The Young People’s Day, Married People’s Day, and Widow’s Day is fast approaching.

Martha Winters Abel who is the Lay Pastor in Hopedale will be holding the services.

She says the Young People’s Day is held on the last Saturday of January and the Widow’s and Married People’s Day is held on the last Saturday of February each year.

So this year, the Young People’s Day will be held on January 30th, and the Married and Widow’s Day will be on February 27.

Winters Abel says the Young People’s day was held at the Nanuk Centre last year, but due to COVID-19, it will be held only at the 10 am church service.

There will also be no love feast.

She would also like to notify the residents of Hopedale that the Married and Widow’s Day service will also be held only at the 10 o’clock church service.

The second meeting went ahead for the Nain Young Men’s Traditional Day yesterday.

Joan Dicker is the Manager of the Illusuak Cultural Centre.

She says there are still the same ten young men who are interested in having their day. Anyone else interested in joining let Joan know before its too late.

Dicker says since Tuesday’s meeting they’ve received donations of food and drinks and monetary donations from businesses and organizations in town.

She says she would like to see more men helpers, anyone interested in helping out can contact her at 922-2054, also if anyone else is interested in joining their day contact her before it’s too late.

In the meantime the Young Men have been practicing a hymn they will sing.

Again the Nain Young Men’s Traditional Day is on Monday, January 25, and the Church Services are at 10am, 3pm with no lovefeast and the closing service is at 5pm.

Today Friday, January 22, Newfoundland and Labrador has one new confirmed case of COVID-19.

The one new confirmed case is a male in the Eastern Health region between 20-39 years of age. The case is related to international travel.

The individual is self-isolating and contact tracing is finished.

The province has seven active cases of COVID-19.

There have been no new recoveries since yesterday.

384 people have recovered from the virus, one person is in hospital due to the virus and to date, 77,466 people have been tested.

Public Health is reminding people to strictly adhere to the orders of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

People must remain vigilant and follow all Public Health measures to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from the spread of COVID-19.

For the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19.

The Nunatsiavut Government released yesterday the data on the number of residents in each Labrador Inuit community, 18 years of age and older, that received the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine during the first round of inoculations carried out from January 11 to January 16, 2021.

Here are the number of residents 18 years and older who received the vaccines in the 5 Nunatsiavut communities.

In the community of Makkovik they have a population of 221 people and 163 individuals had their first dose of the vaccine, 73.8%. In Hopedale the population is 453 and 314 had their first dose, 69.3%.

In Nain the population is 775 and 514 individuals had their first dose. 66.3%.

In Rigolet the population is 221 and 197 had their first dose of the vaccine, 89.1%.

And in Postville their population is 147 and 100 individuals had their first dose. 68.0%.

The Moderna vaccine requires two doses to be effective; following is the tentative schedule for the administration of the second dose is as follows:
On February 8, 2021 Makkovik will be getting their second dose of the vaccine.

The community of Rigolet will be getting their second dose on February 9, in Postville and Hopedale they will receive their second dose on February 10, in Hopedale they will receive theirs on February 11, and in Nain the second dose will be held on February 12-13, 2021.

The Nunatsiavut Government continues to work with all relevant authorities to deliver the vaccine as quickly as possible in a safe and efficient manner to all residents within Nunatsiavut.

Evidence suggests the Moderna vaccine is more than 94 per cent effective, while it is not mandatory for people to receive the vaccine, the NG is strongly urging all residents to do so when its is available.

Those who are interested in being vaccinated that did not receive the first does are asked to contact the public health office in their respective communities.

Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe extends his congratulations to respected Inuit elders Jean Crane of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Nellie May Winters of Makkovik on receiving Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, degrees. Both received their degrees during a convocation today in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

“As President of Nunatsiavut, and on behalf of Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate these two exceptional women on receiving such well-deserved honors. We are extremely grateful to both for the tremendous contributions they have made over the years in helping to advance and promote our unique way of life”.

Honorary degree recipients are chosen by the Senate, the university’s academic governing body, after careful examination of the grounds for their nomination. The honorary doctorate is designed to recognize extraordinary contributions to society or exceptional intellectual or artistic achievement.

Ms. Crane is a renowned and respected Inuit elder who grew up in North West River and Sheshatshiu at the intersection of Innu and Inuit culture. The daughter of trapper Gilbert Blake, and great-granddaughter of Lydia Campbell, she was the only one of her family of 13 to attend high school, and has been connected to education ever since-combining her deep ancestral ways of knowing and living from the land with an insatiable curiosity and passion for learning.

An accomplishment artist known for representing Labrador’s animals and landscapes in variety of media, as well as a healer who blends her training as a nursing assistant with her traditional knowledge of the healing capacities of the land, Ms. Crane has shared her wisdom both locally and nationally.

She is a powerful advocate for the cultures, land, waters and spiritualties of Labrador and for the accessibility of Indigenous education in the North, by the North.

In addition to being a member of Memorial’s Board of Regents for several years, Ms. Crane has been involved in several initiatives at the University, notably as an
elder, mentor and teacher for the Inuit Bachelor of the Labrador Institute’s Strategic Task Force.

