Return to Rankin Inlet Eight Years Later on July 7 to 9, 2014

During the past month, the community has been revisited where the “Canada Awakening Healing the Land” ministry in northern Canada really started.  There is now an expectation of not only building upon past foundations, but of going further.  I am referring to the community of Rankin Inlet (in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, which is in the central Arctic, due North of Winnipeg). 

This was the first community where Canada Awakening Ministries officially did the Healing the Land process exactly eight years ago now, in July of 2006.  A ceremony took place within and around this circle of rocks which is on a site which marks the tent pegs of one of the original dwellings in the Rankin Inlet region.

The location of Rankin Inlet is marked on this map with a red circle.

The invitation for that process in 2006 was through Tagak Curley, a founding father of Nunavut.  On the Internet, Wikipedia states, “Tagak Curley (born 1944) is an Inuit leader, politician and businessman from Nunavut.  As a prominent figure in the negotiations that led to the creation of Nunavut, Tagak is considered a living father of confederation in Canada.”  To read more of Tagak's biography, check this site.   

Tagak's wife Sally Curley is seen here (second from right) in July of 2006 along with her brother David Aglukark (second from left), both descendants of the original inhabitants of this area, stand within the circle of one of the original dwellings as they release forgiveness to the people who moved into the area later.

In 1991, Tagak married Sally Curley, a very anointed singer from the North.  When she would play the guitar and sing songs like “There’s Power in Praise,” she could bring the glory down, and release Heaven into the atmosphere of the earthly realm.  As one of the descendants of the original inhabitants in the Rankin Inlet region, she had a strong connection to the land, and had experienced the changes that had come when others began to settle in the land of her ancestors, and to make changes, many of which were not for the better.

Sally had truly experienced the pain, the frustration, and sometimes the anger of feeling violated, and yet because of her strong connection to the land, she had the spiritual authority to bring either a blessing or a curse on to the land, depending on her willingess to forgive rather than to become angry and bitter, and to bless rather than to curse.

When Canada Awakening Ministries brought the Healing the Land Process to Rankin Inlet back in July of 2006, Sally stood with the descendants of the original inhabitants of Rankin Inlet within a circle of stones that marked the tent pegs of one of the original dwellings.  Unitedly they chose to release forgiveness, and to welcome the people who had moved into the area more recently.

Above, you can see Sally Curley in the middle of the picture as the descendants of the original inhabitants of Rankin Inlet release forgiveness, and welcome those who had moved into the community in more recent years, and who had often made changes that by-passed protocol, and ignored the people who had lived there from antiquity.  Together, they partook of Communion together with one another and with the land, applying the power of the blood of Jesus to do a washing and a cleansing of past defilements. 

Within 30 hours, some 15,000 caribou showed up on that very spot, some of the caribou repeatedly encircling the circle of rocks within which the Healing the Land Ceremony had taken place.

It was as if those caribou knew that something of spiritual and heavenly significance had taken place right on that part of the earth just a few hours previously.

 By that Fall of 2006, people in the Rankin Inlet region were picking cranberries, the size of which you see on the picture on the left.  New life began to blossom on the land. 

The above three pictures were taken by Sally Curley herself during the following summer of 2007.  She had always loved the land of her ancestors, and what joy it brought to her heart to see the land begin to be revitalized, restored and blossoming like a garden.

     “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and       blossom as the garden.  It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing…They shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our God” (Isaiah 35:1, 2).

Exactly seven years ago now, when Sally Curley sent me the above pictures, she also sent me the following note on the healing of the land which she gave me permission to share with others, and I believe that it is fitting that I should share her powerful words of wisdom right at this time.

     “As one of the originals of Rankin Inlet, I encourage every community to open up to the ‘Healing of their Land.’  The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it. 

     “We tend to forget that God had blessed us with this beautiful land.  Instead, we fight over it against each other--either verbally, or by our actions, making others feel unwelcomed in the
community. 

     “Who will be standing before God someday to confess their actions regarding the land?  As we have heard of our forefathers speak of their life on the land, we see the difference today.  We the younger generation tend to get hard hearts towards the people that we think are responsible for the different lifestyle today. 

