"Looking into a seal breathing hole" N-1979-05 Doug E. Wilkinson/NWT Archives
Photo courtesy of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre who retains sole copyright.

Nunavut and Nunavik Inuit Demand Inquiry into 
Dog Extermination

The following report is a summary (with Fan Hitch editorial comment)  of an article by Jane George that appeared in the April 28, 2000 Nunatsiaq News.

Inuit from Nunavik (Northern Quebec) and Nunavut Territory  are asking for their governments to hold inquiries into the "government-ordered" slaughter of sled dogs that took place between 1950 and 1975.  Supposedly the dogs were shot as disease and roaming dog control measures.    Inuit are saying that they were never advised nor did they consent to this action which, in the time before snow machines came into popularity,  rendered them dependent on government assistance in order to provide family needs. It is maintained that there was no real problem to justify the mass killings, nor were the owners of the dead dogs compensated or assisted in maintaining their traditional way of life.

So far there is no response to  letters submitted on March 28 and 29 of this year to the ministers of native and northern affairs in each location. 

[The sending of these letters within two days of the start of the March 27th Nunavut Quest 2000, a race celebrating the traditional use of dogs  begs the question, "Was this deliberate timing?" FH ed.]