Cambridge Bay (May 23/05) - A new street in Cambridge Bay will be named after Rhoda Maghagak, a woman who was murdered in Cambridge Bay last March.

The street will be named Koihok Maghagak Crescent, her Inuinnaqtun name.

The new street is L-shaped and links a new development area with the more central core of community. It is about 800 yards long.

Doug Crossley, a member of the town's lands committee which came up with the idea of naming a street after Rhoda, said it is meant to show respect to the family.

"This community, unlike most Nunavut communities, does try to put a name to each of the streets in town," said Crossley who is related to Rhoda by marriage. "We just thought because of what the community and the family went through with the death of that girl, and not being able to bring closure to it, it was a small gesture that we could do to help them out."

Rhoda was found dead in her Cambridge Bay apartment March 12, 2004. She was 49.

It took almost a year for police to have a suspect in the case. This created turmoil and rumours about who did it in Cambridge Bay.

Near the end of March 2005 police charged Christopher James Allukpik, 24, with first-degree murder in connection with Rhoda's death.

The case is still making its way through Nunavut court.

Shortly after the arrest, the community began talking about some sort of memorial for Rhoda, said mayor Terry McCallum.

"To me it's just a memorial to my sister," said Bobby Maghagak, 38, Rhoda's younger brother.

Bobby works as a custodian at the high school in Cambridge Bay and has been the family spokesperson since Rhoda was found dead over a year ago.

"I told my dad and my sisters there is nothing wrong with it. My father approved it right away. He is happy," Bobby said.

Fond memories

Bobby remembers Rhoda as a helpful, loving woman, and a good older sister to him. Rhoda and Bobby were just two of "10 or 11" brothers and sisters, he said.

"She helped old people carry their groceries home or go clean up their units for them. Or do their shopping for them, or cut up caribou meat or fish for them. She was a loving person, too," recalled Bobby. "At the same time, she was unemployed."

Rhoda had a daughter, age 22, now living in Iqaluit and a 25-year-old son in Cambridge Bay.

Many people who knew Rhoda acknowledge she lived a hard-scrabble life, and died tragically.

"She drank. She was my sister-in-law. I know what she did," said Crossley. "To people who say she wasn't a good role model for the youth, and a street shouldn't be named for her, our response to that would be that the family endured a terrible pain losing her. And good or bad, she was a member of their family and was near and dear to them.

"The family is a very strong family in the community. Members of the family do an awful lot for Cambridge Bay, so that was our way of giving them a little bit of additional support as they got through this very difficult period in their life."

McCallum prefers to look at the big picture.

"Out of respect, I can't comment on her lifestyle or how she lived her life. It's not an easy decision (to name a street). We have to remember, over time memories fade and some of the scars heal," McCallum said. "I'm looking at 10 or 20 years down the road. People move on."