An initiative known as Nanilavut has been helping Inuit families locate and visit the graves of relatives who died decades ago, far from home. The project focuses on those who passed away while they were sent south for tuberculosis treatment between the 1940s and the 1960s, a chapter of history that left many families without knowing where their loved ones were laid to rest.
During those years, large numbers of Inuit were taken from their communities for treatment of tuberculosis, and some never came back. For the families left behind, the absence of a grave to visit meant that grief was difficult to resolve, with relatives carrying questions about their loved ones for generations.
The initiative was started by Nunavut Tunngavik, which works together with regional Inuit organizations to help families find closure. The effort brings relatives to the places where their loved ones are buried, turning records and reports into a physical, personal connection that had long been missing.
Speaking during the gathering, the president of Nunavut Tunngavik reflected on what the journeys mean. There is something powerful about standing where our loved ones rest, she said, describing how it allows families to speak to them, to remember them, to honor them, and to finally say, I found you. No document, photograph or report, she added, can replace that experience.
The name of the project carries that purpose directly. Nanilavut means Let us find them, words that organizers describe as both a promise and a responsibility. The phrase captures the goal of the work, which is to make sure that those who were lost are not forgotten and that their families can finally reach them.
Younger participants played an important part in this year's journey, with youth helpers assisting the elders along the way. One young helper encouraged other young people to try new things, saying that when the door opens, there are so many opportunities, a sign of how the initiative also connects generations.
This year's trip, known as Nanilavut 2026, has now concluded, and the delegates are making their way home to the Kivalliq region. For the families who took part, the journeys offered something that paperwork never could, a chance to stand at the resting places of relatives lost long ago and to begin to find peace.