Rassi Nashalik

{{Short description|Canadian journalist}} {{Infobox person | name = Rassi Nashalik |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CM| size=100%}} | birth_place = Nunavut | citizenship = Canadian | occupation = newscaster }}

'''Rassi Nashalik''' is a retired Canadian journalist who was formerly the host of ''Igalaaq'', a CBC North newscast in the Inuit language of Inuktitut. In August 2021, she was inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame.<ref name=":0"/>

== Early life == Nashalik was born on a small island off of Baffin Island in the territory of Nunavut. She was one of twelve siblings. For the first ten years of her life, she lived a traditional lifestyle with her family, playing outdoors and using dog sleds for transportation. At age ten, she was sent to residential schools in Pangnirtung and Churchill.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=August 7, 2021|title=CBC's first Inuktitut-speaking daily TV news host to be honoured in Hall of Fame|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/cbc-s-first-inuktitut-tv-host-to-be-honored-in-hall-of-fame-1.6131715|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Juanita|date=March 28, 2014|title=Igalaaq host Rassi Nashalik says goodbye, after 18 years|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/igalaaq-host-rassi-nashalik-says-goodbye-after-18-years-1.2589185|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>

== News career == Before working at CBC, Nashalik worked with the Language Bureau for 13 years. She then saw a newspaper ad seeking an Inuktitut-speaking host for a news show. She applied and got the job, starting ''Igalaaq'' in 1995. During her tenure, she promoted the hiring of Indigenous people at the station and encouraged younger Inuit to speak Inuktitut. In 2014, she retired from newscasting.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 2022, she was named the winner of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's Gordon Sinclair Award for distinguished achievement in journalism at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards.<ref>Corey Atad, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220118132537/https://etcanada.com/news/858371/canadian-screen-award-academy-announces-2022-special-award-honourees-and-changemakers/ "Canadian Screen Award Academy Announces 2022 Special Award Honourees And Changemakers"]. ''ET Canada'', January 18, 2022.</ref>

== Post-CBC work == As an Inuk elder, she became an elder-in-residence at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Graney|first=Juris|date=June 20, 2018|title=Indigenous elders join U of A to bridge culture gaps, share traditional knowledge|work=Edmonton Journal|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/indigenous-elders-join-u-of-a-to-bridge-culture-gaps-share-traditional-knowledge|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> She also co-founded a wellness camp in Yellowknife for First Nations people.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Blake|first=Emily|date=April 25, 2018|title=Elder emotional at opening of on-the-land wellness camp in Yellowknife|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/wellness-camp-yellowknife-1.4634147|access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref> In 2021, she was inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame.<ref name=":0" />

She was made a Member of the Order of Canada on December 31, 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/appointments-order-canada-december-2025|title=Order of Canada Appointees – December 31, 2025}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nashalik, Rassi}} Category:Inuit from Nunavut Category:Canadian women television journalists Category:Canadian Inuit women Category:CBC Television people Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Canadian Screen Award winning journalists Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:People from Yellowknife