Nunavut resident to receive Canada’s highest civilian honour

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic @arctic_eq
Posted: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 22:00
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Nunavut resident Aaju Peter has been appointed to the Order of Canada for her volunteer work promoting and preserving Inuit culture. (CBC) Aaju Peter, a resident or Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut and long-time advocate for Inuit rights and culture, will be appointed to the Order of Canada.

Peter was one of 66 people named to the list last week.

The Order of Canada is the country’s highest civilian honour.

Peter, an Inuk originally from Greenland, moved to Iqaluit in the 1980s. She went on to become a lawyer and well-regarded clothing designer.

She’s been an outspoken advocate on the national stage in recent years on how the EU seal ban has affected Inuit living in the Arctic.

Peter was appointed to the Order of Canada for her contributions to Inuit culture and language.

Peter and other recipients will receive their medals later on this year during an official ceremony in Ottawa.

Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

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