Nunavut Agreement Monument
On July 9, 2013, Nunavut will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. To commemorate this major landmark in Nunavut and Canadian history, NTI commissioned a monument to pay tribute to the decades of tireless work of everyone who helped conceive, negotiate, and now implement the NLCA.
NTI selected one master carver from each region of Nunavut to create the monument. Many carvers applied for the prestigious work, and the application process was difficult.
In May, 2011, Inuk Charlie of Taloyoak, Paul Malliki of Repulse Bay, and Looty Pijamini of Grise Fiord travelled to Iqaluit to begin designing the monument.
They spent a week working out the design, and in the end, put together a smaller model they said embodies many of the most important symbols of Inuit culture.
The trio of carvers returned to Iqaluit in June, 2012, and finished most of the work on the large pieces of the monument.
They return to Iqaluit in April, 2013, to finish the monument and move it to its final location for mounting. The monument will be unveiled during a ceremony at the NTI offices in Iqaluit on Nunavut Day, July 9, 2013.
The monument gives recognition and tremendous, sincere thanks to all of the people who played an important role in negotiating the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
It was not the work of one person, but of a team of dedicated negotiators, Board members, interpreters and translators, lawyers, and even geologists, who helped bring about the land claims agreement. NTI thanks all of the Inuit in communities who used Inuit qaujimajatuqangit to contribute to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Inuit struggled and fought and used knowledge to have so many different benefits included in the agreement. The monument recognizes all the families who sacrificed time with their husbands and wives during the negotiation and ratification phases. Very often people were away from their families for weeks at a time, year after year, and NTI acknowledges and pays tribute to this important sacrifice.
Paul Quviq Malliki
Paul was born in 1956 in an outpost camp near the community of Igloolik. He lived there with his family until he was 10 years old. At the time, they moved into Igloolik, where he stayed until he was 20. His family then moved to Naujaat to be with his grandmother. Paul still lived there with his wife and 7 children. Paul did his first carving when he was 5 years old. He learned by himself, by watching other people. "Mostly from myself. I've learned most things by hunting. By seeing what's around me. When I hunt animals, I study them. All the animals that are around us." "People always want my work. My Father would be away for days hunting, trapping foxes. If I didn't go with him I would carve to support the family, if I wasn't out hunting myself, in the dead of winter" Paul carves many different kinds of animals and faces, but has most fun with caribou. His work can be found in many private and public collections and is in demand at galleries across North America, including Fehley Fine Arts Gallery in Toronto and the Judy Birch Gallery in Virginia and Nova Scotia. He has had many prestigious commissions, including presentation gifts to Prime Minister Brian Mulrony and Jean Cretien, and the Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. In 2000. he was also commissioned to produce a carving of ptarmigan for the Official Symbols Project for the Legislative building in Iqaluit, and in 1999 was 1 of 6 artists who made the Nunavut Mace. He was also invited to participate in the sculpting symposium- Stories in Stone, and has been repeatedly invited to attend the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Associations annual Arts Festival. When he is not carving, Paul enjoys working with his dog team, hunting, and building things. "Just about everything. I like my life."