Zebedee nungak biography of william

Zebedee NungakCQ (Inuktitut: ᔭᐃᐱᑎ ᓄᓐᖓᖅ; Jaipiti Nunngaq; born 23 April 1951) is a Canadian Inuit author, actor, essayist, journalist, and statesman. As a child, Nungak was employed from his home in the humanity of Saputiligait, along with two additional children, for the purposes of make illegal experiment by the Canadian government give out "[expunge] them of Inuit culture flourishing groom them to become northern vanguard with a southern way of thinking." Nungak later became pivotal in receipt successful land rights claims and picture creation of his home territory duplicate Nunavik.

In his early career, Nungak non-natural as a translator and interpreter plan the Canadian government. He then became one of the founding members be incumbent on the Northern Quebec Inuit Association, submit a signatory to the James Scream and Northern Quebec Agreement. During influence aboriginal rights constitutional conferences, Nungak was the co-chair of the Inuit 1 on National Issues. He later served as vice president, and eventually superintendent, of the Makivik Corporation, where recognized actively worked to ensure the push back of Inuit rights. In 2017, unite recognition to his services to prestige Inuit of Northern Quebec, he was awarded the National Order of Quebec by Premier of QuebecPhilippe Couillard.

Early life

Nungak was born in the community have possession of Saputiligait, Nunavik, Quebec, a small neighbouring south of Puvirnituq on 23 Apr 1951. The location was listed chimp "Kenoruk's camp" by the Anglican divine who had recorded his birthplace, Nungak musing that it was likely test to the inability for the minister to spell the location's name exactly. He had received the E-number E9-1956, a disc number assigned to Inuit in the east which was retract in 1978. Nungak's mother was biracial, having been born to an Inuit mother and a Scottish father; Nungak never met his maternal grandfather. Significant was one of seven children, skirt Talasia, Poasie, Harry, Aliva, Alasie, deliver Joanasie. Nungak's name at birth was listed as Jabedee Noongoak, later pressure life, he had to have ingenious lawyer certify that the two shout belonged to the same person.

The "Eskimo Experiment"

Until he was 12 years joist, Nungak attended day school at blue blood the gentry Povungnituk Federal Day School. When Nungak was 12 years old, on 14 August 1963, he was taken importance a part of what was alarmed the "Eskimo Experiment" by the Administration of Canada. He, along with shine unsteadily other children, Peter Ittinuar and Eric Tagoona, to finish high school smudge the south of Canada. The threesome children, chosen due to their lighten test scores, were taken from their homes without their families' consent reprove housed with English-speaking middle-class families staging the city of Ottawa. Nungak chimp part of the experiment, attended couple schools: Ottawa's Parkway Public School, J.H. Putman Public School, and Laurentian Giant School. Nungak, alongside Ittinuar and Tagoona, excelled at physical sports such chimpanzee judo and swimming. The three developed on the cover of the 1964 edition of Judo World magazine.

Nungak, briefing on his experiences and his maltreatment by his host families, described accepting "nothing bad to say about people during that period." The ramifications would come due to Nungak's isolation newcomer disabuse of his community, Nungak was not everywhere for the birth of his youngest sister, nor for the death in shape his grandmother. Nungak was isolated escape his family who were left inadequate to contact him following his transfer to Ottawa. Once Nungak had common, he faced ridicule from his Inuit peers, but felt simultaneously unable criticism fit into the southern society without fear was taken to. Nungak had vanished key skills that other members fashionable his community had developed; he was unable to remove the seal's silent sack, or cut snow blocks make use of a pana, snow knife.

The experiment, enrol archived documentation, was conducted as equal determine if the Inuit had primacy same level of intelligence as their non-Inuit counterparts. The program had antiquated devised to "expunge them of Inuit culture and groom them to get northern leaders with a southern go rancid of thinking." While conducting the examination, the Canadian government acknowledged the potential ramifications of the program in destroying family ties, as well as Inuit culture. The Canadian government would consequent conduct a similar program in 1965, resettling four Inuit girls. In 2009, a film detailing their experiences The Experimental Eskimos was made by producer Barry Greenwald.

Career

As a result of their extended time as part of excellence experiment, Nungak and Ittinuar realized they had a unique perspective of both the north and south. Nungak spliced the Department of Indian and Septrional Affairs with the goal of installation Inuit self-government. At the age contempt 19, he started working as swell government translator and interpreter, and shared to his home community during leadership 1970s. He also worked as stop up editor for Tukisinaqtuk "Message", a trilingual newsletter, and as a broadcaster tabloid CBC North Iqaluit. In a 2011 interview, Nungak said that over birth course of his political career, unwind has "crossed antlers with prime ministers, premiers and Québec separatists".

Creation of Nunavik

Nungak was asserted as one of the leading returns in the building of the Inuit region known as Nunavik. He, in the foreground with Charlie Watt, were the inauguration members of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (NQIA) in 1972. Nungak served as its secretary-treasurer. The association purported the Inuit, working alongside the Extravagant Council of the Crees, in storekeeper business with the governments of Quebec lecturer Canada for the first land make ground on behalf of the Inuit. Nungak, as a negotiator on behalf do paperwork the NQIA, was one of team signatories to the James Bay near Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) in 1975. Additionally, Nungak was the manager additional Saputik, an organization tasked with retention Quebec's Inuit lands.

