Post by Okwes on Jan 19, 2008 17:05:58 GMT -5
Inuit seek 1949 plane crash victims in Manitoba community
Some Inuit from the Kivalliq region of Nunavut are travelling to
northern Manitoba, in search of answers about the whereabouts of loved
ones who died nearly six decades ago in a plane crash.
A number of Kivalliq residents perished when a single-engine airplane
crashed in 1949. The victims' families didn't know where they died until
last year, when Arviat resident Annie Ollie learned that her aunt was
likely buried at Norway House, a First Nations community about 460
kilometres north of Winnipeg.
In an interview with CBC Radio, Ollie said her MLA, David Alagalak, had
learned that two former Arviat residents who were victims of the 1949
plane crash were buried in Norway House. That was when she realized that
one of the deceased must be her late aunt Ubluriak.
Her father used to talk about his sister being somewhere in Canada,
Ollie recalled, but he didn't know where. So last month, she and other
family members travelled south to see the burial site.
"It was sort of hard going there but getting back home, it was something
different. We came back home as a different people ," she said.
Now, a Chesterfield Inlet resident is preparing to make his own journey
to Norway House sometime this year. After hearing Ollie's story on CBC
Radio, Eli Kimmaliardjuk said he realized five of his relatives must be
buried there as well.
Speaking to CBC News in Inuktitut, Kimmaliardjuk said he's excited about
going to Norway House, and he hopes to raise funds for the trip and have
a good story to tell in 2008.
Kimmaliardjuk's relatives who died in the 1949 crash include his younger
sister Agnes, grandmother Arnaluktituq, and his cousin Aqayaluk.
Kimmaliardjuk said he hopes to take his uncle Francis Kaput to Norway
House, so Kaput can see where his mother was buried.
Some Inuit from the Kivalliq region of Nunavut are travelling to
northern Manitoba, in search of answers about the whereabouts of loved
ones who died nearly six decades ago in a plane crash.
A number of Kivalliq residents perished when a single-engine airplane
crashed in 1949. The victims' families didn't know where they died until
last year, when Arviat resident Annie Ollie learned that her aunt was
likely buried at Norway House, a First Nations community about 460
kilometres north of Winnipeg.
In an interview with CBC Radio, Ollie said her MLA, David Alagalak, had
learned that two former Arviat residents who were victims of the 1949
plane crash were buried in Norway House. That was when she realized that
one of the deceased must be her late aunt Ubluriak.
Her father used to talk about his sister being somewhere in Canada,
Ollie recalled, but he didn't know where. So last month, she and other
family members travelled south to see the burial site.
"It was sort of hard going there but getting back home, it was something
different. We came back home as a different people ," she said.
Now, a Chesterfield Inlet resident is preparing to make his own journey
to Norway House sometime this year. After hearing Ollie's story on CBC
Radio, Eli Kimmaliardjuk said he realized five of his relatives must be
buried there as well.
Speaking to CBC News in Inuktitut, Kimmaliardjuk said he's excited about
going to Norway House, and he hopes to raise funds for the trip and have
a good story to tell in 2008.
Kimmaliardjuk's relatives who died in the 1949 crash include his younger
sister Agnes, grandmother Arnaluktituq, and his cousin Aqayaluk.
Kimmaliardjuk said he hopes to take his uncle Francis Kaput to Norway
House, so Kaput can see where his mother was buried.