Translator wins the diamond
Diavik-donated polished stone highlight of fundraising weekend in Kugluktuk
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, September 7, 2015
KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
Mona Tiktalik was the centre of attention on the evening of Aug. 30 in Kugluktuk when the crowning moment of a fundraising evening saw her name drawn as the winner of a diamond valued at $11,500.
Seth Bohnet, senior adviser of communities and external relations for Diavik Diamond Mine Inc., offers Mona Tiktalik her first glimpse of the $11,500 diamond she won in a draw in Kugluktuk Aug. 30. - David Ho/DnV Photography photo |
Asked if she was excited when her name was called, Tiktalik said, "More than excited."
The diamond is a simple stone with no setting.
"I'm trying to look for a buyer. Are you interested?" asked Tiktalik, laughing.
She said that if she were living in a larger centre, with a jeweler, she might consider having it set.
"I have to go out to make a ring, out of Kugluktuk," she said.
The polished diamond Tiktalik won was donated by Diavik Diamond Mine Inc. and Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd. as part of a fundraising effort to top a contribution from the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and funds from the impact benefit agreement with Dominion Diamonds. The money means the community will now have a wheelchair-accessible bus for elders and a fully decked-out ambulance.
Tiktalik was happy to participate in the fundraising events of the weekend.
Previously she'd won cash. For example, one year at the Nattiq Frolics she was crowned Queen of the Frolics.
Tiktalik is not normally front and centre. As a translator and interpreter, she is normally on the sidelines, patiently ensuring that Inuinnaqtun speakers have a full understanding of English proceedings. Similarly, she ensures that their own Inuinnaqtun words are translated into English.
Tiktalik has been translating and interpreting for all of her working life, she said. Although she often works for Inuit organizations, most recently she translates for the mines, Ekati and Diavik, on a regular basis. She's a well-seasoned professional when it comes to language specific to mining. She has also been a long-time employee with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, recognized with a long-service award.
She frequently travels to the two diamond mines for work, but besides the diamond in the wedding ring on her finger, she'd never seen a diamond.
Her family and friends were pretty excited for Tiktalik.
"The next day my friends kept saying, 'Let's see your diamond!' They thought that I was wearing it already."
Looking back on the moment she won, Tiktalik searches for a word to describe what she meant when she said she was "more than excited" about winning.
First she laughs.
"I bought four tickets. They were getting ready to pick a ticket for the diamond. I started looking at my numbers. It seems like I didn't hear my number."
She laughs again.
"Maybe I was too excited. But my son was sitting beside me and he said, 'Mom, your number.' And that person called my name. I was screaming. I was screaming.
"It's so beautiful."
Tiktalik stretches the word out slowly, "So beautiful."
