The Tuttusiugiannik 2023 participant applications are now live!
Tuttusiugiannik is all about providing youth an opportunity to learn along side adults about everything that goes into preparing and going on a caribou hunting trip.
This year they are accepting applications from youth living in Hopedale, Makkovik and Postville.
They look forward to hearing from you. Please fill out the application form at forms.gle/zDRjliUgeEHBBwKw9.
There will be an online workshop offered for a small group of beneficiaries in all NG communities.
You will practice speaking with a fluent speaker to have conversations in Inuttitut only, no English; this practice will teach you how to improve your speaking abilities, for example starting the conversation about the weather in our communities.
You will need your own access to a computer, phone, or tablet with internet and video/audio as the online workshop will be through Zoom, and you will be taught how to use Zoom before the workshop starts.
To put your name down, you must write your name, contact information and details on what type of sentences you can speak out loud to shirley.jararuse@nunatsiavut.com.
For more information, you can contact Alana Johns at ajohns@chass.utoronto.ca or Lydia Tuglavina at ltuglavina@gmail.com.
There is an upcoming bear guard training in Nain starting next week, January 30th, 2023.
Derrick Pottle from Rigolet is the coordinator.
He says there are 12 seats available for anyone who would like to participate in the training.
Pottle adds that depending on the size of the group, the training takes 2-3 days.
Click here to hear more from Pottle on his upcoming bear guard training.
The Young Men’s Day have been celebrated for many years in Labrador and will be held on Wednesday, January 25th of this year.
We spoke with Silpa Suarak who is one of the organizers for this festive day.
She says out of 12 boys who are eligible to have their day, there were 7 boys who showed up to the meetings so far.
Suarak adds that she is excited to be organizing this event where it was cancelled last year due to COVID-19.
Click here to hear more from Suarak on Young Men’s Day.
The Labrador Winter Games Coordinators in Hopedale, Makkovik and Rigolet are practising for the games.
Gemma Andersen is the Coordinator for Makkovik.
She says there are 17 players picked for their team, they usually do snowshoeing during the weekend and go to the gym once a week to play indoor games.
Meanwhile, shooters are doing their target practices on their own and they’re following the recreation schedule registered for the community.
If you would like to help them with fundraising, they have an online auction running until Monday, January 23, and out of town members are helping by doing hockey blocks; they’re in the works to set up bingo for the community.
The Coordinator for Team Rigolet is Tony Wolfrey.
Wolfrey says they haven’t finished all the tryouts, so they should have the whole team by next week.
With regards to practising, they are doing well, doing practises in the gym during the weekends and practise outdoor sports during the week.
Team Rigolet has already done a little fundraising; they’ve asked for some funds from their local trust fund to help with fees.
Teams haven’t been picked yet, but once they are picked, they will see how much in total they will need to make it to the games in March.
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada will host it’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, February 21-22 this year.
This year, the in-person meeting will be held at the Aqsamiit Conference Centre in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
The Board of Directors will report on activities conducted during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
For more updates and information on Pauktuutit’s AGM follow them on their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and Linkedin.
There will also be nominations to for Board of Directors including regular business, election to board as part of the AGM in Nunatsiavut, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Nunavik-Hudson, Qikitani North Nunavut, Qikitani South Nunavut, Iqaluit Nunavut, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, South East Urban, and South East Urban, and Youth Inuit Nunangat.
Inuit Women in Canada interested in furthering Pauktuutit’s Agenda and are interested in considering for the vaccines listed may a written information based on the eligibility requirements.
Board of Directors nomination and forms are available on their website at pauktuutit.ca.agm-election-and nominations.
Please submit nomination forms by email to communications at pauktuutit.ca.
The deadline for submission is Monday, February 6 at 5pm this year.
On behalf of the Nunatsiavut Government and Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement, President Johannes Lampe extended his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of respected Makkovik elder Gerald Mitchell, who passed away Thursday at the Labrador Health Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. He was 86.
Born on January 17, 1937, Mr. Mitchell was one of five children to Albert and Lillian Mitchell. He attended boarding school in Makkovik before moving to Happy Valley-Goose Bay in 1954 to look for work at the military base. He worked as a cook’s helper and a house painter and later as a sign painter.
Having gained some popularity as a singer, Mr. Mitchell was often asked to perform at schools and concerts. In 1964, he was invited to do a live performance on CBC radio in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and would eventually become a regular guest as “The Labrador Balladeer”. It was around this time when he began to draw and take serious interest in visual arts. He acquired training as a visual artist at Sheridan College in Ontario before moving to St. John’s to take on a position at a print shop. During the 1970s-80s he did drawings for Them Days magazine, and much of his artwork has been featured on calendars, children’s coloring books and other publications.
Mr. Mitchell returned to Makkovik every summer, from 1987-1994, to work at the community’s fish plant. He took up permanent residence in the community in 1994 until recent years when he moved to Harbourview Manor, a personal care home in Mary’s Harbour on Labrador’s south coast.
A recipient of the Stompin’ Tom Connors Award from East Coast Music Awards and the Unsung Hero Award of MusicNL in 2010, as a recording artist, composer and performer, Mr. Mitchell inspired many succeeding Labrador artists and gained the respect and admiration of many within the province’s music industry.
“Mr. Mitchell was very well respected – as an artist, musician, songwriter and as a person,” says President Lampe. “He touched many people over the years through his creative talents, and left an indelible mark on Labrador’s rich cultural identity. His legacy will live on through his drawings, paintings, songs, and music for many years to come.”
There is an upcoming Wooding Program for youth with the Nain DHSD once again.
Rutie Lampe is the Mental Health and Addictions Worker.
She says this program is for seniors who don’t have any means of transportation to go wooding.
Lampe adds that they have 2 guides so far that will be leading the way up to Salt Water Pond.
Click here to hear more from Lampe on the wooding program.
Years of cuts has led to a crisis in health care in Labrador West said MHA, Jordon Brown.
He says Labrador Grenfell Health was “cut to the bone” and officials are scrambling to fill needs. Residents of the coast of Labrador typically goes to HV-GB which was designed as the service hub for the region.
Continued obstetrical diversions from the hospital in HV-GB to Labrador West are causing strain on a region not designed to handle the influx with little to no capacity for accommodations or housing this time of year.
“This has not yet happened due to COVID-19,” says Brown. “This is years of government ignoring the health needs and to the uniqueness of Labrador.”
This year will mark the 50th Anniversary of the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay joining with the Local Improvement District of Goose Bay to form.
A special committee with a broad representation from the community has been established called the 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee whose purpose is to work with the Town and the community to organize a year – long celebration to commemorate the event.
The committee is seeking interest from companies or individuals is interested in being licensed to sell specific items and merchandise promoting to the celebration during various events in this year. These items may include a variety of items including hats, t-shirts, hoodies and a multitude of souvenir items that maybe people are interested in purchasing during the 365-day celebrations.
Interested companies or individuals will be required to sign a license agreement with committee to use the 50th Anniversary Celebration local and products. The licensed Vendors will also need to obtain permission for each item product they plan to provide with.
The purpose of this is to ensure that all products provided during the celebration are appropriate for the event, to ensure there are not too many vendors providing the same products which could possibly lead to vendors unable to sell large quantities of product, and to make sure that that they are adequate number of Venders to carry all of the products that the 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee would like to have available during the year-long event.