Thanksgiving 2025

Warning: This post contains images that some readers may find graphic.

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October because the harvesting season ends early.  In the past, Thanksgiving was held in November, like in the United States, but the date regularly changed.  It wasn’t until the 1957 Proclamation made by the Parliament of Canada, that Thanksgiving was “officially set [to] the second Monday of October to keep it from overlapping with Remembrance Day [(November 11)]”.  I learned something knew while researching this post.

Observing Thanksgiving in October is a good choice because you get a 3-day weekend.  The people of Arctic Bay observe the holiday with family gatherings and country food.  Frozen turkeys are sold at the local stores if you want them.

Inuujaq School observed Thanksgiving by ordering caribou meat from Rankin Inlet and hiring Elders to prepare & serve the meat to students & staff on October 10.  The local District Education Authority (DEA) provided the funding.

The caribou meat was wrapped in large clear plastic bags and packaged in large cardboard boxes.  They arrived several days before October 10, and we stored them in freezers.  The Elders were in the Home Ec Room all morning cutting & preparing the meat.  A few high school students helped.  The meat would be served in a stew, raw, and as a roast.  The school smelled of freshly cooked caribou all day.

Classes were called down to the Home Ec Room in the afternoon to receive their meals.  They consumed the country food in their classrooms.  I went near the end of the day and indulged in raw caribou meat.  Delicious.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring soy sauce.               

The local District Education Authority (DEA), in collaboration with Inuujaq School and the Northern Store, ordered Thanksgiving Food Hampers for students, staff, Elders, and families.  A single hamper contained a generous amount of food.  The large order arrived in many cardboard boxes a week after Thanksgiving but that’s okay.  Food is good any time of the year.

An army of high school students helped the gym teacher & Northern Store employees unload the boxes from the delivery truck and places them on tables.  I think about two-thirds of the hampers came packed & sorted.  The remaining third needed to be sorted and placed in large Northern Store shopping bags.  The hampers were set on rows of tables.  Parents, guardians, Elders, and community members arrived and distribution began at 3:00pm.  Classes were also called down.  Students were permitted to go home early so the food wouldn’t spoil.  Larger families were given two hampers.  There were still some remaining.  These were given to whoever wanted them and a few were set aside for the school. 

The community was grateful for the hampers.  The cost of food is quite high in Nunavut leading to many food insecure homes.  Any initiative to relieve this stress is welcome.