In This Issue....
From the Editor: The Fan Hitch... EnhancedF.I.D.O.: Andrew Maher and Julia Landry
Fan Mail
In the News
Out on the Ice: Three Days with ISDs in North Greenland
Two Friends, Fourteen Dogs…One Quest!
The Nunavut Quest’s 10th Anniversary Run
BAS Vignette: Lampwick Harnesses
Sledge Dog Memorial Fund Update
CAAT’s 2008 Northern Schedule
The Chinook Project Returns to Kimmirut
Product Review Update: Double Driver Sled
IMHO: On Feral Cats and Inuit Sled Dogs
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Editor's/Publisher's Statement
Editor: Sue Hamilton
Webmaster: Mark Hamilton
The
Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled
Dog, is published four times a year. It is
available at no cost online at:
https://thefanhitch.org.
The Fan Hitch welcomes your letters, stories, comments and suggestions. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit submissions used for publication.
Contents of The Fan Hitch are protected by international copyright laws. No photo, drawing or text may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Webmasters please note: written consent is necessary before linking this site to yours! Please forward requests to Sue Hamilton, 55 Town Line Rd., Harwinton, Connecticut 06791, USA or mail@thefanhitch.org.
This site is dedicated to the Inuit Dog as well as related Inuit culture and traditions. It is also home to The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog.
The Fan Hitch welcomes your letters, stories, comments and suggestions. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit submissions used for publication.
Contents of The Fan Hitch are protected by international copyright laws. No photo, drawing or text may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Webmasters please note: written consent is necessary before linking this site to yours! Please forward requests to Sue Hamilton, 55 Town Line Rd., Harwinton, Connecticut 06791, USA or mail@thefanhitch.org.
This site is dedicated to the Inuit Dog as well as related Inuit culture and traditions. It is also home to The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog.
J.D. Soper and family, assistant Moosa and family, leaving for
zoological trip en route down Westbourne Bay to outer coast,
Lake Harbour [Kimmirut, Nunavut] N.W.T., 6 June 1931.
Photo: J.D. Soper / Library and Archives Canada
Qikiqtani
Truth Commission
In October 2007, QIA Board of Directors passed a motion at its Annual General Meeting in Iqaluit approving the Qikiqtani Truth Commission's Terms of Reference and Mandate. At the same time, James Igloliorte was appointed as the Commissioner, Madeleine Redfern as Executive Director and Paul Crowley as Special Advisor. In November, QTC hired Joanasie Akumalik as Executive Assistant.
In December QTC set out a community schedule for its public hearings in all 13 Qikiqtani communities. The Commissioner also approved the Commission’s Rules of Procedure which provides guidelines with respect to participating in the hearings, requests for assistance, rules regarding evidence, amnesty from civil suit, private or in-camera testimony, filming and media coverage.
The Commission has already conducted seven community hearings (Kimmirut, Cape Dorset, Sanikiluaq, Resolute Bay, Grise Fiord, Arctic Bay, Pangnirtung). There has been good attendance and participation. Over 100 Inuit have come before the Commissioner to recount their recollections on a variety of issues, including but not limited to: killing of dogs, dog disease, housing, education, hunting, health issues, such as TB, employment, and relocations. The hearings are done in public, except for a few that are done privately due to the sensitivity or private nature of the person's testimony or in the person's home – usually due to age and/or health reasons. All witnesses' testimony are filmed, except where the person expressly declines, however, their testimony is recorded.
The Gordon Foundation, a private charity, is providing the Commission $180,000 grant over two years to help cover the cost of filming ($100,000), research and database creation ($80,000).
The Commission has hired an Ottawa based company to do its archival research by finding and copying government records, including but not limited to RCMP and DIAND files. The researchers have been producing community histories from these documents for the Commissioner in preparation of his visits into the communities. These community histories will, in part, form part of the report.
Commissioner Igloliorte has met with RCMP Commissioner Elliott, his two Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioner and Chief Superintendent. RCMP is very supportive of the Qikiqtani Truth Commission and has granted full access to their archives, permission to reproduce any RCMP reports, provide assistance for retired members to attend QTC hearings, issued a joint press release to this affect. QTC has also established an ongoing dialogue with the RCMP V Division. Both levels of RCMP are keen to assist QTC and very interested in Commissioner Igloliorte’s recommendations to help promote and facilitate reconciliation between the RCMP and Inuit in Nunavut.
QTC is creating a searchable database and inputting all records, reports, press releases, media stories, testimonies (video, audio), transcripts and translations, so that the Commission can use to produce its report. The Commission desires to have this database accessible to all Inuit, Canadians and the world – long after its work is done. Inuit will be able to download sections of the report or video of a family or community member’s interview or a RCMP community reports from 1950’s to 1980.
The next hearing will be in Iqaluit and is scheduled for June.
For more information, please contact:
Qikiqtani
Truth Commission
P.O. Box 1340
Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0 CANADA
Tel: (867) 975-8400, (867) 979-7035 or 1-800-667-2742
P.O. Box 1340
Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0 CANADA
Tel: (867) 975-8400, (867) 979-7035 or 1-800-667-2742
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Makivik
Corporation’s "Dog-Cull" Probe is Underway
Makivik, the development corporation mandated to manage the heritage funds of the Inuit of Nunavik, is planning its own inquiry into the "alleged sled dog killings in Nunavik communities during the 1950s and 1960s." An April 11, 2008 article in the Nunatsiaq News ("Makivik to launch Nunavik-wide dog-cull probe") describes this effort as independent from the Qikiqtani Truth Commission's currently ongoing investigation.
Quebec Judge, Justice Jean-Jacques Croteau, is already visiting communities in Nunavik, consulting with and interviewing Inuit leaders as well as dog owners. As part of his report, Justice Croteau will review Makivik’s 2005 legal brief, their video Echo of the Last Howl, testimonies of Inuit Elders that Makivik collected for the brief and video, 1950-1970 laws regarding dealing with of loose dogs, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's 2006 final report on the "Allegations concerning Inuit Sled Dogs". He plans to submit his report, a "review and analysis of the events that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s concerning Inuit sled dog killings," by the end of 2008, but only if the Canadian federal government covers the expenses for his investigation.