The NWT Recreation and Park Association have decided to once again change the name of their annual walking challenge, reverting it back to “Walk to Tuk.”
This decision has been made after the Board of Directors finished a year-long review of the waling challenge, which was part of the NWTRPA’s strategic goals relating to decolonization and reconciliation. The NWTRPA finalized a full report entitled: Walking the Steps of our Ancestors: NWTRPA Walking Challenge. The NWTRPA staff and Board of Directors are starting the implementation of the final report’s recommendations beginning with reverting back to the name “Walk to Tuk”.
The NWTRPA consulted with many different stakeholders, participants, Indigenous groups, NWT residents, and group members on this decision. In the summer of 2022, the organization promoted a general call-out for advisory committee members on their website and social media platforms. Six indigenous committee members were chosen for their knowledge of indigenous culture and history, and for regional representation.
Three WCAC meetings and two public information sessions were held throughout 2022 and 2023 to conduct the program review and a temporary name change. One public consultation was held in Tuktoyaktuk on December 1st, 2022 and the second, virtually, on February 23, 2023.
This program review was developed following reference materials such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, and the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice.
The NWTRPA Board of Directors and staff would like to thank the community of Tuktuuyaqtuuq/Tuktoyaktuk for their input regarding this review. They would also want to thank all the numerous participants and teams who have made this event so successful over the past 13 years.