NunatuKavut looking for feedback on proposed official flag
The organization hopes to unveil the official design at its annual general assembly in mid-January
NunatuKavut Community Council, one of Labrador's three indigenous groups, is gathering input on the design of its proposed official flag.
An ulu, a traditional knife, sits in the middle of the flag's blue background. A dog sled is seen in the ulu's handle while a flame from a kudlik — or oil lamp — burns at the bottom of the blade.
"When people look at it they'll say, 'That's about me, that's about who I am and I'm proud of who I am and where I come from, my land, my water, my ice, my snow,'" NunatuKavut president Todd Russell told CBC's Labrador Morning.
"It's being driven from our people but it's also a need in our organization to have outward symbols and displays of who we are."
Separate from Labrador's flag
After changes were suggested by a panel that reviewed other submissions, Cartwright artist Barry Pardy's design was chosen.
What we want to do here is capture our uniqueness.- Todd Russell
NunatuKavut is gathering feedback about Pardy's work through an online survey.
While Labrador has its own flag, and Russell said many NunatuKavut people feel pride from it, he thinks NunatuKavut should have a separate flag.
"What we want to do here is capture our uniqueness, our special place, our territory as southern Inuit and in some ways, I suppose, we're fulfilling some of what the Labrador flag itself represents," he said.
"We do have a unique history, we do have a unique place, we do have a unique territory, and so, hence, a unique flag."
NunatuKavut hopes to unveil the final flag at its annual general assembly in Forteau, Labrador, on Jan. 13 and 14.