Inuit historian receives Erebus medal
PM uses event to announce winter dive at Nunavut location of Franklin ship
Northern News Services
Monday, March 9, 2015
NUNAVUT
Louie Kamookak of Gjoa Haven was singled out for special recognition by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society at a special ceremony in Toronto March 4 to recognize those who contributed to the discovery of the HMS Erebus last September.
A bronze Erebus Medal was presented to Louie Kamookak of Gjoa Haven at a Royal Ontario Museum ceremony Feb. 27. - photo courtesy of Jessica Finn/Canadian Geographic |
"Everyone who contributed to the find, from helicopter pilot Andrew Stirling, to Inuit oral historian Louie Kamookak, to Tom Zagon of the Canadian Ice Service, to the prime minister of Canada, has been awarded this medal," stated John Geiger, the society's chief executive officer.
"Together, they have rewritten the history books and underscored the importance of the geography of Canada's Arctic."
Each of the 220 people involved in the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition received the Erebus Medal, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"The discovery of the wreck and artifacts was made possible with the use of Inuit traditional knowledge and modern technology," stated a news release from the Prime Minister's Office. "The southern region was identified as a target search area as a direct result of 19th century Inuit oral testimony describing a shipwreck to the south of King William Island."
The medal features a stylized HMS Erebus superimposed on a nautical compass, and on the reverse, the Compass Rose of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Meanwhile, during the event at the Royal Ontario Museum to celebrate the finding of one of two ill-fated Franklin Expedition ships lost in 1846, Harper announced a new winter dive planned by Parks Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy named Operation Nunalivut, to begin next month in Nunavut waters.
Operation Nunalivut – which means “land that is ours” in Inuktitut – is a sovereignty exercise conducted annually in Canada’s central Arctic since 2007. The operation will involve "11 days of intense ice diving and underwater archaeology in April."
"I wish all participants the best as they embark on winter dives beneath the Arctic ice to learn more about HMS Erebus," said Harper.
– Michele LeTourneau
