'We are being known finally': Winnipeg's Inuit gather to mark Nunavut Day

It's not where you might expect to see a celebration for Nunavut.

But several dozen Inuit gathered Saturday in Vimy Ridge Park to celebrate the territory's upcoming 20th anniversary and also the fact that they're a burgeoning community in southern Manitoba.

"It means a lot to us," said Leanne Amarok of the gathering for Nunavut Day, which falls on July 9. "Speaking our language, gathering, storytelling and eating our cultural food."

Amarok moved to Winnipeg from Rankin Inlet in January with her partner and two children.

"For [my] children's sake. Because up north we don't have a lot of resources, and there's a lot of resources here in Winnipeg. Education-wise, job-wise," said Amarok.

Thousands of Nunavummiuttravelto Winnipeg each year to access services they can't get at home and more of them, like Amarok, are choosing to stay, said Maxine Angoo, an outreach coordinator at Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre.

The West End-based centre opened in May and is already outgrowing its space, she said. It assists Inuit people who want to access health, social and many other services in the city.

Having an Inuit-focused resource hub is crucial, as many times the culture is lumped in withFirst Nations and Metis and resources provided are designed for them, Angoo said.

"Our culture is so different from everybody else's," she said. "We have different art, we eat different foods, we make different clothing, we play different games."

Many Winnipeggers are unaware that Inuit live among them, said Angoo. "A lot of people don't know Inuit are here they just assume we're Metis or First Nations," she said.

But that's quickly changing as more take up residence in the city.

"There's a huge change," Angoo said. "We are being known finally."