Spanish flu commemoration cancelled in Okak, disappointing descendants

The Nunatsiavutgovernment has cancelled an event markingthe 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu in Okak, leaving descendents of the former community disappointed.

In the fall of 1918, the supply vessel SS Harmony set sail for the north coast of Labrador after leaving St. John's, bringing with it the Spanish flu, a deadly virus that ravaged the Inuit of Labrador, as it infected millions of people worldwide.

No community in the province was hit harder than the Northern Inuit community of Okak, where 204 of 263 residents died.

To mark last year's 100th anniversary of the epidemic, the Nunatsiavut government organized an event that was supposed to bring 100 descendants to Okak, but the commemoration has been cancelled and moved to Nain, happening Monday and Tuesday.

Alex Saunders,one of the descendants of Okak, says the new plandoesn't cut it.

"The plan was to bring 100 people there and stay for a week, to be on the land, to feel the atmosphere where our people come from. To be a part of it all," said Saunders. The shorter event in Nainwon't have the same impact, he said.

"Last I heard, they were going to cancel Okak and have a little get-together in Nain, for one day.Fly in one day, have some kind of ceremony, and fly out the next day. That's not acceptable. That's not paying homage to your people."

The cancellationcame after Transport Canada notified the organizers of the event thatnew regulations requiring commercial and public vessels carrying passengers to maintain a minimum of $250,000 in liability insurance for each passenger aboard.

"Given that the boats planned to ferry people from Nain to Okak, it would not be in compliance with the regulations. We had no choice but to cancel the trip," said Jim Lyall, minister of culture for the Nunatsiavutgovernment.

Saunders says the Nunatsiavut government should have handled it differently.

"I did email them and [asked them] not to cancel but to delay," he said. "They could do something next year in the middle of summer like from the middle of July or middle of August, go up there for a week or two weeks. That's our heritage and they're just ignoring that."

Lyallacknowledgedthe cancellation is unfortunate, because it's important to remember those who died.

"We want to take this time to come together and celebrate the resilience of the Spanish flu survivors, while remembering all those that were lost to the tragedy," Lyall said.

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