Sinnisiak | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Sinnisiak

Sinnisiak (d c 1930) and Uluksuk (d 1924), Inuit hunters from the Coppermine region of the NWT, were the first Inuit to be tried for murder under Canadian law.

Sinnisiak

Sinnisiak (d c 1930) and Uluksuk (d 1924), Inuit hunters from the Coppermine region of the NWT, were the first Inuit to be tried for murder under Canadian law. In 1913 they had been hired by 2 Oblate missionaries, Jean-Baptiste Rouvière and Guillaume Le Roux, to act as guides and sled drivers NE of Great Bear Lk. When Le Roux threatened and struck Sinnisiak, the 2 Inuit killed both priests, ate part of Le Roux's liver, and took some of their goods. A mounted police expedition headed by Inspector Charles Dearing La Nauze arrested both men in 1916. They were tried in Edmonton in Aug 1917 for the murder of Rouvière but were acquitted; later that month they were convicted in Calgary of murdering Le Roux. The death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment at Ft Resolution, NWT, and after 2 years they were released.

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