Born in Okak Bay, Ms. Winters and her family were forcibly relocated to Makkovik in 1956, She has lived and worked in the community ever since.

Ms. Winters is renowned educator and master artist in a variety of mediums. She is a garment designer and seamstress and is recognized for her exceptional embroidery, caribou tufting, wall-hangings, illustrations and doll-making. With a portfolio spanning seven decades, she stands out as a generational talent for her technical mastery of traditional Inuit art forms and for her prolific artistic innovation.

Her work has been commissioned and exhibited by galleries, museums and private collections both in Canada and internationally. She was also invited to show her work at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Ms. Winters continues to instruct, mentor and inspire young Inuit artists and to enrich cultural life in Nunatsiavut as a knowledge holder, interpreter and author. She published a book in 2020, Reflections from Them Days: A Residential School Memoir from Nunatsiavut, which contains her personal memoirs and stories, as well as her own illustrations.

Tune into Sunday’s program when we hear the recorded audio from convocation.

The OKâlaKatiget Radio contacted the SmartICE Production for an update on the program.

Rex Holwell Jr. is the Northern Production Lead.

He says he tested the Smart Kamutik in the Nain Harbour last Monday.

The measurements of the ice thickness are from one foot and a half to one foot.

Holwell adds that he will be doing some training for new operators on how to use the Smart Kamutik.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to find out more from Holwell on the SmartICE Program.

Today (Thursday, January 21), Newfoundland and Labrador has one new confirmed case of COVID-19.

The one new confirmed case is a male in the Central Health region between 60-69 years of age.

The individual is self-isolating. Contact tracing is underway.

This case is connected to the MV Blue Puttees situation. Public Health is working with Public Health officials in Nova Scotia and with Marine Atlantic.

As requested yesterday and out of abundance of caution, the Department of Health and Community Services is asking passengers who travelled on the MV Blue Puttees to or from North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador between Tuesday, December 29 and Saturday, January 16 to arrange COVID-19 testing.

People are reminded to follow the Special Measures Orders of the Chief Medical Officer of Health for isolation requirements. Following a negative test result, individuals who are currently self-isolating should continue to do so for the full 14 days.

All passengers should continue to monitor themselves for symptoms for a full 14 days from the time of their arrival in the province.

The province has 6 active cases.

There have been no new recoveries since yesterday. Three hundred and eighty-four people have recovered from the virus.

One person is in hospital due to the virus.

To date, 77,273 people have been tested.

During the winter shipping period of January 22 – April 6, Vale Newfoundland & Labrador Limited (Vale NL) will mark the ship’s track with coloured reflective markers, which are placed every 250 metres along the track where the track is straight.

These markers will be closer together in areas where the track turns, at the crossing signs and in the area of the star turn in Edward’s Cove. The reflective markers will be red on the north side of the track and green on the south side of the track.

The map sets out the location of the ice crossings, the pontoon crossing and shows which side of the track has the red markers and which side of the track has green markers. Vale, along with Sikumiut, has developed pontoon structures that are deployed after the ship has passed by. These structures are located near the Tabor Island and Tâktok crossing.

Each winter, the ship will choose either the northern or southern route. Once the route is chosen, it will remain the same for all voyages during that winter.

The blue crossings will be constructed after the ship has gone into Edward’s Cove, and both the blue and the orange crossings will be constructed after the ship has left.

Each safe crossing will be marked with lights and the sign will say whether the crossing is safe or not safe to cross. The pontoon structure is deployed after the ship has passed by.

If you do not know the ships activities, go to a crossing location and the sign will indicate whether the ship’s track is safe to cross.

Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement residing in the Constituency of Canada are being advised of delays in receiving e-gift cards from Loblaw’s under the COVID-19 Food Supplement Program.

Loblaw’s has advised that it will no longer accept credit card payments from the Nunatsiavut Government to purchase gift cards for distribution to eligible beneficiaries. Instead, the company has requested payments be made directly through an E-mail Money Transfer, or EMT. The transfers could take as much of three business days to be processed. As a result, the Nunatsiavut Government will extend the deadline for beneficiaries to receive Loblaw’s gift cards by three days.

Beneficiaries who have not yet applied for support under the Food Supplement Program can still do so. With the delays in processing gift cards, the deadline to apply for the next round of support is January 29. Gift cards that are not used within two weeks of being issued will be deemed void.

Subsequent gift cards from Loblaw’s will be issued on February 1 and 15, and March 1, 15 and 29.

The Nunatsiavut Government apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the delay.

A polar bear had to be put down in Makkovik last week.

Todd Broomfield is the Director for Renewable Resources for the Nunatsiavut Government.

He says that they had requested for a Polar Bear nuisance license from the provincial government after several cabins were damaged within the area.

Broomfield adds that the pelt will be given to a harvester once names are being selected for the polar bear hunt that will begin on February 2nd, 2021.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to find out more from Broomfield on the moose and polar bear licenses.