Celebrating together
When one mentions an outdoor community barbecue in Rankin Inlet, the annual National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration hosted by the Kissarvik Co-op almost immediately comes to mind.
National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 recognizes and celebrates the cultures and contributions of Inuit, First Nations and Metis indigenous peoples of Canada.
Kissarvik retail store manager Glenn Woodford said 2024 marks the 18th year for Kissarvik to host the National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Rankin.
Woodford said he approached this year’s celebration expecting a much-larger turnout this time around with Covid now safely in the rear-view mirror.
He said the crowd size can vary from year to year and you just never know how many folks will turn out for the festivities.
“We plan this and advertise it every year,” said Woodford. “Some years, for whatever reason, we just don’t get the participation numbers we expect and other years we get far more than we expect.
“The weather plays a big role in how many turn out, so you just don’t know until the day, itself, rolls around.”
Woodford said each year sees a combination of 800 hamburgers and hot dogs served at the gathering, as well as a rough estimate of about 15-to-20 gallons of juice.
He said he estimates the amount of juice served by his memory of how many giant buckets were used.
“I’m never the one who actually prepares the juice for the events. We organize it and get it together but the Siniktarvik Hotel staff gets involved with the preparation of all the food items, so I’m fortunate enough to organize it and then don’t have to worry about it too much.”
Woodford said Kissarvik has hosted the National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration in Rankin all this time because it’s something the local board of directors has always supported throughout the years.
He said being Inuit-owned is also another main reason Kissarvik stays involved every year.
“The board of directors wants that visibility out there with the Co-op supporting the recognition of Aboriginal people. That’s quite an important point, really, with our board of directors.
“And, as well, we’ve always had positive feedback from the public regarding our gathering, so there’s never any real discussion anymore about it. It just goes ahead like clockwork. We host it and people come out and support it.
“Personally, I enjoy doing it. It’s something I know people look forward to every year and it’s something a little outside the normal day-to-day operations that we can all get behind.
“So, long story short, we continue it and we enjoy hosting it as much as the people enjoy coming out to it. It’s something everyone can come out and enjoy and that’s a very positive thing for the community.”
Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News
