential services such as the Health Center, water treatment, fire and RCMP became operational again, and municipal services such as water delivery, sewage pump-out and garbage pick-up became available again. All evacuees, who had been flown out to Inuvik to stay at the FOL (Forward Operating Location) site were returned home safely and regularly scheduled flights also were notified to resume.

Angus Tardiff came up with the 2nd emergency flight to the FOL site. “The whole thing was “pretty bad” and everything was soaked. They finished the clean up yesterday, but there is a lot of bacteria in the water from the sewage lagoon. People will have to drink bottled water. Both IRC and the Gwich’in band will provide bottled water to the people. I assisted elders with the evacuation. 17 planes were used the first day, and more the second day.” The flights were only 15 minutes per way, but medivac pilot Eric M. said it was quite stressful