Anglican Church in the North
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Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Canada 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington l ♦ I Ottawa , ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa , ON K1A 0N4 For material still subject to legislative, contractual or institutional obligations, users warrant that they will respect those obligations and not use LAC collections in a manner that would infringe the rights of others. Liability that may arise in the use of a copy is assumed in full by the user. LAC accepts no responsibility for unauthorized use of collection material by users. To ensure proper citation and to facilitate relocation of an item, the source of the material and its reference number should always accompany the copy. Pour les documents faisant encore l'objet d'obligations legislatives, contractuelles ou institutionnelles , les usagers s'engagent a respecter ces obligations et a ne pas utiliser les documents des collections de BAC de fa9on a nuire aux droits d'autrui. lls doivent assumer entierement toute responsabilite qui pourrait decouler de !'utilisation d'une reproduction de document. BAC decline toute responsabilite quant a !'utilisation non autorisee de documents provenant de ses collections . Afin de citer un document avec exactitude et d'en faciliter le reperage, sa source et son numero de reference doivent toujours accompagner la reproduction . TITLE/TITRE ANGLICAN CHURCH-GENERAL FILE (INCL. DIOCESE OF THE ARTCI) RG ss MG ___ R- ___ SERIES/SERIE __ _ ACCESSION _____ VOL 12 1 PAGE(S) _31__ _ BOX/BOITE _____ REEL/BOBINE _____ _ FILE/DOSSIER _10_1_0-_sv_o_L_ .6_____________ _ DATE MARCH 2019 B.G.Sivertz/ss • rs=m I MAY 311960 ~ 0-- ✓ Ottawa , 31 May, 1960. ------- The RQverend Armand Tagoona, Rankin Inl e , northwest Territories. Dear Mr. Tagoona: It was a gr ea t privil ece to bo pr esent at the cer emony of your Ordination in St. James' Cllthedral on May 27th. Hy only r ce ret was that I coul d not sta y in Toronto !or the reception the followin e day and have an opportunity to speak with you at greater len t h than the brief ~ords we exchaneed rrl1en I shook your hand and expressed my c onura t ula tions. As a member of the clergy you have advice and direction fro m the lon e tradition of your Church, its ministers and many good friend::.. !t is not my place to add anything on this score. However, please permit me to say that as an officer of the eover nment adminis tration in northern Canada I rejoice with your other friends at the new high honour and res ponsib ility conferred upon you. I echo the prediction of The Very Reverend Dean Riley that there will be other Eskimos follow the path you rave pioneered and enter th e service of their church. We in the Department of llorthern Affairs see no li m.i tati ons on what men and women of the Eskimo race r2y do. Some of the most distinguished persona in the world rave been Canadian. The opportunity to share in the activities of thi::; rrreat country are for E.skimos as well as all others. Young Eskimos now in schools will have these expanding horizons, and I think jO U lmow that the y can expect -warm friendship and high regard from their fellou ci t izens in the south. I send you again my con gratulations and best wish es for a lon g and satisfying ministry. R.A.J. Phillips:~T • • ,20~Pitsolak (E7-l 00l) JJ/c-f ~ ~ ott wa, September 25, 1959. Tho Right Reverend Donald B. :f.~oh, D.D. , Bishop of the Arctic, 153 st. Clair Stl'".;et West, Toronto 7, Ontario . Dear Bishop brDll: On Sopte er 18th yo-:i wrote to about an Esld.no child called Pitsolo.k vhon you identified ns the dnu:;}ltar of a patient in the 'i'oronto Ge~Lal. Hospital.. T'ais enquiry le you to a s epina denun ciation oft o adrainistration for, I take it., inefficiency, inh'll:Jaility and extrav::i..imco. I think that yoa. would ti.sh m to nm-1r you frank~ . Tho uo um you intervictved is Eetookshajuke uho, accordinJ to our records, uas o.dn1.tted to t c Toronto General Ho:Jpital this Septo:nber lat. I thi.n:c y u cy- have nisu.ndcrstood t is 1ooon 's enquiry, for Pitsoeolak, or Pitsolak, is not n girl but a boy., age 14. Ho was adl'Iitted to ospi.tal nt Clearwater on July 29th., 1951, and was trans ferred., folio-wing dingnonis., about ten dcys later to BrandonSamtoriUJJ. I a: told t at the leymn 1s interpretation of the dical diagnosis on our cards is a oerious case of tuberculosis in certain bones . You spoke in strong langua.3e of tho ndl!Itnistration •s failure to notif.y facl.lies of the wherca outs of such patients. I cannot azree, but I will quoto only facts. Pitsol.ak 1s fa~ was notified ot his admission and diaenosis in Septc:lbor, 1957. Ever,y three nonths thereafter., lmich, ns you know., ia nomal a:ioI13st all Eskimo hospital patients, roPQrts ·ero cent to his fmzy on hie condition. In J~, 1958., and a nin on Ju.'