Iqaluit (Apr 18/05) - Don't call Peter Irniq the Adrienne Clarkson of Nunavut.

Sure, both he and Canada's Governor General share backgrounds in journalism, a love for the North and, until recently, ceremonial rolls as good-will ambassadors for government.

Peter Irniq

But Irniq, who recently became the first person to finish a five-year stint as Nunavut's Commissioner, prides himself for never standing on ceremony.

"When I first started, I just asked people to call me Peter," he said. "And that's what they did. They called me Peter and I was very happy about that. I did the job from my heart."

Today, cardboard boxes clutter Irniq's small Iqaluit office as he packs his belongings. He thumbs through a scrapbook filled with newspaper stories about him, tracing his rise as a territorial cabinet minister during the 1970s and on to a slew of later roles with different Inuit organizations.

Irniq seized on his role as commissioner as a chance to promote Inuit culture and knowledge. To understand why, two events are important.

The first occurred when he was a child attending residential school in Chesterfield Inlet. A priest slapped him with a wooden yardstick for speaking Inuktitut.

The second was when his 27-year-old daughter unexpectedly died in her sleep when he was just 21 days into his new job.

Through the denial of his own culture while growing up and the loss of family, he says he's drawn strength from tragedy and became driven to preserve Inuit culture by spending more time with today's youth.

"I wanted young men and women to know where they're from, to use their past as strength for the future," he said.

That's why he's doled out about 400 commissioner's awards during his term. He says Nunavut's high youth suicide rates are partly caused by a lack of role models. He sees the awards as a chance to celebrate Nunavummiut who show courage and help their communities.

"These are our heroes," he said.

Promoting Nunavut

Irniq has also worked to raise Nunavut's profile around the globe. He helped build an inuksuk outside Ottawa International Airport. He's spoken at Harvard Law School in the U.S., an archaeology class in England, and an Eskimology class in Denmark.

He's also drum-danced in Mexico during the first International Gathering of Indigenous Cultures, wearing his seal-skin boots in 25C weather.

At 58, Irniq says he feels the same as he did at age seven. He credits country food, like the muskox stew he recently ate, for his energy. He also had to walk long distances when he grew up as a hunter on the land, sometimes while lugging a caribou on his back.

While he won't be travelling the territory handing out awards any more, he has plans to stay busy. He still sits on several federal committees, like the Ministry of Heritage, Parks Canada, and the editorial committee for culture.ca.

He says what he'll miss the most about his job is talking to so many people. He may not have to worry: his e-mail box continues to be filled by Nunavummiut corresponding with him, even though his job's over.