On Saturday, the Canadian government issued an apology to the Inuit communities of northern Quebec for the mass slaughter of sled dogs that occurred during the 1950s and 1960s. This tragic event had a profound impact on the communities, stripping them of essential resources needed for hunting and travel.
The Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Gary Anandasangaree, made a visit to Kangiqsujuaq in the Nunavik region, where he delivered an apology and announced a commitment of C$45 million ($32.19 million) in compensation.
The recent government apology marks a continuation of efforts to address historical grievances, following a similar acknowledgment in 2019 directed at the Inuit of the Qikiqtani region, encompassing Baffin Island. This earlier apology addressed the damaging impacts of federal policies, including family separations and the culling of sled dogs, referred to as limit.
“Today, the Government of Canada acknowledged its responsibility for a significant historical injustice and conveyed its profound regret and heartfelt apology for the suffering caused by the slaughter of Limit in Nunavik,” stated Anandasangaree.
Pita Aatami, President of Makivvik, the organization representing Quebec’s Inuit, revealed that thousands of sled dogs were shot by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other authorities in Inuit settlements starting in the mid-1950s.
The government issued a statement highlighting that the unjustified killing of sled dogs has resulted in food and economic insecurity for the Nunavik Inuit, disrupted traditional land access methods, and inflicted profound emotional scars on the community.
“Their independence was stripped away, preventing them from accessing the land and leaving them without means to hunt,” Aatami stated in a phone interview with Reuters, emphasizing that the apology and compensation are long overdue.
“He stated that it has been an intergenerational trauma, taking 25 years of his life to reach this point.”
An internal investigation by the RCMP into the 2006 slaughter of sled dogs concluded with no findings of wrongdoing, as officials asserted that the actions were taken in the interest of public safety.
Aatami and other Inuit leaders assert that the shooting of the dogs was a tactic aimed at compelling the predominantly nomadic Inuit to remain in settled communities. They draw parallels between these killings and other significant consequences of colonization, such as the forced relocation of families in various regions of Canada and the imposition of residential schools on Indigenous children.
In 2011, the Quebec Government issued an apology for the dog slaughter carried out by police and government officials in Nunavik during the 1950s and 1960s.
