Simata Onalik

Simata Onalik was born in Kimmirut in 1958. She lived in outpost camps before settling in Kimmirut in 1982. Simata’s testimony includes information about dog use and dog shootings in outpost camps during the fall of 1970. She states that her family used dogs for hunting and transportation. She remembers watching Matu, an English speaking Inuit, shoot dogs, including dogs belonging to his father. Matu was selected for this position by the RCMP. Simata testifies that these dogs were not tied up. She recalls one dog mauling by his uncle’s dogs, and speculates that other dogs were shot out of fear of further attacks. She testifies that the dog shootings affected hunting travel, but that skidoos came along quickly after to replace the dog teams. Following the shootings, Simata recalls missing her dog team travels.