Pay tribute to Jose Kusugak – Inuit activist, linguist and broadcaster – with this Official First Day Cover (OFDC).

The OFDC cover features a photo of a young Kusugak (right) with other family members, circa 1955.

This stamp, part of the inaugural three-stamp Indigenous Leaders issue, pays tribute to Kusugak, who, through his decades of hard work, was a major contributor to securing the land claims that led to the creation of Nunavut in 1999.

The cancellation site is Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, the long-time home of Jose Kusugak. The cancellation date – June 21 – is National Indigenous Peoples Day.

The stamp, designed by Andrew Perro, features a photograph of Jose Kusugak, along with his name written in Inuktitut.

Considered by some to be a Father of Confederation for his pivotal role in the creation of Nunavut, Jose Kusugak (1950-2011) dedicated his life to raising awareness of Inuit identity and issues in Canada. Kusugak was born in Repulse Bay, Northwest Territories (now Naujaat, Nunavut) and attended residential school as a child. He began his career as a teacher, working at the University of Saskatchewan’s Eskimo Language School and the Churchill Vocational Centre in Manitoba, where he later served as a cultural and linguistic adviser. As head of the Inuit Language Commission in the 1970s, he was involved in developing a standardized, dual writing system for Inuktitut, using Roman orthography and syllabics. In the years leading up to Nunavut’s creation, Kusugak used his natural ability as a communicator to explain the land claim concept to Inuit communities across the Arctic and lent his talent and leadership to many other roles. An award-winning broadcaster and the president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Kusugak was an honest and devoted advocate for his people, whom he described as “First Canadians, Canadians First.”

Product # 414189131

Indigenous Leaders – Jose Kusugak: Official First Day Cover