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NUNAVUT - It took Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean less than a week to eat, charm, smile and hug her way into the hearts of Nunavummiut of all ages.

Halfway through her tour of eight Nunavut communities, she arrived in Clyde River an hour and a half behind schedule on Thursday, and was greeted warmly by the crowd waiting at the airport. The warmth of the welcome was fuelled, in part, by news that Jean had eaten raw seal meat in Rankin Inlet.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean meets and greets the crowd at Pond Inlet Airport. photo courtesy of Tessa Lochhead

High school student Sean Sivugat said he was impressed with the Governor General for showing the world seal meat is an important part of the Inuit diet. He described Her Excellency as "cool."

As Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, Jean began her visit to Clyde River with an inspection of the Canadian Rangers and Junior Rangers. She spoke individually to many of them and asked Junior Rangers to promise her they would graduate from high school and become Nunavut’s leaders of tomorrow.

“When I look at you, I see a leader. In your face I see strength and intelligence. Do you promise me that you will become that leader I see in you?” she asked Janet Enuaraq, a Junior Ranger. Enuaraq promised that she would.

From the airport, Jean was driven to the RCMP detachment for lunch. During lunch, she presented Const. Al Jago with a medal in recognition of his 30 years of service with the RCMP.

The Governor General then toured the facilities of the Ilisaqsivik Society, a non-profit Inuit community organization dedicated to promoting community wellness.

At Ilisaqsivik, Jean accepted hand-made gifts and flowers from the children and promised to “plant the flowers in the garden in her heart.” She sat on the floor with a group of children who introduced her and her daughter Marie-Eden to traditional Inuit bone games.

She told Jennifer Jaypoody, the Society’s Inuktitut Literacy Co-ordinator, the “preservation of the Inuktitut language is important, not just to Nunavut and Canada, but to the whole world.”

The final event of her five-hour visit at Clyde was held at the Community Hall. Most of the community gathered at the hall where the Governor General and her family were treated to a performance by a local hip hop dance group. The group had performed for Jean at Rideau Hall in Ottawa last summer and she greeted them and their leader Meeka Paniloo like old friends.

As the visit wound down, Jean was presented with a number of gifts from community members. Among the gifts presented was a stencil by Clyde River artist Levi Palutaq. Quluaq School principal Jukeepa Hainnu also presented her with an inukshuk and told her, “We are giving you this so the people of Clyde River will know you were here.”

Sharing seal

Jean began her tour of Nunavut, accompanied by her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, and their 10-year-old daughter, Marie-Eden, May 25 in Rankin Inlet.

There, Jean's sharing of a traditional Inuit meal of raw seal ignited international controversy.

Kivalliq Inuit Association president Jose Kusugak said political statements were not the purpose of Jean's visit.

"The real story here was very positive, both with her message on education and our community being able to share a traditional food she wanted to try," said Kusugak.

"We were so happy she came and no southern people can take away the sense of good will that happened in Rankin Inlet, not even the National Post.

"It was very unfair -- when we share one of our main foods while entertaining Their Excellencies -- for southern media to turn it into a political statement."

In a press release issued May 29, Premier Eva Aariak said Jean's willingness to eat seal in Rankin Inlet "has shown her and Canada's acceptance of the diversity of this country, and especially Inuit culture. We are honoured to share our culture with Her Excellency."

From Rankin, Jean and her three-plane party flew to Kugluktuk, where Jean had expressed an interest in the community's alcohol education committee. Jean spent most of Tuesday, May 26 in Kugluktuk, and spoke with some of the people involved in the committee.

"One of the messages that both Their Excellencies said was that these are problems that are happening all over Canada so they should affect us all," said Kugluktuk High School Principal Gary Kennedy, who chairs the committee.

Jean's next stop was only two hours in Cambridge Bay, where she presented certificates to the Cambridge Bay Youth Committee for working to get the recently reopened youth centre into operation. Jean shared a drum dance with some elders and youth.

"She had a great discussion with the youth," said town administrator Stephen King. "She is very personable. Even when it was over she did a little drum dance herself and she was really good at it!"

Jean's northernmost stop was in Resolute, where she visited the fabled Northwest Passage with her family and shared an elders' tea. She also presented Qarmartalik School with two new laptop computers.

"She enjoyed her caribou stew and she ate her bannock, and then she circulated among the people. It was a very enjoyable afternoon," said Qarmartalik's principal Manning.

She also presented the Governor General's Academic Medal to student Beverly Anablak, who admitted surprise at the honour.

More than once on her tour, Jean addressed the topic of establishing a university in the North.

"The mayor (of Resolute) made the point that it would be so much better to be able to have our students of the North attend a facility in the North instead of having to leave to go south where many of them face many challenges of being away from home," said Qarmartalik School principal Brian Manning.

Jean and her entourage then made a short stop in Pond Inlet, greeting youth and Rangers at the community's airport while her planes refuelled. The community's new crew of hip hop dancers performed for the visitors, and Jean had a photo taken with "Nunavut Girl" Tapisa Pitseolak, who was born on the day of Nunavut's creation. "(Jean) was very courteous, especially with children," said Pond Inlet SAO Mike Richards. "She spent a lot of time with them and spoke with a lot of individual children and encouraged them to stay in school."

The governor general's scheduled stop in Pangnirtung Thursday had to be postponed to Sunday due to weather.