(Slide arrow to see full images) “My plan was to write a little story, a novel, that people can enjoy," he said in a 2017 interview. "I was happy that people all around the world heard those stories that I made." [1]
In 2010, the government moved in the right direction by apologizing for the Inuit’s suffering during the relocation. In a CBC News interview, Patsauq stated, "It took us so many years. The only thing that we were asking the federal government is to acknowledge that when they moved us up to the High Arctic we had to suffer for that. And we suffered, suffered many, many years." [2]
In the summer of 1953, the RCMP used coercion and lies to recruit and relocate Inuit families from Northern Quebec to the High Arctic. The federal police force's involvement in the relocation of Inuit families marked the beginning of a tragic period in Canadian history, one that remains largely unrecognized by much of the country's population. The government's "promise of plenty" in the North and safeguarding of Inuit culture were presented as humanitarian motives behind the relocation. However, Patsauq challenges this narrative by suggesting that sovereignty rather than concerns over diminished sustenance, was likely the primary objective. In his mini-memoir, "The Land Provides," Markoosie reflects on how the land always provided for his northern Quebec Inuit community. The following contrasts the debate surrounding sovereignty versus humanity.
The government's 1953 to 1955 Inuit relocation project was poorly planned and lacked Inuit input and consideration. The plan was designed to relocate the Inuit and have them rely heavily on game food not on an income economy like they were accustomed to. This was not explained to the Inuit families. Government officials involved in promoting this “experiment” as a success, ignored the Inuit’s many pleas to return home.
Chronological Relocation
September 7, 1953 - Along with Constable Gibson, the three remaining Inukjuak families and one Pond Inlet family landed in Resolute.
Impact
Markoosie was born to parents, Alliekayut and Eeta, on May 24, 1941, at a hunting camp near Inukluak, Quebec. At twelve years old, he was a young hunter excited to leave for the land that promised lots of animals to hunt and foxes to trap. He and his four siblings, accompanied by their parents, were relocated to Resolute in 1953. To a twelve-year-old, leaving for the High Arctic was an adventure. At that time he was unaware of the government's false promise to return Inuit home in two years if they requested.
Career
In addition to the above-mentioned written books, Markoosie wrote Wings of Merci and a four-part memoir, one of which is called The land promises.
Further Resources
Markoosie Patsauq, “ Exile in Childhood: one man’s memoir – Part 4 ,”Nunatsiaq News, November 12 2018.
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated - Past Project: Arctic Exile Monument Project https : //www.tunngavik.com/initiative_pages/arctic-exile-monument-project/background/#_ftnref2
