T
he Ilagiisaq bids
adieux to one of
the greatest friends it
has ever known. Peter
Murdoch, ally and
servant of the Inuit of
Nunavik, passed away
peacefully December 9.
Peter Murdoch was born September 3rd, 1929 in St. John’s,
Newfoundland. His first venture to the north, from 1947 to 1957,
began as a trading clerk and a manager for the Hudson’s Bay
Company, bringing him to the Inuit communities of Kimmirut
(Lake Harbour), Pangnirtung, Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Kuujjuaq,
Kangiqsualujjuaq, Kangirsuk, Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River),
Mitsimatalik (Pond Inlet) and, finally, to Puvirnituq where he
arrived with his wife Lucille in 1955. His lifelong relationship with
the Inuit was sealed as his knowledge of the Inuit, their culture and
their language flourished during this period.
His northern career continued when the Federal Government
hired him in 1958 to look into low cost housing solutions for Inuit
as well as to assist in setting up the community of Rankin Inlet
for inland Inuit who had been relocated there. The Department
of Indian Affairs and Northern Development employed him from
1964 to 1966 as a Regional Administrator overseeing government
services based out of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, where he
lived with his young family.
An adventure he enjoyed very much was in 1966 recording a
series of radio broadcasts with Farley Mowat for CBC Northern
Service in Northern Quebec, Baffin Island, and Western Arctic. It
was during this trip that the directors of the Puvirnituq Cooperative
Association, and Alasie Alasuak, and Father André Steinmann
asked Peter to help them set up a cooperative federation for the
then existing cooperatives of Northern Quebec.
With the support and expertise of the Conseil de la coopération
du Québec (CCQ), Peter set out to establish the Fédération des
coopératives du Nouveau-Québec with several Inuit and Cree
from the five cooperatives of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Puvirnituq,
Kuujjuaq, Kuujjuaraapik and Kangirsuk. His intimate knowledge
of their culture and respect for the Inuit earned him their
respect as he taught them about cooperatives and helped the
other Inuit communities to build their co-ops. With Lucille his
wife, he helped develop the terminology of modern business
transactions in Inuktitut so that co-op directors and managers,
even without formal education in English, became able to run
their cooperatives. Those he worked with at the FCNQ regarded
Peter as friend, mentor, confidante, advisor and father figure. He
taught Inuktitut to many and his person-to-person style endeared
him to his colleagues. He retired from Ilagiisaaq in 1997 after 30
years as General Manager, but remained active all his life.
Peter believed that Inuit could stand on their own feet but
needed the support of a federation. The philosophy he put into
practice was Working together to develop as a people, leaving none
behind. The success of the cooperative movement in Nunavik is
due to his dedication over the 50 years of life working with the
Inuit.
President Aliva Tulugak recalled Peter’s own story of how he
had fibbed about his age because he would have been underage to
work, but it was necessary because of hard times in Newfoundland.
Aliva Tulugak said, “It was first in Kimmirut that he learned of
the Inuit, their values and philosophy. He said he had not had
a teacher in life, but the Inuit showed him how they loved their
fellow Inuit, so when Tommy Manning’s mother made him winter
clothing of caribou fur he was amazed. The lessons he learned
among the Inuit in those early days served him well, for they
became the foundation of his life’s work. Peter not only worked for
economic development in Nunavik, but he cared for the Inuit and
he and his family really contributed to the betterment of our lives
in Nunavik. Rest in peace, our Ilannaaq Peter.”
On behalf of her family, his wife Lucille states, “We share
our sadness with those he touched and console ourselves in the
knowledge that Peter leaves behind a family united, a thriving
Federation and the people stronger for having grown with him.”
Peter Murdoch received awards of recognition for his life’s work,
notably the 4th degree of the Ordre du Mérite from the Conseil
québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité in 2003 and the
Order of Canada in 2015.
A memorial service for Peter Murdoch will be held in Puvirnituq
Quebec, at a later date in the new year. n
ᐅᑭᐅᖅ 2016 vᖑᖅ
7