Nunatsiavut Group of Companies are gearing up their summer projects.

Tom Lyall is the General Manager of Nunatsiavut Construction.

He says they are looking at starting work on Friday, July 2nd this year.

Lyall says work will be starting in Nain and Hopedale first.

He adds that the summer projects include repair homes, construct new homes, and do more crushing rock at the quarry in Nain, that’s to name a few.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to hear Lyall give you more details on their summer projects.

The online organ classes are going well on the north coast communities.

Tom Gordon is the Professor of Music at MUN in St. John’s.

He says the online organ classes project was started the first week of March with participants learning to play the keyboard online.

The interested participants are from the communities of Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik and Happy Valley.

Gordon says he is very proud of the interested participants who are taking the courses and learning how to play the organ.

There will be another update from Gordon in couple of weeks.

The National Inuit Youth Council would like to welcome President Brian Pottle of Nunatsiavut.

The role of President includes commitment, public ambassadorship, leadership, advocacy, and vision surrounding complex and sensitive issues that affect Inuit youth in Inuit Nunangat.

The President serves as the National voice for Inuit youth.

NIYC would like to thank outgoing President Crystal Martin-Lapenskie for her dedication, passion and outstanding commitment to Inuit youth during her term.

The NIYC President must be between the ages of 18-35 for the duration of the two-year term and a beneficiary of an Inuit Nunangat land claims agreement.
President Pottle is 29 years old and resides in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, with his family.

President Pottle is inspired to be a positive role model for Inuit youth and cares deeply about raising awareness on suicide prevention. He has co-led an engineering outreach program on suicide prevention with Memorial University and was a keynote speaker on suicide prevention at the 2017 National Inuit Youth Summit in Nain.

“I am absolutely honoured to be the National Inuit Youth Council’s next President. During my next two years in the role, I look forward to advancing the work the NIYC is doing, with a particular focus on suicide prevention. I aim to ensure all Inuit youth know that no matter where they find themselves in life, opportunity exists to change one’s life for the better.” ~ Brian Pottle, NIYC President.

The Hopedale Department of Health and Social Development is holding Indigenous Day Events today, June 21st, 2021.

DHSD has a Facebook page that you can comment with each picture on their page.

The events are as follows:

Today, June 21st, there will be a Traditional Dress contest for children ages 0-5.

Tomorrow, June 22nd, there will be throat singing for children ages 6-12.

On June 23rd, they will be making a church cap out of anything you can use for youth ages 13-18.

On June 24th, there will be a silapak/atigik making out of garbage bags for both men and women ages 19-49.

And on June 25th, ages 50 and up Sing a Inuttitut song (by yourself).

There will also be a scavenger hunt to all participants during the events and there will be tickets given out to Hopedale residents at the Nanuk Community Center for a brand-new MacBook Air.

For more information you can contact Sukie Aggek at the Hopedale Nanuk Centre.

As we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, it’s important that we acknowledge our elders, and those that have gone before us, and to thank them for the tremendous contributions they have made, and continue to make, in helping us, as Labrador Inuit, understand our past so that we can meet the challenges of the future.

Labrador Inuit have persevered for thousands of years, through good times and through bad. Our identity has been shaped by our relationship with the land, the sea, the animals and with each another. This is what has defined us as a people, making us strong, vibrant, resourceful, determined and, above all, very proud.

We believe in the wisdom of our elders and the ideas of our youth. We believe in the importance of protecting and promoting our unique identity, our language, culture and traditions, and we gather strength from sharing our stories and experiences amongst ourselves and with others.

The colonial practices and policies of the past attempted to disempower us and strip us of our culture, language, dignity and pride. The relocation of our people from Nutak and Hebron tested our resilience. The residential school system attempted to divide us, to assimilate us unto an unknown culture. We cannot forget the past, for it has help define who we are as a people.

By celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day, we are celebrating our ancestors, ourselves, our place in history, and our future. I am proud to be a Labrador Inuk, proud of what we have accomplished and excited about what lies ahead.

Johannes Lampe President.

The Heritage Forum took place in Nain this year and was held at the Illusuak Cultural Centre.

We spoke with President Johannes Lampe on what his thoughts were about the event.

He says that it is very different these days compared to how our ancestors used to live.

Lampe adds that it would be important if they had more youth to attend the forum, so they can understand and learn more about our Inuit history.

Stay tuned to our AtjiKangitut show today to hear more from President Lampe on his thoughts about the forum.

Today (Friday, June 18), Newfoundland and Labrador have no new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

There are ten new recoveries in the province, seven in the Central Health region and three in the Western Health region and 1,350 people have recovered. There are two people in hospital due to COVID-19.

There are 22 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. The regional breakdown of the 22 active cases is as follows:

· Eastern Health – 4
· Central Health – 3
· Labrador-Grenfell Health – 1
· Western Health – 14

To date, 156,302 people have been tested.

The Heritage Forum finished up yesterday at the Illusuak Building in Nain.

A former Archaeologist within Nunatsiavut Department, Jamie Brake came to Nain from the Island to attend this forum.

Stay tuned to the Sunday afternoon program show to hear Brake give you more details about his return to Nain to witness the Heritage Forum.

Torngat Regional Housing Association is still in the plans for the start of constructing new homes and repairs on the north coast communities.

William Lucy is the Coordinator.

He says up to date the only 3 communities that he reported almost two week ago are:

To construct a duplex and 2 homes in Nain, a duplex in Hopedale and a home in Rigolet.

Lucy says there’s inspections for repairs to be done in Makkovik and inventory and inspection in Postville.

He says he expects to get to Nain next Thursday weather permitting to check out a land work.

A teleconference is set up with their building supplier for materials.

Lucy says on the other hand, a housing inspector job ad was been out for awhile and says they’ve received few applications and their waiting on when interviews will begin.

The Nunatsiavut Department of Health and Social Development (DHSD) is developing a plan that will eventually see the transfer of child welfare services from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to the Nunatsiavut Government.

“For years the Nunatsiavut Government has recognized the need to explore the devolution of child protection services from the provincial government,” notes Health and Social Development Minister Gerald Asivak. “We have made considerable progress in many areas, to the point where we feel we now have the capacity to move forward with taking over these vital services.”

Section 17.5 of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement allows the Nunatsiavut Government to make laws in Labrador Inuit Lands and in Labrador Inuit communities in relation to social, family, youth and children’s services.

DHSD has had success in moving forward with some aspects of child welfare including: participation in the Inuit child welfare review; implementation of the Family Connections Program (prevention and intervention); foster home recruitment/retention; and supervised access for families with children in care.

There is ongoing work with the provincial Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development regarding policy development, training and education, data sharing and implementation of the Child Youth Advocate’s Report – A Long Wait for Change.

Once developed, the plan will be presented to the Nunatsiavut Executive Council for approval prior to any negotiations with the provincial and federal governments on the devolution of child welfare services. The goal is to have the services transferred within three years.