     “If we feel that we are being pushed aside, it is crushing us inside.  Some are hurting  silently regarding this, and some have voice.  From the time that we can remember to now, we had stored all the hurts of the past without realizing it at times. 

     “Forgiveness is the best medicine for a new beginning within the people of the community and the surrounding land and sea.  This healing and forgiveness needs to take place from the oldest to the youngest. 

     “It is like the land had been holding it's breath for the longest time and now, wow, there is new breath and air and water.  It is the same with the sea.”

It is important that we in Canada heed these words from a respected elder from Canada’s far North who is no longer with us.  On Saturday, July 5, I received the sad news through our friends Ron and Veronica Dewar that Sally Curley had passed away that morning.   She had  contacted a serious cough, and so called the homecare nurse on Wednesday, July 2.  On the next day, the nurse came to check on her health, and she was told that she will be all right.  She had had respiratory problems, and frequently needed extra oxygen in order to be able to breathe adequately. 

It may have been a factor that the power was off in Rankin Inlet for five hours that morning (3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.)  In any case, on the morning of Saturday, July 5, 2014, her spirit left her body as she sat on the couch in her living room and went into the fullness of that glory realm that she used to tap into so frequently with her message and with her song.

After hearing of Sally Curley’s passing on July 5, I contacted Dorothy Aglukark in Arviat to find out any details that were available on the funeral, as I was not able to immediately get through on Tagak Curley’s number. 

Dorothy mentioned that her husband David (Sally's brother, and another descendant of the original inhabitants of the Rankin Inlet region) would be taking the funeral, and would be flying into Rankin Inlet the following morning of Sunday, July 6, and they would have a family consultation and give me more details on the timing and planning for the funeral.

In the meantime, Marge and I had a witness that I needed to go up to Rankin Inlet for the funeral.  The only other one from the South that we had heard was planning to come up was Bill Prankerd from Ottawa.  Both of us have done things together in the Canadian Arctic in the past, and we both have a similar desire to see Inuit leadership under the Headship of Christ arise on their own territory.

It was not until around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 6, that I found out that the funeral would be on Tuesday, July 8, at 2:00 p.m. at the Community Centre.  Tagak indicated that it would mean something to him if I came up, and that both Bill Prankerd and myself would be asked to say something at the funeral service led by David Aglukark.

I immediately got on to the Internet, and booked a flight with First Air from Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet direct on the following morning, July 7, and returning on Wednesday, July 9.  It was a “whirlwind” trip, but very meaningful and significant, both spiritually and relationally.

It was a great honour to be able to participate in the funeral, but especially to connect and to reconnect with other Inuit who knew Sally and who come from the Kivalliq region, from communities like Coral Harbour, Chesterfield Inlet, Wale Cove and Arviat.  Most of my time up North over the past 20+ years has focused on the Eastern Arctic, but in the central Arctic, or the Kivalliq region, not so much.

Yet, these are a very special people who have been patient, who have not launched out independently in order to see a new wineskin develop that can move beyond “one man” or “one woman” leadership into a team leadership that builds bridges in the communities where there had been walls.  They have waited God’s timing, and there is a sense that they are about to be unleashed, and will have a significant role to play in showing the way forward for other churches and communities in the Canadian Arctic.

At the funeral, in a large auditorium that was packed wall-to-wall, with standing room only all around, I was able to share how Sally Curley, as one of the descendants of the original inhabitants in the region of Rankin Inlet, had left us all an important legacy that it is vital that we all continue and carry forward.   As a born again believer, she had a connection not only to heaven, but also to the earth, to the land on which she was raised, and where her ancestors had lived from antiquity.  She knew the history of the region, but yet was empowered to release forgiveness and blessings to the other people who moved in later during the ceremony which took place in July of 2006.

During the funeral, I referred to the scripture from Psalm 96:1 that was written on Sally’s grave marker in the shape of a cross.  It said, “Sing unto the Lord a new song.”  Sally had a “new song” and a “new sound” which released the songs and sounds of heaven into the earthly realm.  The Bible teaches in I Corinthians 14:10 that there is “no sound,” (New Revised Standard; Complete Jewish Bible; Darby Translation) “no voice,” (King James) and “no language” (New King James) that is without significance or meaning.

