The first of many beautiful moments that night was when young David Jararuse sung "Labradormuit" in his people's mother tongue. Another came when Hopedale's new boy band, the North Stars, played their homeland's theme song again, life flowing through their fingertips to their guitar strings, electricity in the drummer's hands. A group of drum dancers, all teenagers, stood patiently by, waiting for their turn to perform.
And then something magical happened: all at once, the bodies of the drum dancers began to move, forming a circle, then dipping, and swinging. In unison, they began to beat their drums. The North Stars played on, with them. A current of joy ran through the room.
It was December 1, the day when the Labrador Inuit returned to self-government. As of this day, they have their own legislature in Hopedale and their own administration in Nain to the north. They will resume control over education within a decade, hundreds of years since they lost it to Moravian missionaries, the residential schools of the International Grenfell Association, and the rigidities of the province's education system. They will enjoy royalties from developments on their land and the sea that adjoins it. They will determine who hunts in their territory and how. In short, a people once known as among the most independent in the world will finally be able to make decisions for themselves again.
It was an extremely long time coming. To regain any sense of self-government in this country, Indigenous people have to submit a comprehensive land claim to the federal government, which then becomes both adversary and arbiter in the process. The "claimants" have to prove they are rightful occupiers of the land of their ancestors; this can be difficult when written records are scarce and oral history is not given the respect it deserves. Indigenous nations usually end up with about 10 percent of their original land base, and about a tenth of the financial compensation they ask for.
The Labrador Inuit land claims process took almost 30 long years, beginning with kitchen meetings and ending up in parliament in Ottawa and the House of Assembly in St. John's. The final settlement made by the Labrador Inuit will likely be inadequate (Canada is a formidable opponent and fights hard). Given the process, the settlement can never be just.
But it remains the most important and hopeful moment of post-invasion Inuit history in Labrador. From December 1, the five Inuit communities of Northern Labrador and the land around them now makes up Nunatsiavut --"Our Beautiful Land."
This is what hundreds of people were celebrating in the Hopedale community hall. I was the only stranger there. I happened to be in town that week, because a committee in Nain hired me to do a research project that took me along the coast. I was thrilled to be in Hopedale again. I love the bald, purple-grey rocks that rise out of the Labrador Sea and the huge inuksuk that stands sentry over the houses below. I love that the frigid ocean is almost on all sides of you here, alternately lapping gently on the flat shore and roaring towards it. This evening, Nunatsiavut's first, was crackling --the sky was inky, high, and filled with hundreds of crystal stars.
Inside the hall was a feast laid out for us, and Marjorie Flowers prayed for us as our tummies rumbled. As the Elders ate --first-- I marvelled at the changes they have seen in their long lives. These changes are technological, educational, and related to diet, language, and every aspect of life and culture. Most changes were not of their own choosing, but the Elders are still here, resplendent in their old age.
The women of Hopedale prepared a mélange of food --ranging from chicken soup to a fried bannock-style bread-- and all of it was delicious on this cold and happy night. Two Elders and their granddaughter, baby Cindy, cut the cake, which featured, in blue and green icing, the flag of Nunatsiavut. Fuelled by sugar and pure joy, children ran and danced, Jens Piercy and David Jararuse doing a jig to another upbeat rendition of "Labradormuit."
At the end of the night, two Inuktitut immersion students and their teachers raised the new flag and the cheer reverberated across the tundra.
This is Nuatsiavut now.
Maura Hanrahan is an anthropologist and best-selling Canadian author. Her website is www.maurahanrahan.com
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