Martha Flaherty (b. May 29, 1950), is a translator and an activist on

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

issues in Canada.

Early life and education

At the age of five, Flaherty and her family were relocated to

Grise Fiord Grise Fiord (; ) is an Inuit hamlet on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of three populated places on the island; despite its low population (144 residents at the 2021 Canadian census), ...

as part of the Government of Canada’s second wave of the

High Arctic relocation The High Arctic relocation took place during the Cold War in the 1950s, when 92 Inuit, sometimes called High Arctic exiles, were moved by the Government of Canada under Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent to the High Arctic. The forced mig ...

project. At 15 years old, she was forced into the

residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

, attending the Chooutla Indian Residential School in

Carcross, Yukon Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, () is an unincorporated community in Yukon, Canada, on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. It is south-southeast by the Alaska Highway and the Klondike High ...

for a brief time before transferring to Churchill Residential School, in

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a subarctic port town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leadi ...

, where she was enrolled from 1966-1969. She attended a nursing program at Thebacha College in Fort Smith and obtained a certificate in journalism from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

Activism and life work

Flaherty is an Inuk activist known for her contributions to issues affecting Inuit peoples. On February 25, 2021, she served as a keynote speaker at

's second annual Kinàmàgawin Symposium, which was streamed online. Flaherty is the former president and current board member of

Pauktuutit Pauktuutit is an organization in Canada that represents Inuit women. It was officially started in 1984 and is headquartered in Ottawa for easier access to the Parliament of Canada. Every Canadian Inuk woman is considered to be a member of Pauktuu ...

and is an Elder associated with Isaruit Inuit Arts. She has worked extensively as a translator and interpreter at provincial, territorial, and federal levels, as well as internationally. Notably, she translated the entire final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In the realm of media, Flaherty wrote the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary ''Martha of the North'', which tells her story and highlights the challenges faced by Inuit families. Her significance has also been commemorated through the issuance of a $100 coin in 1990, where she is featured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaherty, Martha Canadian Inuit women Translators to Inuit Inuit activists 1950 births Living people 20th-century Inuit women 21st-century Inuit women 21st-century Inuit people