.cy16th, 1959, photo r.iphs of the lad trarc taken to hi.a f'ar.ti'.cy who wore given tho opportum.v to have photoaraphs t.:.ken in cxchanue and also to record tape-recorded gr ...etinzs . Ou this occal:ion bis mother twice listened to tl e ta record voic of b r on the wolf'are officer had broue}lt. Thia is, of co :irse, the general practice. 2 2 • • On Aueuat 24, 1959., P1tsolak 1 nothor sked the oose Hospital a thorities to et a cm·rcnt r ort on her son's condition since she vas no lone r at C po Dorset re the no :ml a a are sent. In four dey ... the info tion was o taincd from anitoba and was c; nt by tel gran to loose Factory. n Sept er 3, loose ctory re ported b7 e.logrom that t e mother hnd just left on rou c to tho oronto General Hospital where th report on h r son \ms sent . I can only con clude thnt ou chnnced to s e her durin tho brief period between ho admission and the aITival of the news. I rccnrd this as a satisfactory, efficient, human handling of an s d.mo enquiry. It io not exceptional; it is perfectly co::.monin tho wgr,: or our elfaro Division which each ar looks nfter co unica tioncf't ut 2.,000 sick sk:inos and their families. Our handlin of such a request for infornation an ers you., ut I do not know why. You nlso enclosed a letter fro the l i rionar in Lake Harbour 1."110 asked why it s !:lOt:ines taltes five 'trecks for uord of ncu hospital patienta to reach Lake Hnrbour. I am not sure vhat issue you wish to raise, for you know that the ship tokin Lake Harbour patients normnlly travels westward throue}l tho Straits o.nd Ba in calls nnd experiencing other deleyo in the ice-filled water3 for a touil. of about twenty deys efore it reaches Churchill. So etiJ:e.., tho del{\YSarc lonzor if tho ship uat depart fror.l that itinerary. It is., therefore., co on for pu tients to bo up to four -ueol~s en route before they even reach t 1r destination. If notification or progre..,s reports ure in the hnndo of frunllios ,nthin five weeks, I lmld conclude t t the metlicnl. authorities are ·workin uith efficiency. I ncm turn to tho rer.uinder of your letter in which you levelled seriouc charces about the nttitudo and operation of the odnini stre.tion l."tlich I servo. c-pccificnl.ly., you stnted. that "in spite or the terrific s s of money opent on minute houses., hostels., Government per sonnel and ho .es for them, the individual oldJ:o is just as for otton ns he ever uas" . Such a statement from a responsible and well infonncd authority disturbs e deeply, and even your writin in the C a.dian Churchman and tho .Arctic lows did not fully prepare ~ for it. t can I c that you do not know wcll? Should I speak once more of tho philosopey of tho Government which mkes its atartin point the sanctity of the ••• .3 3 • • individunl Eskimo nnd the cardiml ortance of helpizl hin ns a person to enjoy the onirltunl., social., econo c and cultural values of Canadian citizenship ir.f'iullcvt s nso? That would n t telp un1 ss I were to cata lo ...ue t o trnnslution of the philoso 1J into nction in a thouoand t ays you knou of . Should I, then, c;ivo ox 1es fro our cl.fore ervic to which you hnvo cen so bittorl hostile in public nnd in private? It 1~uld not help, :tor instance., to sczy-what w nre doin for those who nre sick, for earlier in this l etter I have to so,xi extent done so; and still wo anger you . I take it thnt you \iould rccard it as 11foreotting tho indiv1dwll skir..o" if I i ore to remind you of tho tireless and valiant efforts of the medical profession •hich in so ohort a tine have cut by half the scour o of tuberculosis . The medical pr o3l'a,:;mehas aloo earned your continuin enmity, so what profit is there in Gpeakin of tho heal~ of the sick? I can scarcely refer to the ncn progr · e of rehabilitation of individual skino uhich in j uct two year hao lifted so maey derolic ts f r o a life of hopeleasncsD mid despair, t1ith p sical or ental.