Pujjuut Kusugak shares his late father’s vision as to the important role education must play for Nunavut to continue to grow and prosper – and its people along with it.
Pujjuut’s dad, Jose Kusugak, was president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. when Nunavut came to be in 1999. Jose was a tireless advocate for Inuit rights during much of his lifetime. He passed away in January of 2011.
Before Nunavut existed in 1999, Pujjuut, 44, said his dad told him how big a deal it was for Inuit to be creating a territory, and the amount of work and vision it would require.
He said Inuit leaders sacrificed a lot of time away from their family members while helping to create Nunavut.
“My dad knew a lot of the negotiators and told me there were times when it was tough,” said Pujjuut. “This was back in the day before the talks of reconciliation, and before there was a lot of knowledge about Inuit, our culture and how our society works.
“We still deal with these issues today, so imagine 30 years ago and how much more difficult it probably was. Nunavut is quite the accomplishment but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“But, at the same time, we’re in a place where devolution was signed-off on, which means we’re in the process of working towards more decisions being made for Nunavut by Nunavut.
“Some people may think it’s taking too long. They’re impatient and think this is not how things were envisioned, but we have to remember that our human resources are not the same as anywhere else.”
Pujjuut said there’s still a need for more Inuit to have the education, experience and backgrounds necessary to match other jurisdictions.
He said human resources were still lacking in some areas when Nunavut was launched and it’s still going to take more time to catch up.
“We still need to push education. Some things in Canadian society, worldwide for that matter, are still a necessity and education is one of them.
“Before his passing, I think Dad was quite proud of where Nunavut was, fully understanding that there was still a long way to go. We saw things develop like having a lawyer program, the Nunavut Teacher Education Program, more opportunities for trades and a growing number of students continuing on to post-secondary studies.
“Paul Okalik was our first lawyer (and premier) and now there are far more Inuit in different professions than there were 20 or 30 years ago. We’re now at a point where we have many lawyers, teachers and even pilots. We have Inuit who have trades in electrical engineering.
“When I was a kid, we had heavy-equipment operators as family members, carpenters and housing-maintenance guys, but we didn’t have very many teachers and no pilots. Not even too many of our MLAs were Inuk in those days, but now we have a whole cabinet of mostly Inuit and our own premier.”
Pujjuut said there are still many employment opportunities available in both government and the private sector in Nunavut due to the lack of training and education.
Currently Agnico Eagle’s director for Nunavut affairs, Pujjuut said there’s numerous jobs in the mining industry right now but many Inuit need further education and training to fill those roles.
He said he keeps going back to the need for education and how important it is for Inuit, especially youth, to obtain it.
“My dad was about helping Inuit and helping give Inuit a voice when some may not be heard. When he spoke, people listened to what he had to say. He was an amazing speaker who captivated any audience. His message was always about Inuit and our capabilities.
“We all need to show thanks and appreciation to our leaders who helped create Nunavut and who are in place now to keep implementing the land claims agreement.
“It’s a ton of work and a very thankless job sometimes. The families of our leaders pay a price too. I think of my own mom (Nellie), who had to hold the fort down, and family members who were helping to raise me and my siblings while my dad had to travel and advocate so much.
“All of these things are still there and their efforts and sacrifices don’t go unnoticed.”