Iqaluit – This Magazine

Throwback Thursday: Out in the cold

Simon Treanor — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:27:59 +0000

Today at This Magazine, we’re excited to introduce our new blog feature, Throwback Thursday. With our 50th anniversary fast approaching (!!!), we’d like to look at some of our best articles that never made it to the digital stage. In all cases, these articles are still relevant today: They are the issues that stick with us, ones that we still haven’t solved, ones that make us shake our fists, people that continue to inspire us, and stories that remind us what fights we’ve won and how far we’ve come.

Plus, it’s always fun to revisit our best reporting and writing, from the very talented contributors who helped make This Magazine what it is today, and what will continue to shape it in the future.

Our first Throwback Thursday is “The Streets of Iqaluit” by Gordon Laird from our 2002 March/April issue. This story examines the homelessness in Iqaluit—where Inuit line up at soup kitchens and fill homeless shelters—and what this says about modern Inuit life and the fight to maintain traditional ways (plus Canada’s tendency to ignore the North’s myriad struggles). Too sadly, and despite Stephen Harper’s love affair with the North, for all that makes the territory amazing, Nunavut remains both underfunded, under-resourced, and replete with challenges, making Laird’s story especially poignant today.

$18 Peanut Butter. What’s wrong with this picture?

Anna Bowen — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:59:57 +0000

On June 9, protesters gathered outside of Nunavut grocery stores and on Parliament Hill to decry Canada’s shoddy food security situation, highlighted in last month’s scathing UN report.

At the helm of the June protests is Leesee Papatsie from Iqaluit. Papatsie started the facebook page Feeding My Family, which now boasts 21,500 members.

The page started as a forum for Nunavut residents to post pictures of the outrageous prices of their food. With a small jar of Kraft peanut butter cashing in at eighteen dollars, what are people eating? The answer is, not much. Half of all kids in Nunavut between the ages of 11 and 15, for example, sometimes go to bed hungry.

The June 9 protests garnered some much-needed media attention, but not nearly enough response from Ottawa. It seems like local residents—armed with a network of facebook followers across the continent—are taking matters into their own hands. Some organizers suggest that allies donate to food banks, while concerned Facebook members of the group offer to “adopt” a family or ship donations of food at their own expense. The seeming disconnect between the government’s response and the public’s concern is shocking.

Not much praise has been forthcoming for the federal initiative, Nutrition North, which replaced the Food Mail program on April 1, 2011. It aims to subsidize some basics, which include eggs, milk, bread and fruit and vegetables, but it excludes such imperishable necessities as diapers, pads and tampons, and toilet paper. Ever the dissenter, Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq suggests that Nutrition North isn’t having much effect because the money goes to retailers who are supposed to pass on the benefits to local families by lowering prices. Aglukkaq says the problem is the retailers who are hiking up prices, a view echoed by local residents.

As I leave the coffee shop where I am working this morning, a sign on the door says “Thank you for supporting fair trade.” How is it that in southern Ontario we can choose to drink slightly-more-expensive-than-average coffee in order for coffee farmers to get a good deal, while some parents in Nunavut can’t afford to feed and diaper their kids? It really makes my interest in fair trade coffee, rooftop gardening, and home made bread feel a little, well, precious.

June 21: National Aboriginal Day (yay!)

kelli korducki — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:50:58 +0000

Vancouverites attending National Aboriginal Day events in 2006. Creative Commons photo by Flickr user Freedryk.

It’s only fair that the 11-day Celebrate Canada! festival should kick off with National Aboriginal Day. After all, what better way to commemorate this crazy multicultural mosaic of a country than by launching its celebration in honour of the first people to make it awesome?

We’ve compiled a list of things to see and do this weekend. Just click through after the jump to see the list.

