Johnny May distribue des bonbons à Kuujjuaq, Gilles Boutin. ᔮᓂ ᒣ ᐸᕐᓚᑎᑦᓯᔪᖅ ᑰᑦᔪᐊᒥ, ᔨᓪ ᐴᑌᓐ.
ᓯᑦᓯᑐᐃᓯᒪᓐᓂᒪᑕ ᓱᓇᓕᒫᑲᓴᒃᓯᐊᓂᒃ. ᑯᐊᐸᓕᕆᓂᖅ ᐃᓚᖏᓐᓄᑦ
ᐃ ᓕ ᒪ ᒋ ᔭ ᐅ ᓯ ᒪᒻ ᒪᑦ , ᐃ ᓚ ᐃᓐ ᓇᖏ ᓐᓅ ᒐ ᓗ ᐊ ᖅ . ᐅ ᑉᐱ ᓂ ᒃ ᑯ ᓗ
ᑲᑉᐱᐊᓱᓐᓂᑯᕐᑐᑦ ᑕᒻᒪᑎᓯᔨᐅᔪᕆᑦᓯᓱᑎᒃ. ᑕᒻᒪᑎᑕᐅᓂᒃᑯᓯᔪᕆᑦᓱᑎᒃ
ᐃᓱᒪᖃᖃᑦᑕᓯᒪᒻᒪᑕ ᐃᓚᖓᑎᒍᑦ ᓱᒐᓗᑦᑐᒥᑦᓱᑎᐊᓪᓚᑦ. ᐊᔪᐃᓐᓇᓂᖏᑦ
ᐊᕐᓱᒍᓐᓇᑲᓗᐊᕐᑎᓗᒋᑦ, ᐅᐱᓐᓇᑐᐃᑦ ᑎᑭᑉᐸᑲᓗᐊᕐᑎᓗᒋᑦ, ᓄᓇᓕᒃ
ᑯᐊᐸᖃᖕᖏᑐᖅ ᓇᑉᐯᑐᐊᕐᒪᑦ ᑯᐊᐸᖓᑕ ᑲᑐᑦᔨᖃᑎᒋᓐᓂᖓᓂᒃ.
ᑰᑦᔪᐊᑉ ᑯᐊᐸᖓ ᒪᑭᑕᑦᓯᐊᓕᕐᑐᖅ ᐃᙯᑦᑐᒪᕆᒻᒥ ᓄᓇᓕᖃᕐᓱᓂ,
ᐃᓄᓕᒫᖏᓪᓗ 2,000-ᐅᖓᑖᓂᓕᕐᓱᑎᒃ. ᐊᕐᓱᕈᓐᓇᑐᒃᑰᖃᑦᑕᓯᒪᑦᓱᓂ
ᖃᒻᒥᑎᒍᑦ, ᓱᓕ ᐱᒍᓐᓇᓯᓯᒪᑦᓯᐊᐳᖅ ᑯᐊᐸᖓ, ᐊᕐᕌᓂᐅᓚᐅᔪᔪᖅ
ᓄᑖᒥᒃ ᓂᐅᕕᕐᕕᑖᓚᐅᔪᑦᓱᓂ ᐊᓪᓛᑦ. ᓂᐅᕕᕐᕕᖓᓗ ᓱᓇᓕᒫᓂᒃ
ᑕᕐᕋᒥᐅᒍᑦᓱᑎᒃ ᓂᐅᕕᓲᑦ ᐱᔪᒪᔭᓕᒫᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᑕᖃᕐᓱᓂ.
ᑯᐊᐸᐅᑦᓱᓂᓗ ᓄᓇᕕᒻᒥ ᐱᐊᓂᒃ ᒍᐃᓂᓂᓗ ᓂᐅᕕᕐᕕᐅᒍᓐᓇᑐᑐᑦᓱᓂ
ᐃᓚᐅᔪᖁᑎᒥᓄᑦ. ᒥᑭᓪᓕᑎᕆᓯᒪᒻᒪᕆᑦᑐᖅ ᐃᒥᐊᓗᒻᒥᒃ ᒪᐅᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅ
ᐃᔨᕋᕐᓂᑯᑦ ᓂᐅᕐᕈᓭᓱᑦ ᓂᐅᕐᕈᓭᓂᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒥᓂ. ᐊᑭᑐᔪᒪᒋᓐᓂᒃ
ᒪᐅᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᖅ ᓂᐅᕈᓭᔨᑦ ᓂᐅᕕᐊᑦᓴᖃᓲᒍᒻᒪᑕ, ᐅᓄᕐᑐᐊᓗᓐᓂᒃ
ᐊᕐᓵᓂᒍᑎᒋᖃᑦᑕᓱᒋᑦ. ᐹᐱ ᑕᒪᑐᒥᖓ ᑕᑯᓇᖑᐊᕐᑐᖅ ᐱᐅᖕᖏᓂᖓᓂᒃ,
ᐱᐅᓂᕐᓴᑯᒃᑫᓂᖓᓂᓗ. ᑯᐊᐸ ᓂᐅᕕᐊᑦᓴᖃᓲᒍᖕᖏᑲᓗᐊᕐᐸᑦ ᐱᐊᓂ,
ᒍᐃᓂᓂᓗ, ᐃᒥᐊᓗᑉ ᐃᓱᐃᑦᑑᑎᑦᓯᓂᖏᑦ ᓱᓕ ᑲᔪᓯᑐᐃᓐᓇᒐᔭᕐᒪᑕ.
ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒥᐅᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᑉᐸᓕᕐᓂᖁᑦ, ᐊᕐᕌᒍᕐᓂ ᓯᕗᓪᓕᐹᖁᑎᖏᓐᓂ,
ᑯᐊᐸᐅᑉ ᑮᓇᐅᔭᓕᐅᒐᓱᐊᕐᓂᑯᑦ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᒐᑦᓴᓕᐊᖏᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᓇᓱᐊᓯᑦᓱᑎᒃ,
ᐊᓯᖏᑦᑎᒍᓪᓗ ᓲᕐᓗ ᒥᕐᓱᕕᖃᕐᓂᑯᑦ, ᓴᓇᖕᖑᐊᑕᒥᑎᒍᓪᓗ.
ᓇᑯᕐᒦᒍᑦᓱᓂᓗ ᐹᐱ ᓯᓅᐸ ᐊᓯᖏᓪᓗ ᓯᕗᓂᐊᒍᕐᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐊᓪᓚᑦ,
ᐊᔪᐃᓐᓇᓚᐅᕐᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ, ᐃᓕᓭᑦᓱᑎᒃ, ᐱᓇᓱᑦᓱᑎᒃ, ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒥᓂᓪᓗ
ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᑎᑦᓯᓱᑎᒃ.
Bobby Snowball is one of those iconic figures hailing from
Kuujjuaq. Like many of his era he was born at a family camp,
which was called that with clay for the clay quality of its earth,
Marralik. There he grew for the first 10 years of his life under
the care of his mother, along with his brother Cornelius –
Kuuniluusie in Inuktitut. They moved to Tasiujaq where his
mother’s family originated, and stayed there for a few years
as well. This formative period in his life was that of a typical
young Inuk man, gaining the abilities of a hunter, harvesting
22
Johnny May’s candy drop in Kuujjuaq, Gilles Boutin.
the available animals of the country, providing food and shelter
for the family.
As young men, he and his brother set out to work for others to earn money. They worked for geologists one time, and
Bobby worked for a short time as a loader at the airport. By
the 1950s a school for young English learners had been set up
at Kuujjuaq and several families had earnestly moved there
in order for their children to attend this school, having been
obligated by the federal government. By this time he and his
family began living in Kuujjuaq. Some of the members of the
families worked to help construct the airstrip for the Army
base then. Bobby also recalls the presence of two Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who would travel in to Kuujjuaq
and to other communities accompanied by Norman Gordon,
who was their guide, and the grandfather of Michael Gordon
of Kuujjuaq. The RCMP’s work included carrying out a census
and distributing Family Allowances, which the government
had begun allocating to Inuit families. Most families were still
living in their traditional areas, staying close to main rivers that
held Arctic Char, one of the staples of Inuit homes.
The early 1960s brought federal government employees
researching natural resources in the north, and to look for ways
in which Inuit could sustain and develop their communities.
In A New Way of Sharing, A Personal History of the Cooperative
Movement in Nunavik, Bobby Snowball recounts how, when
the Kuujjuaq Cooperative was created in 1961, the federal
government had supported them with their development projects that included a fishery, a restaurant and a lumbercutting
project. An economic survey, a report for which was published
by the Industrial Division of the Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development in 1968, had found salmon to
be plentiful in Ungava Bay and particularly in Kuujjuaq and
Kangiqsualujjuaq. Bobby fished salmon and char during the
summers for the Kuujjuaq Co-op then. The nascent Kuujjuaq
Co-operative Association was commercializing its fishery to its
advantage, along with artwork and handicrafts from local Inuit
artists.