NewsTitus Allooloo, a Canadian Ranger in Pond Inlet, Nunavut was asked to give the Act of Remembrance in Inuktitut during the Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa. He said it was a humbling experience. Titus Allooloo says ‘to be chosen to speak in Inuktitut is quite the privilege’Tamara Merritt · CBC News · Posted: Nov 11, 2025 7:08 PM EST | Last Updated: November 12Listen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Titus Allooloo gives the Act of Remembrance in Inuktitut at the 2025 Ottawa Remembrance Day ceremony (CBC)Titus Alloolooo gave the Act of Remembrance speech in Inuktitut during Ottawa’s Remembrance Day ceremony on Tuesday.Allooloo is a member of the Canadian Rangers from Pond Inlet, Nunavut. He believes this was the first time Inuktituk has been spoken at the war memorial in Ottawa.“Not long ago Inuktitut was never spoken at national events,” Allooloo said. “To be chosen to speak in Inuktitut is quite the privilege.” Titus Allooloo said he was humbled to give the Act of Remembrance in Inuktitut during Ottawa’s Tuesday ceremony. (submitted by Floyd Powder)But it wasn’t only Allooloo who felt the significance of that moment. An Inuk woman from Northern Quebec was sitting close to Allooloo during the ceremony. He said after he spoke he went back to his seat and saw that she was crying. Afterwards, she thanked him. Allooloo said that many other people also came up to him, some stopping him on the street as he walked back to his hotel, to thank him and say that they were proud of him. “It was a humbling experience,” Allooloo said. “It was wonderful.” The Act of Remembrance speech was written in English which meant that Allooloo had to translate the speech into Inuktitut while he was speaking. Titus Allooloo joined the Canadian Rangers in 1978. (submitted by Floyd Powder)Allooloo has been with the Canadian Rangers for 20 years. He first joined in 1978. After six years he took a break from his service before he resumed again in 2011. As part of his service he has been involved in teaching the military, in Resolute, Nunavut, how to deal with the extreme cold and other survival skills such as making shelters, he said. When he was asked to say the Act of Remembrance in Inuktitut, he said he wasn’t nervous but instead honoured to speak on behalf of his unit. Though he said that this year is just the beginning, and believes that other Indigenous languages will make an appearance during Remembrance Day ceremonies to come. ABOUT THE AUTHORTamara Merritt is a reporter with CBC North in Yellowknife. She has previously worked in Toronto and Ottawa. You can reach her at tamara.merritt@cbc.ca.
Act of Remembrance given in Inuktitut during Ottawa’s Remembrance Day ceremony
