Rankin Inlet man dies after armed standoff with police
A 22-year-old Rankin Inlet man died in a standoff with police in early November.
The RCMP responded to a disturbance involving intoxicated men in Area 6 of the community.
One man obtained a rifle and was seen walking in town. The Mounties allege that he shot toward the police officers.
He then took a truck at gunpoint and drove the vehicle outside of municipal limits, according to the RCMP.
The Mounties contained him in that area for several hours and called in the Emergency Response Team from Manitoba, who arrived and were involved in a fatal shooting incident.
The man was later pronounced dead.
11-year-old Arviat resident winner in national recipe contest
Logan Williams, an 11-year-old Arviat resident, was among 26 winners of 2021’s Kid Food Nation competition.
His award-winning recipe – called the taco mashup – included avocado, ground beef, cheese, tomatoes and a flavourful homemade taco sauce.
Amid the Covid-19 lockdown in Arviat, he wanted to try something new and decided to put some of his favourite foods together. That’s when the taco mashup was hatched.
“Everyone liked it in my family and I kept making it,” he continued. “It was a bit of an experiment.”
The mouth-watering recipe was set to be published in the Kid Food Nation cookbook, Volume 5.
Rankin Inlet advocates rally on heels of Iqaluit suicide protest
On the heels of a youth-led protest for better mental health treatment and suicide prevention in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet residents held a mental health rally of their own.
“Mental health care in Nunavut is very poor,” said Meagan Akumalik Netser, one of the organizers of the event.
The event received support from the hamlet, Co-op and other organizations. Around 25 people braved snowy conditions to make their voices heard.
Abuse survivor uses personal experiences to let youth know they are not alone
Steven Carleton told the story of how he overcame abuse in his Hope Gathering meeting held in Baker Lake on Nov. 16.
“I talked about how I was able to find a way through that,” said Carleton. “I talked about how I drank, and I was extremely angry and confused. I didn’t know what was going on in my life.”
Carleton held a similar meeting in Rankin Inlet in September. More than 100 people attended that meeting, and roughly 50 came to the Baker Lake event.
What particularly thrilled Carleton was the number of young men present.
Municipal vaccine passport takes effect in Rankin Inlet
Hamlet council unanimously passed the proof-of-vaccination bylaw Oct. 25, which came into force for all municipal buildings in Rankin Inlet, from the arena to community hall, as of Nov. 30.
“When people go to enter the building, they’ll be asked to present proof of vaccination,” said Darren Flynn, senior administrative officer with the hamlet.
The hamlet initially handed out vinyl bracelets for vaccinated people to show their proof of vaccination going forward, but that option was soon revoked, and only proper documentation was accepted.
Flynn said there had been a couple of written submissions and comments on Facebook criticizing the decision.
“At the end of the day, council has chosen to take this step,” said Flynn.
Kivalliq youth council reignited
After a 20-year hiatus, the Kivalliq Inuit Association was looking to bring back its regional youth council.
“The reason we want to initiate a youth council again is to have input from the communities on what kind of programs they want to see and input from the youth directly,” said Christine Tootoo, youth co-ordinator with the Kivalliq Inuit Association.
The organization saught two members to represent each of the communities in the Kivalliq region.
KIA was looking to leverage the youth council to not only get feedback about programs to run, but help form connections to turn ideas into reality.