Rassi Nashalik, the first host of CBC’s Inuktitut TV newscast Igalaaq, was appointed to the Order of Canada by Governor General Mary Simon on Wednesday.
Nashalik was the sole northern appointee among the 80 announced in the traditional New Year’s Eve appointments list. She becomes a Member of the Order of Canada.
The governor general’s office described Nashalik as a “trusted voice for Canada’s North” who, in her Igalaaq role, “helped connect communities and keep residents informed.”
“She is a valued advocate for the preservation of Inuit language and culture, and a sought-after Elder and community advisor,” the governor general’s office stated.
Nashalik, who now serves as an Elder advisor at the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, was raised on the land in Sauniqturaajuk, an outpost outside Pangnirtung in Nunavut. She was taken to residential school in Pangnirtung at the age of 10, according to the ICHR’s biography of her.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Igalaaq launched alongside English-language sister show Northbeat in 1995. Nashalik anchored the former with Paul Andrew and George Tuccaro hosting the latter.
She retired from the role in 2014 and was inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame in 2021.
Nashalik told the CBC this week she had started broadcasting “for my parents and also other Elders, unilingual people up north.”
“I was just a communicator for my audience to understand exactly what’s going on in the North or around the world on the daily newscasts,” she told the broadcaster.
“I never would have thought I would get honoured by doing this job.”
Related Articles