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Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security No. 16 HUMAN FLAGPOLES OR DiscerningHUMANITARIAN Government Motives ACTION? behind the Inuit Relocations to the High Arctic, 1953-1960 Edited by DCASS P. WHITNEY LACKENBAUER 16 Human Flagpoles or Humanitarian Action? Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security (DCASS) ISSN 2368-4569 Series Editors: P. Whitney Lackenbauer Adam Lajeunesse Managing Editor: Ryan Dean Human Flagpoles or Humanitarian Action? Discerning Government Motives behind the Inuit Relocations to the High Arctic, 1953–1960 P. Whitney Lackenbauer DCASS Number #16, 2020 Cover Images: P. Whitney Lackenbauer Cover design: Jennifer Arthur-Lackenbauer Transcription assistance: Jessica Heidt, Heather Robinson Arctic Institute of North America Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies University of Calgary University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW, ES-1040 2500 University Dr. N.W. Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 arctic.ucalgary.ca/ www.cmss.ucalgary.ca Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North School for the Study of Canada Trent University 1600 West Bank Drive Peterborough, ON K9L 0G2 www.trentu.ca/canada/ Copyright © the authors, 2020 Permission policies are outlined on our website http://cmss.ucalgary.ca/research/arctic-document-series Human Flagpoles or Humanitarian Action? Discerning Government Motives behind the Inuit Relocations to the High Arctic, 1953-1960 Introduced and Compiled by P. Whitney Lackenbauer Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., Naniiliqpita (Fall 2009), 9. Table of Contents Introduction “Human Flagpoles” or Humanitarian Concern? Government of Canada Motives for the High Arctic Relocations by P. Whitney Lackenbauer i Inuit Organizations’ Resolutions and Reports, 1985-1990 1-1. Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC), “Resolution on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Inuit 1 Interests,” October 1985 1-2. Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, Resolution 86-5, “Relocation of Inuit from Inukjuak, Northern 2 Quebec and Pond Inlet, N.W.T. to the High Arctic,” April 1986 1.3. Zebedee Nungak, Makivik Corporation, to Pierre Cadieux, Minister of Indian Affairs and 3 Northern Development, 23 March 1989 1-4. Makivik Corporation and Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, Submission Regarding Grise Fiord/Resolute Bay Inuit Relocation Issue to the House of Commons Standing Committee on 8 Aboriginal Affairs, March 1990 2. Hickling Corp., Assessment of the Factual Basis of Certain Allegations Made before the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs Concerning the Relocation of Inuit Families to the High Arctic in 27 the 1950s (“Hickling Report”) 3. D. Soberman, Report to the Canadian Human Rights Commission on the Complaints of the Inuit People Relocated from Inukjuak and Pond Inlet, to Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay in 1953 and 85 1955 (“Soberman Report”) 4. Magnus Gunther, The 1953 Relocations of the Inukjuak Inuit to the High Arctic: A 117 Documentary Analysis and Evaluation (“Gunther Report”) 5. Gordon W. Smith, The Relocation of Inuit from Hudson Bay and Baffin Island to the High 323 Arctic in 1953, and Subsequent Events, including Disputed Sovereignty Issues Appendix A: Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on 353 the 1953–55 Relocation (excerpts) Appendix B: Official Apology by the Government of Canada for the Inuit High Arctic Relocation 362 (2010) Further Reading on the High Arctic Relocations 363 About the Editor 366 Acknowledgements “This story needs to be told,” Inuit Tapirisat of Canada President and High Arctic exile John Amagoalik told a parliamentary committee hearing into the High Arctic relocations in 1990. “It is a Canadian story; it needs to be explained in Canadian history.”1 This volume is intended as a companion piece to Shelagh Grant’s Errors Exposed (DCASS no. 8) published in 2016. In her foreword, she wrote that “for present day scholars, the most important items are the documents—some are still missing, but they are sufficient to provide inspiration and the basis for further research [— which] … offer critical insight into relationships between Ottawa-based administrators and those in the field, and into how accuracy becomes lost or distorted in written reports and memos.” In the interests of encouraging academic debate and making previous research on the High Arctic Relocations more readily available, and inspired by many wonderful and illuminating conversations with Shelagh, I initiated work on this volume immediately after Errors Exposed was released. I have had many students over the years who had selected this topic for research papers, and who have arrived at very different assessments based upon the oral histories, films, books, and reports