THE HISTORY OF TEE FEDERAb RESIDE- SCHOOLS FOR TEiE INUIT LOCATED IN CHESTERFIELD INLET, YELLOWKNIFE, I[NUVIK AND CWRCHILL, 19554970 A Thesis submitted to the Cornmittee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulnlment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Facuity of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada @ Copyright by David Paul King, 1998 Canadiau Heritage and Developmnt Studies MA. Rogram National Cibrary Bibliothèque nationale du Canada uisitions and Acquisitions et "9-Bib iographii Sewices services bibliographiques 395 Weiikigton Street 395, rue Wellington OItawaON KlAON4 OltawaON KIAW Canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une Licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Libraxy of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distriaute or seîi reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thése sous paper or electronic formats. la fome de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thése ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celleci ne doivent être imprimes reproduced without the author' s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS FOR THE INUIT LOCATED IN CHESTERFIELD INLET, YELLOWKNIFE, INUVIK AND CHURCHIL&, 1955-1970. DAVID KING It îs the purpose of this thesis to record the history of the federal goverment's record regarding the northern school system and the residential schools in relation to the Inuit from the inauguration of the school system in 1955 to 1970, when responsibility for education in the north was delegated to the new N. W. T. government. The research is based predominantiy on primary sources. This thesis demonstrates that the residential schools were used to commit the assault of cultural. cannibalism. The residential schools were assimilation factories where the Inuit children entered as Inuit and left Canadianized. The government abused the Inuit by rernoving them from tneir families ana communities while dispatching them to distant lands where they were housed in the large hostels of the schools for ten months of the year. The hostels deprived the Inuit of contact with both their families and theix culture. ~t would have not been possible to mite this thesis without the assistance of my research committee of John S. MiUoy, Andrew Tagak Sr, and Peter Kuîchyski who helped me with the difficult task of bringing this research into context and providing important advice. For this I would like to express my appreciation. 1 would also like to thank the families of Andrew Tagak Sr. and John Tagak for their hospitality on the frequent occasions that 1 was a guest in their homes, Further acknowledgement is given to Andrew Tagak Jr. for providing his computer expertise, A sincere thank you to both Stephen Imuksuk and Madeleine Allakariallak for providing me with a place to stay while conducting research in Iqaluit. A special thank you is given to Saila Adla for teaching me Inuit customs during my stay in Iqaluit. In addition, 1 would like to extend my appreciation to Frank and Charlie Meness for providing me wich a place to stay while spending innumerable nights at the Nation Archives of Canada in Ottawa, My sincerest gratitude to former residential school students Peter Ernerk, Richard Imoroitak, Alice Ningeongan, Mary Wiiman, Rebecca Williams, Marius Tungilik, Mosesee Joamie and Celestino Ulinierk, as well as Andrew Tagak Sr., for providing the interviews for this thesis , Acknowledgements are also given tro former Ottawa students Zebedee Nungak and Peter Ittinuar for their assistance towards the cornpletion of this thesis. I would also like to thank Mary Alainga for ensuring that this thesis became known and distributed amongst the Inuit. Finally, 1 would like to thank everyone that played a role in assisting me in my research, particularly my family, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Mark and Sandie, To provide myself with some understanding of che Inuit culture, 1 spent three summers between 1995 and 1998 living with the Tagak and Innuksuk fa~iliesof Iqaluit (the future capital of the new Inuit territory Nunavut, which means "our landm in the Inuit language Inuktitut), While I was living with the Tagak family, Andrew Sr, (one of the Inuit who serves as the Justice of the Peace in Iqaluit) taught me parts of the Inuktitut- language and cultural events in Inuit history. Prior to my academic career, 1 was a foreman for an industrial insulation Company based out of Richmond Hill Ont,, near Toronto, The company under which 1 was employed is the largest industrial insulation company in Canada and one of