An Extraordinary Life Well Lived
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                                                                         photo: Madeleine Cole

Siu-Ling Han
January 22, 1963 – August 29, 2016

prepared by Sue Hamilton

                                                                           photo: Ed Maruyama

In 1998 Siu-ling moved to Iqaluit to work for the wildlife research program for the Government of the Northwest Territories and later for the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) with the Government of Canada. She quickly earned the respect of scientists and Inuit hunters alike. When asked her secret for forging such strong working relationships, she simply replied, “Be kind.”

I had the extreme pleasure of working with Siu-Ling for the past thirteen-plus years at CWS.  She left a lasting impression on wildlife management and Canada’s North where her fingerprints and ideals are all over what CWS does there: 

1) She was instrumental in helping CWS sign an Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement, which was the first time such an agreement was signed between CWS and the Inuit of Nunavut. That agreement allows us to co-manage our Nunavut protected areas with Inuit.  It ensures that Inuit have a direct role in the day-to-day management of those protected areas;

2) She was front and centre in the creation of a Species at Risk 101 course that was developed to inform Nunavummiut about the new federal Species at Risk Act and how it may affect them.  This was the first time, to my knowledge, that a plain language training program was designed and delivered to the various Inuit organizations across Nunavut;

3) She was the primary push to have all Nunavut wildlife management authorities and communities around the same table from day one to help us develop a Recovery Strategy for the endangered Peary caribou.  The idea of assembling such a diverse group at the start of a process, versus after CWS had already drafted a recovery strategy, was very new for us.
 
Siu-Ling never tired of her efforts to ensure that the North, including its people and its wildlife, were always well represented at every opportunity. [She left a] lasting impact on wildlife management in Canada’s North.  She was a very special person. 

Nakurmiik Siu-Ling - not only in how you worked and lived in our Inuit world - so respectfully - so inclusively but in WHO you have been and what you brought to us all during your time in the Arctic. The people of Nunavut, no doubt will hold you in their hearts forever. Your embracement of our world, especially our ice with your dogs is something I will always connect your spirit with. I send you off on your continued journey with gratitude and love. Journey on well dear friend. Much love - Nallgivagit.  
                                                                                                                                                Siila

When news of her imminent demise spread like wildfire after she came home from the hospital, July 8, we were inundated with more than 200 visits from family, friends and colleagues who came from all over Canada, and even the U.S. and Europe to visit her. Siu-Ling was excited and happy to see each and every one of them. She said, “This is so exciting! It’s fun to see friends I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s almost like getting ready for a wedding … except that this is not a wedding.”

A couple of friends brought their musical instruments with them when they came for a long weekend, early August. Our house was filled with music, songs, laughter and tears. Siu-Ling even managed to sing and play a couple of her own compositions which brought tears to many an eye. She said, “I know I’m dying, but I am having a great summer.”  Siu-ey said she’d been to places many could only dream of, done things she always wanted to do, and created memories with friends and family that nobody could take away. She was calm and composed, and said the only regret she had about the life she had lived was when she told me, with tears in her eyes, that she would not be able to look after Bing [her Dad] and me in our old age, and that we had to look after her instead. It has broken our hearts to let her go, but she was at peace with herself. We have to agree that she has accomplished more at her age than many have in a lifetime.

Now she has left us with the beautiful music and songs she wrote that will always be a comfort to many of us. We had no idea she ever composed music and wrote such beautiful songs. We have to thank Rob Aube for convincing her to share her music and poetry with others. We also have to thank her many friends who supported Rob, and Pierre Lecomte, to create the album which is a legacy of her wisdom, insight, love and kindness. 

Very few people — including family and friends — were aware of Siu-ling’s musical talent. When re-diagnosed with ovarian cancer (after beating the odds for more than a decade), Siu-ling reluctantly heeded the call of a close musician friend who insisted that these songs be shared outside of her living room. Rough tracks were recorded in Iqaluit. When Siu-ling’s health suddenly took a turn for the worse, the community came together, and used these rough cuts to produce an album. The result, “To Those Who Would Show Kindness”, is a deeply raw and personal album that explores love, pain, disappointment, friendship and most of all, the simple joy of living in the present. Set in the stark yet beautiful landscape of the Canadian Arctic, Siu-ling’s songs echo the darkness and light of the human condition and what it means to be alive. As per Siu-Ling’s wishes, all proceeds from this album are being donated to projects in support of mental health initiatives for Nunavut youth.

                                            image: Ron Wassink

                                                         photo: Debbie McAllister