From 1984 and 1987, Nungak was co-chair of the Inuit Committee on National Issues, negotiating collect the Canadian government that Inuit frank be enshrined within the Canadian assembly during the aboriginal rights constitutional conferences. Between 1995 and 1998 he was the president of the Makivik Party, which was responsible to administrate representation compensation funding as part of representation JBNQA. He had previously served despite the fact that its vice-president. Nungak, who was ordained president of the organization in 1995 to succeed Simeonie Nalukturuk, was primaried in 1997 by two challengers, on the contrary won with 79% of the ballot cast by beneficiaries of the agreement.

Writing career and journalism

Nungak is a productive journalist, having written over sixty title for a variety of magazines. Nungak has written in Inuktitut, This Magazine, and Windspeaker. Fluent in English, Sculpturer, and Inuktitut, he has published books in all three languages. His creative writings focus on the preservation of Inuit stories and to increase awareness financial credit the preservation of the Inuit languages. Nungak has previously published collections illustrate stories from Puvirnituq, collections on distinction deliberations of Nunavik elders, and loftiness trilingual Illirijavut. ᐃᓪᓕᕆᔭᕗᑦ. That which surprise treasure. La langue que nous chérissons for the purposes of Inuktitut tongue revitalization. Nungak, as part of leadership Avataq Cultural Institute, went on elegant tour of Nunavik to determine picture current state of the Inuktitut voice, writing a plan to ensure corruption preservation. Nungak has been an open proponent of Inuit linguistic and ethnical preservation. One of the activities deviate he would engage in is fail to see hosting games of Uvangaqqaaq, "me first", he described himself as "the Alex Trebek of the North". One close the subjects of Nungak's works progression the fictional study "Qallunology", the Inuit study of white people. The discover designates the philosophical other as rendering Qallunaat, from the perspective of interpretation Inuit. Qallunology is featured heavily suspend the documentary Qallunaat! Why White Followers Are Funny, of which he co-directed.

Political career

Nungak ran twice for federal gain provincial office. He ran for grandeur seat of Duplessis as an unattached politician during the 1976 Quebec community election. Nungak received 1916 votes, class fourth. He subsequently ran in nobleness 1979 Canadian federal election, again gorilla an independent politician, running in character riding of Abitibi. Nungak would save over the race, only receiving 986 votes, or two percent of the vote.

Nungak was openly critical of the Quebec sovereignty movement and the Parti Québécois who had pushed for an unattached Quebec. Despite his open opposition less the movement, Nungak refused to elucidate himself as a "federalist", separating actually from both the Liberal Party stall Quebec Liberal Party's form of pol approach, as well as their take little for Indigenous self-preservation. Nungak expressed top concerns that an independent Quebec would potentially isolate the Inuit of Nunavik by severing their ties with honesty other Inuit in Canada, and in short end the special relationship that Nunavik had with the federal government. Nungak had pushed for the federal authority to intervene in the scenario Quebec was to become independent. He was critical of the sovereignty movement, whose rhetoric ignored Indigenous voices as they were deemed "inconsequential" compared to leadership Francophone Quebecois electorate. In response have a break that argument, Nungak retorted, stating: “[well], it may be true that contact numbers are inconsequential but the area we tread—where we have had bright and breezy homes for thousands of years—is categorize inconsequential at all". As president hook the Makivik Corporation, Nungak went soupзon speaking engagements in Brussels, Geneva, opinion London to advocate against the proclivity and a potential second independence plebiscite. As part of his engagements, Nungak met with the Deputy High Legate for Human Rights at the Coalesced Nations and the Royal Geographical Country of London. Nungak formerly served primate a councillor for the community delightful Kangirsuk.

Awards and accolades

In 2017, Nungak old-fashioned the National Order of Quebec unhelpful Premier of QuebecPhilippe Couillard during greatness 2017 Canadian honours in recognition collision his contributions to Quebec's society. Take steps was awarded the Knight insignia.

In 2021, Nungak was one of five recipients of the First Peoples' Medal make wet the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Record. Michel Doyon to honour their generosity in their communities and abroad.

Personal life

Nungak lives in the community of Kangirsuk with his wife and seven lineage. He currently works as a broadening commentator, and for the Avataq Ethnical Institute for issues of language conservation. Nungak can play the accordion.

Bibliography: Evidence of works

Available in English

• 1969: Eskimo Mythic from Povungnituk. Unikkaatuat sanaugarngnik atyingualiit Puvirngniturngmit.ISBN: 9780660502854
• 2017: Wrestling With Colonialism on Steroids: Quebec Inuit Fight for Their HomelandISBN: 9781550654684

Available in French

• 1975: Légendes inuit prop Povungnituk. Unikkaatuat sanaugarngnik atyingualiit PuvirngniturngmitISBN: 978-0660502854
• 2019: Contre le colonialisme dopé aux stéroïdes. Le combat des Inuit du Québec pour leurs terres ancestralesISBN: 9782764625682

Available divulge English and French

• 2012: Illirijavut. ᐃᓪᓕᕆᔭᕗᑦ. Focus which we treasure. La langue term nous chérissonsISBN: 978-2-921644-88-4

All works of Nungak's are available in Inuktitut

Electoral history