Star of Courage

• Awarded on: October 5, 1987
• Invested on: December 11, 1987

In the early afternoon of July 8, 1986, in Tikiralutuuarusik, an Inuit community in Northern Quebec, Mr. Joe Saluasiak lost his life while trying to save his son from drowning. He had asked his son to go and get a canoe that was some 200 metres from the family tent. The young man could not start the boat's motor and tried to manoeuvre the craft with a paddle, but north winds of about 65 kilometres per hour caused him to drift away from shore. Even after throwing the anchor overboard, he was not able to get control of the boat. Aware that his son was in danger, Mr. Saluasiak built a makeshift raft of sheets of polyethylene, pieces of wood and some rope. Several minutes later, he set off to rescue his son, braving strong winds, rain, sleet and fog. As he drew near to him, his raft split in two and he was thrown into the water. While trying desperately to keep from sinking Mr. Saluasiak yelled instructions on how to get to shore to his son, then disappeared beneath the surface. One hour later, the son was found on the shore near Aupaluk. His boat had grounded on ice flows and he had jumped from one flow to another to reach the shore 1.5 kilometres away. Because of his father's invaluable advice, the young man was able to emerge from his ordeal unharmed.