the largest in north America, While ernployed, 1 gained valuable experience working with variousœ types of insulation (such as asbestos products) thxoughout Ontario. From nuclear plants to chernical plants to schools, 1 experienced many different types of job sites, 1 received various degrees of training, botn union and goverment tickets, qualifying me to work with asbestos- Ironically, while 1 was living in Iqaluit, DIAND decided to fund the clean-up of the American weather station that was abandoned by the Americans during the cold war, Over the years, the former military site had become run dom and its remnants were spread in what appeared to resemble a massive waste site across a radius of a few miles, The area was covered with PCB's and asbestos that was used for insulation. 1 was asked to be the crew chief of the asbestos clean-up, An independent contraccor and two others, who were from the same union as myself, were flown in from Alberta to supervise the asbestos clean-up. It was while working at the military site (called "Upper Basem by the Inuit) that I became acquainted with many of the Inuit people residing in Iqaluit. I was the only Qallunaaq [white person, a word meaning one eyebrow and a hairy beliy, affectionately adopted for whice people when the Inuit firçt discovered the Vikings around 982 Al DA on my cxew as well as the youngest. At first this did not sit well with the Inuit, but over time we became friends and Our differences became a source of humour, My CO-workers began to teach me more of their fanguage and culture and 1 taught them job skills that 1 learned in the south. For example, my CO-workers taught me about the origins of the founding of Iqaluit, The grandfather of one of my crew menbers, Mosesee JoWe, had led the Americans to a site that he thought would make a good place to establish a post- It was also only a few miles from a favourite Inuit campsite known as Iqaluit (meaning where the fish are), Over the, Iqaluit (called Frobisher Bay by the Qallunaaq) became a permanent community . My CU-workers exposed me to many of their cultural foods such as raw Arctic char, caribou, seal, beluga . whale, narwhal etc, 1 was also exposed to many of their past and pres=t cultural customs and heritage. Some of my fondest memories are the stories abom the past, present and kture over Friday night pizza with Jane and Andrew Tagak Sr, and their family; "huntingW with Billy Kownirk; ice hopping with Analusi Tagak and Richard; canring Stone in Noah's shack with Ach-i-na Mathewsie and his wife, eating beluga whale with Stephen Innuksuk and Madeleine Allakariallak and their children. and watching the northern lights with Saila Adla as sne explained their legend to me. *If you whistled they will corne dom to eaxth and cut your head off and play catch with it.' Saila explained that parents told their children this in the past to keep their cnildren from staying up too Ilate. What 1 miss the most from my experience living with the Inuit in the Arctic is just hanging out with everyone and conversing, sharing stories, teasing each other and laughing at each other, something 1: learned the Inuit like to do a lot of; and of course, never cal1 an Inuk lazy as in their culture, that is the ultimate insult, even if done in jest. The experience 1 gained living amongst the Inuit provided me with an education that 1 could have never receive from the Institutional confinement of a University, nor could this education be obtained by reading a book. While it is simple to state that the Inuit culture is steeped in tradition and the Inuit value chis tradition, comprehending this statement without exposure to their culture is not, The practical education 1 received from the Inuit in my persona1 journey through life has provided me with an opportunity to critically analyze the context of this thesis in a manner that 1 feel includes the Inuit perspective. Though 1 am not an Inuk, nor do 1 strive to be, 1 do believe that the close ties f now hold with many Inuit has significantly impacted the academic approach 1 have taken towards the writing of this thesis. Table of Contents ~stract~***,.-,,---,,~.--*--*,----.--.-***-.--*,-l Acknowledgments ~.-.,-....-.---,,-.-*----*-,-,c.-,-2 Cult~ialPreparati0n,,~,.-.-----.----,---,,-*-~,,-3-4 Table of Content~.,,~.,,.~-,---~--.-,--~~-*~.-.,~-5 Introduction,.,,,,,.,*,.,,-.-,*,-g-.-.--...-.-,... 6-21 Chapter I..,,,,...,,,,,,,,~,.-.-~----.***.*.--g---22-75 Chapter 11.,,.,.,,,,.,,.-,-~..Cgt-~*.-.-**~,,*.-,*76-108 Chapter IIID.----.~.,..--...-.,~--.---.~,C--~-*--*lO9-l5S Chapter IV, .......................................156-179 Chapter