that they have read. By bringing together various perspectives, I hope that these volumes will encourage more work on and ongoing discussion about this important subject. I have discussed and debated the question of government motives behind the High Arctic relocations with many students, colleagues and friends over the years, and thank all of them for their insights and shared commitment to knowledge and justice. I have been fortunate to visit Inukjuak, Pond Inlet, and Resolute Bay over the last fifteen years pursuant to my research with the Canadian Rangers, and these trips have continuously rekindled my interest in the relocations and the implications they had, and continue to have, on Inuit in these communities. My most recent travel to Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay in February 2020 was facilitated by 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and the Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North at Trent University, which further enrichment my understanding of these events and their implications. A Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grant on Canada-US Relations in the Cold War Arctic funded research travel to Ottawa and Gatineau, as well as transcription assistance, as did Canada Research Chair funding. Research assistants Jessica Heidt, Corah Hodgson, and Heather Robinson assisted with transcribing the various reports contained herein. University of Calgary doctoral candidate Ryan Dean lent his usual eagle-eye in helping to copy edit the final draft, and Jennifer Arthur-Lackenbauer designed the covers. Colleagues Peter Kikkert and Mark Stoller offered valuable feedback on the introduction and on the research project more broadly. To all of them I offer my deepest gratitude. 1 House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs (HCSCAA), Proceedings, 19 March 1990, 22:16. Acronym List Acc. Accession Cst. Constable A/Chief Acting Chief CWS Canadian Wildlife Service ACND Advisory Committee on Northern Dept. / Dep’t Department Development DEW Line Distant Early Warning Line ADM Assistant Deputy Minister diam. diameter AFHQ Air Force Headquarters DIAND Department of Indian Affairs and AGM Annual General Meeting Northern Development a.i. ad interim Div. Division AS-C Administration Sub-Committee DLR Dominion Law Reports (ACND) DM / D/M Deputy Minister Asst. Assistant DNANR Department of Northern Affairs Asstd. / asst’d. Assorted and National Resources ATC Air Transport Command DND Department of National Defence Ave. Average DOT Department of Transport BC British Columbia doz. dozen BNA British North America Dr. Doctor BRIA Baffin Region Inuit Association EAP Eastern Arctic Patrol ca circa esp. especially Can. B. Rev. Canadian Bar Review Esq. Esquire CANOL Canadian Oil F Fahrenheit CARC Canadian Arctic Resources fn. footnote Committee FOB Freight on Board CBC Canadian Broadcasting ft. feet Corporation GCI Ground-controlled interception c.c. carbon copy Gen. General CCS-C Co-ordination of Construction GLOBECOM Global Communications Sub-Committee (ACND) HB Hudson Bay CGS Canadian Government Ship HBC Hudson’s Bay Company CHRC Canadian Human Rights HCSCAA House of Commons Standing Commission Committee on Aboriginal Affairs CJ Chief Justice Hon. Honourable Col. Colonel hp horsepower Const. Constable IAND Indian Affairs and Northern Cpl. Corporal Development ICNI Inuit Committee on National No. Number Issues NQIA Northern Quebec Inuit Incl. Including Association Info. Information NSO Northern Service Officer Insp. Inspector NWT Northwest Territories Inst. Instant OC / O/C Officer Commanding ITC Inuit Tapirisat of Canada OIC Officer in Charge J. Justice Ont. Ontario JBNQA James Bay and Northern Quebec oz. ounce Agreement PC Privy Councillor KC King’s Counsel PCO Privy Council Office KRG Kativik Regional Government PFR Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Lat. Latitude PhD Doctor of Philosophy lb(s) pound(s) PJBD Permanent Joint Board on Long. Longitude Defence Loran Long range navigation pkgs packages M. Phil Master of Philosophy pop. population MA Master of Arts PQ Province of Québec Maj. Major prs. pairs Max. Maximum Pt. Part MG Manuscript Group Qty. Quantity Min. Minimum Que. Quebec MP Member of Parliament RCAF Royal Canadian Air Force n.a. not available RCCS Royal Canadian Corps of Signals NA&NR Northern Affairs and National RCM Police Royal Canadian Mounted Police Resources RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police NAC National Archives of Canada re regarding Nat. National RG Record Group NATO North Atlantic Treaty RMS Royal Mail Ship Organization RSC Revised Statutes of Canada NCO Non-Commissioned Officer RSQ Revised Statutes of Québec NCP Northern Careers Information Rt. Hon. Right Honourable nd no date s. section NDNR Northern Development and SAE Society of Automotive Engineers National Resources Sask. Saskatchewan NE Northeast S/C Special Constable Nfld Newfoundland