Sally had a distinct sound and a new song that released the sounds of heaven, and tapped into the realm of God’s shekinah glory, and she transmitted it as a willing vessel into the earthly realm.  The scripture in Psalm 96:1 goes on to say that it is not only the people, but the earth, the land itself that has a song.  “Sing unto the LORD all the earth!”  Psalm 100:1 goes on to say, “Make a joyful shout to the LORD all you lands!” 

Even though the earth and the whole creation is presently in a state of travail and of groaning (Romans 8:19-23), it is literally standing on tip toes as it eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of God on their earth when they manifest a very apparent liberty and freedom which will free the creation itself to sing a new song unto the Lord with the rest of God’s creatures.  To think of nature, to think of the land itself releasing a joyful shout and singing a new song unto the Lord is not heresy, but is orthodox Christian teaching, as so many of the historic hymns of our faith will verify.

“Joy to the world!  The Lord is come, let earth receive her King!  Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.

“Joy to the world!  The Saviour reigns, let men their songs employ,  While fields and floods, rocks, hill, and plains, repeat the sounding joy.

“No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground, He comes to make His blessing flow far as the curse is found.”

Or, in the words of the timeless hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness!

“Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, sun, moon and stars in their courses above,  Join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”

Scriptures that verify that the land has a “joyful shout,” a “new song,” or a “new sound:”

“The little hills rejoice (are girded with joy) on every side, the pastures are clothed with flocks.  The valleys also are covered with grain.  They shout for joy, they also sing” (Psalm 65:12b, 13).

“Let the people praise You, O God, let all the peoples praise You.  Then the earth shall yield her increase (give her produce).  God, our own God, shall bless us” (Psalm 67:5, 6).

“Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad.  Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD” (Psalm 96:11-13a).

“Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD” (Psalm 98:8).

“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace.  The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the LORD for a Name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 55:12, 13).

Even though I did not have time to go into all of this detail during the actual funeral of Sally Curley on Wednesday, July 8, I able to impart to this strategic audience from all over the Kivaliq region that Sally had a new song and a sound that had its origin in heaven, but that it was also connected to the land, to the ground, to the region of the earth where she and her forefathers have lived for so long.  When that sound is released, it brings liberty, it brings freedom, it brings joy, and it brings healing to the land!!!

I then asked the question, “How will the legacy of Sally’s song continue?”  I then made the statement, “The song never dies, only the singer!  The dream never dies, only the dreamer!  Sally’s song and dream will now be continued in the lives of her children and her grandchildren who must now release that treasure, that sound from heaven that God has deposited in them.  When you release that treasure, that gifting, that grace which God has deposited in you, it will release heaven into the atmosphere of earth, and will bring the healing to your land that Sally so passionately believed in!”

As I spoke these words, I saw many of Sally’s grandchildren who were sitting on the second row, many with tears in their eyes, but all nodding their heads in agreement that “Yes, we want to carry this legacy forward!  We want to release that treasure, that deposit of Christ that is in us, a sound that connects heaven and earth, and that brings healing to the land!”

I had a wonderful breakfast meeting with David and Dorothy Aglukark on the morning of Wednesday, July 9.  These are the people who have flowed with me the most with the healing the land message all over the North.  They have a strong sense that this message is coming back to the Kivalliq region with greater anointing, greater clarity, greater unction, and greater unity, and are just waiting the timing  of stepping into this with greater boldness.

There were other leaders from this region to whom my heart was drawn closer.  There was a sense that we were tapping into something ancient, an ancient longing, an ancient well, an ancient song, that once it is birthed, will bring a new release, and will become “a new song,” the song of the redeemed!  Before I left, Tagak Curley spoke a powerful word that resonated with my heart to the effect that the Kivalliq region  will be a key to what God will yet release in the Canadian Arctic.  Greater things are still to come, and greater things have yet to be done in this region!