Tragic Mystery Solved: Girl's Grave Found After 50 Years

For nearly half a century, Therese Ukaliannuk did not know where her daughter, Marieyvonne Alaka, was buried. Marieyvonne died in November 1967 at the age of eight, following a tragic series of events that began with a head injury at a residential school in Chesterfield Inlet. The injury led to treatment in Churchill, Manitoba, where she contracted tuberculosis, which developed into TB meningitis, leaving her with a severe disability.

Her subsequent treatment involved multiple transfers to hospitals in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and finally Austin, Quebec, often without her parents' explicit consent. This bureaucratic maze, combined with the lack of last names and changing identification systems for Inuit at the time, made finding her incredibly difficult. The use of Marieyvonne's 'E-number' and the 'Nanilavut: Let's Find Them' program proved crucial in uncovering her resting place.

Now, 76-year-old Ukaliannuk, accompanied by family friend Martha Maliki, is embarking on a long-awaited journey to visit Marieyvonne's grave in Austin, Quebec. This journey, made possible by donated flight tickets, offers closure not only for Ukaliannuk but also in memory of her late husband, who also yearned to find their daughter before his passing. The visit will include a stop at the care facility, the church, and the cemetery where Marieyvonne was laid to rest.