The following is a sample of the weekend’s upcoming National Aboriginal Day celebrations, by region:

Atlantic Region:

Antigonish
National Aboriginal Day Celebrations
June 21, 2009
Paq’tnktk Powwow Ground
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Contact: Rose Julian, 902-386-2781

Charlottetown
National Aboriginal Day Celebrations
June 21, 2009
Confederation Landing
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Contact: Jamie Gallant, 902-892-5314

Fredericton
National Aboriginal Day Celebrations – Union with our Elders
June 21, 2009
St. Mary’s First Nation
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Contact: Allan Polchies Jr, 506-458-9511

St. John’s
National Aboriginal Day Celebrations
June 21, 2009
St. John’s Native Friendship Centre
St. John’s, Newfoundland/Labrador
Contact: David Penner, 709-726-5902

Ontario Region:

Toronto
Kahontake Kitikan Celebration- National Aboriginal Day Recognition
June 22, 2009, 12:00 – 3:00 PM
St George Campus, University of Toronto
(East side of Hart House)
Contact: [email protected]

Ottawa
Family Fun Day – National Aboriginal Day
Sunday, June 21, 2009, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
National Gallery of Canada
Ottawa-Gatineau (NCR)
Web: The National Gallery of Canada

Noongam Traditional Powwow
June 19-20-21, 2009
Dow’s Lake
Ottawa (Ontario)
Web: Noongam Traditional Powwow

Prairies Region:

Calgary
Celebrate Aboriginal Awareness at Heritage Park Historical Village
June 21, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Heritage Park Historical Village
Calgary, Alberta
Contact: Jo Morris, 403-268-8556
Web: Heritage Park Historical Village

Edmonton
Weekend Festival – Day 1
June 20, 2009 (noon – 6 pm)
Alberta Legislature Grounds, 10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
Contact: [email protected], 780-495-6728
Web: City of Edmonton: National Aboriginal Day

Weekend Festival – Day 2
June 21, 2009, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Alberta Legislature Grounds
Edmonton, Alberta
Contact: Mary Dion, 780-452-6100
Web: Metis Child & Family Services Society

Regina
Regina National Aboriginal Day Celebrations – Wascana Park
Sunday, June 21, 2009 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Wascana Park, near Royal Saskatchewan Museum
Regina, Saskatchewan
Contact: Orenda Yuzicapi, 306-596-5131
Web: Regina National Aboriginal Day Celebrations

Winnipeg
National Aboriginal Day – Time to Celebrate
June 21, 2009 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Indian and Metis Friendship Centre, 45 Robinson Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact: Clayton Sandy (Event Coordinator): 204-945-8319
Web: National Aboriginal Day – Time to Celebrate

British Columbia Region:

Vancouver
National Aboriginal Day Celebration
June 23, 2009, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
745 Clark Drive
Vancouver, British Columbia
Contact: 604-872-6723

Kamloops
National Aboriginal Day – Simon Fraser University (SFU)
June 21, 2009, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
McDonald Park, North Kamloops
Kamloops, British Columbia
Contact: 250-828-9799

Quebec Region:

Montreal
Solstice des Nations – Open to all
June 21, 2009, 10:00 a.m.
First Nations Garden, Montréal Botanical Gardens
Montréal, Quebec
Contact: Land InSights, 514-677-1377 (Info-festival line)
Web: First Peoples’ Festival 2009

Trois Rivières
Benefit day for the future Native Friendship Centre
June 21, 2009, 11:00 a.m.
Espace de créativité émergente l’App’Art, 45 St Antoine
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Contact: 819-694-1843

Nunavut Region:

Arctic Bay
RCMP Barbeque
June 21, 2009
RCMP Detachment
Arctic Bay, Nunavut
Contact: S/Sgt Steve Wright, 867-975-4413

Iqaluit
Alianait Aboriginal Day Concert
June 21, 2009
Nakasuk School Parking Lot
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Contact: Heather Daley, 867-979-6468
Web: Alianait Arts Festival

A much more extensive list can be found here.