Igalaaq host says goodbye and pleads for better representation at CBC

A lot has changed at CBC in 24 years — but still not quite enough.

That was one sentiment expressed by Madeleine Allakariallak, the outgoing host of the Inuktitut-language news program Igalaaq, as she left the public broadcaster — and her prominent position as one of Inuit Nunangat's most visible storytellers — for a job in the private sector.

"If you look at the spectrum, the broadness, the vast lands of Inuit, I don't think we represent them very well in this corporation," she said.

"That makes it really hard, because there are so many stories out there, and we just can't reach all of them."

The work of being Inuit

Allakariallak first joined CBC in 1997. At the time, she said, she was a single mother who would've been left homeless if CBC did not hire her and provide her with housing.

Allakariallak says that is still a common experience for Inuit in 2021, one of many ways in which their experience is vastly different from non-Inuit colleagues.

"Our struggles … are very different," she said. "Colonized policies and procedures, they don't reflect or support someone who maybe didn't come to work … because they dealt with another suicide in the family … or one of their family members has gone hungry.

"What we carry before going into the stations, [is] very heavy, and sometimes overwhelming. But we show up anyways, knowing that Inuit in our communities are depending on us, to share the news of the day… to share the stories of how resilient Inuit have been."

WATCH | In 2018, Allakariallak reported from Iqaluit's first successful bowhead whale hunt in seven years:

That work has seldom been easy, Allakariallak said. With its English-language commercials, Igalaaq is only 20 minutes long, which she said means a lot of stories end up on the cutting room floor.

"There are so many things happening in our communities that we can't always reach, and that gets frustrating," she said.

The show is produced with the assistance of just three Inuktitut-speaking staff — two reporters and a producer. Inuktitut interviews are "blind edited," Allakariallak said, by editors who cannot understand the words being spoken in the footage they are editing.

"It's time consuming. It's exhausting," she said. "That is what is given to us…. We have no choice but to work with that.

"The team that I work with are incredible. They are amazing, but I think it's also not fair for them when they don't speak the language. I don't know how we've pulled it off for the last 28 years."

Listen to the full interview with Madeleine Allakariallak on CBC North's The Trailbreaker:

When it comes to the live broadcast, Allakariallak live-translates stories, written in English for the teleprompter, rearranging phrases on the fly to adjust non-Inuit stories for Inuit ears.

"I know to tell it … not according to the way it is in English but according to the way my late grandmother … would understand it, hopefully," she said, "because there is a huge difference in how we tell our stories."

Mervin Brass, CBC North's senior managing director, said in a statement that Allakariallak's departure will be felt.

"We are so sorry to see Madeleine leave CBC North," he said. "She is an incredible talent. It will take time to develop a new host of Igalaaq."

There is a plan to recruit and develop Inuk journalists, he said. It includes a training producer who is helping to develop journalism and broadcasting skills with newly hired Inuk journalists. As well, several of the CBC's Inuk staff in Iqaluit have completed a CBC internal leadership development course for diverse employees.

"All of that to say: this is a priority for CBC North," Brass said. "I have been in my own job as senior managing director of CBC North since October. But ensuring we hire and develop more Inuk journalists is key.

"We wish Madeleine the very best and thank her for her years of service and we know how much she will be missed."

Churn of non-Inuit staff

Allakariallak said she spent much of her time over eight years on the show pleading with CBC's management for more Inuktitut-language resources.

She said things have improved over the last five years, as she's noticed "Inuit and other Indigenous people have been recognized as capable by whoever makes the decisions higher up."

She pointed to the recent announcement that Northbeat host Juanita Taylor would leave the show to front a national reporting team as a sign of progress.

But Allakariallak also expressed frustration at the number of non-Inuit employees who have rotated in and out of the newsroom over time.

Though many of today's non-Inuit staff have called Iqaluit home for several years or more, Allakariallak said over the course of her career, she has worked with "well over 200 non-Inuit," teaching each about "pronunciation … culture, [and] Inuit values."

"I know I am a resource to non-Inuit who come here, with best intentions," she said. "And they've … become great reporters, because of our friendship, because Inuit people are so welcoming.

"That is part of our identity, to be welcoming. Sometimes, I think, though, that we've been too welcoming."

Strength in numbers

Allakariallak said despite those difficulties, she hopes young Inuit will continue to see themselves as having a future as vocal advocates within the public broadcaster.

"I would recommend … to not be shy, to use your voice," she said. "A lot of people, a lot of Inuit hold back in fear of losing their job … [or] housing."

Allakariallak will be taking her own long experience with Inuit advocacy to the airline Canadian North, where she will work to increase their Inuit employment.

Life certainly won't be the same without the show.

"It's going to be different," she said, "because [right now], people don't call me by first and last name. They call me Igalaaq."

Watch Allakariallak's last show as host of Igalaaq at 6 p.m. ET tonight on CBC Nunavut's Facebook page, stream on CBC Gem, or find it on demand here.