Rebecca Manzi 20,000 Inuit sled dogs were killed between 1950 and 1963: now the Canadian government has allocated 45 million dollars to support the Inuit community in their cultural recovery and reintroduction
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On November 23, Gary Anandasangaree, Canada’s Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, travelled to the remote Inuit community of Kangiqsujuaq in northern Quebec to deliver a formal apology for the mass killing of sled dogs between 1950 and 1963.
This was the killing of about 20,000 dogs in a structured manner by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Sûreté du Québec. Dogs played a great part in the culture and transportation means in survival in the Arctic circle for the Inuit people.
Anandasangaree, who immigrated to Canada from Sri Lanka at age 10, deeply regretted the cultural, economic, and emotional damage from the killings. The Canadian government has pledged to spend $33 million USD on cultural revitalization and the re-introduction of sled dogs within Inuit communities as part of reconciliation.
The devastating impact on Inuit life
The mass killing of sled dogs was the main reason why Inuit communities had to give up their traditional ways of life and move to permanent settlements. In the harsh Arctic environment, with its scarcity of resources and great distances, sled dogs were an important resource for hunting and transportation.
Anandasangaree says that even today, many elders remember those days when their dogs were killed and burnt before their eyes. The scars of that trauma are too deep, and equally deep was the sense of betrayal by those in authority.
The questionable justifications
A 2010 report by Justice Jean-Jacques Croteau found that Inuit were never consulted regarding what measures federal and provincial authorities would take. The killings for public safety were justified on two fronts: first, the dogs posed a disease risk to people; second, they were a threat to residents in the new permanent settlements.
Many Inuit, however, view the killings as part of a broader campaign of violence designed to force the Inuit out of their nomadic lifestyle into one dependent upon government-controlled economic and social systems.
Though direct proof of any intention to annihilate Inuit culture may not come out, less understanding and insensitivity from the governing administration brought irreversible injury to the psyches. When there were restrictions on using the sled dogs, life was forced into making dramatic turns for Inuit, wherein such an invaluable resource was a connective bond between them and their traditional existence.
The long road to recognition
It wasn’t until the 1990s that the issue of the sled dog massacre was formally brought up as Inuit communities began demanding answers and official apologies. The Quebec government issued an official acknowledgement of the suffering the killings caused in 2019, and the federal government provided a formal apology in 2022.
This sad chapter in the annals has deeply strained relations between the government and the Inuit communities of Canada. This recent apology is one of many attempts to mend the ties and bring about reconciliation for a common future based on mutual respect and respect for culture.
Source: Interim Report: RCMP Review of Allegations Concerning Inuit Sled Dogs
