Alicee Joamie was born in 1936 in Puvirnituq, Northern Quebec. In 1942, her family moved on her father’s initiative to Pangnirtung, where game was plentiful. Alicee recalls that in 1959 her family was moved without any warning to Apex, a small community near Iqaluit. Upon arrival, they were not provided with proper housing, and lived for two years in a qarmaq (sod-house), which they built themselves. Alicee’s testimony includes information about her family’s removal from their qarmaq and the destruction of the house with a bulldozer. A nurse and a teacher told Alicee that the house was a health risk for the children. After the destruction of the qarmaq, her family lived with in-laws until they were later provided with a “matchbox” house without heat or furnishing. Alicee shared vivid memories of the slaughter of her late husband’s dog-team in June 1961 outside a store, where the dogs were tied up to the sled. An RCMP officer and an Inuk helper shot the dogs without any warning. According to Alicee, this episode deeply affected her husband and her son, who witnessed the scene and could not intervene. She explained that the loss of the dog team disrupted the daily operations of the family in terms of transportation and hunting. In addition, Alicee recounts a separate incident involving a dog being shot just outside her house, and the house being damaged by the bullet. See also the testimony of Sytukie Joamie, Alicee’s son.
