KUUJJUAQ, QUE. -- In the Inuit region of Nunavik in northern Quebec, the family and friends of Canada鈥檚 newest Governor General, Mary Simon, swell with pride as they reflect on how far she鈥檚 come.

The former ambassador and prominent Inuk leader, who was installed as the country鈥檚 30th Governor General on Monday, was born in one of the area鈥檚 tiny villages, Kangiqsualujjuaq, located on the east coast of Ungava Bay.

It鈥檚 a place where the treeline fades into tundra, the huskies roam free, and the stunted vegetation remind of the perseverance it takes to survive.

鈥淭he land teaches a lot. The land teaches you to respect. The land teaches you to be human to everyone,鈥� Annie Popert, Simon鈥檚 sister, explained to 麻豆影视.

Popert said her sister learned some of her most profound and enduring lessons from the land, as she fondly recalled them picking berries together as children in the summertime.

Those lessons appeared to serve her well as she navigated the trials of attending a federal day school in Kujjuak 鈥� a 40-minute flight southwest of her birthplace 鈥� in the 1950s.

鈥淲ith Mary鈥� we always knew that something perhaps special would come about,鈥� Popert shared.

Simon鈥檚 strength of character was tested, and perhaps forged, during those years at a government-run school where Indigenous children were forced to speak English as their Inuit culture was systematically washed away.

Popert remembers her brother Johnny and his friends arriving late for school and one of the teachers would shoot a BB gun at their legs as punishment.

鈥淭hat was pretty awful to watch,鈥� she said.

Dennis Lock, Popert鈥檚 son and Simon鈥檚 nephew, shared his thoughts on what his aunt鈥檚 new role as Governor General means to his people.

鈥淚t鈥檚 what the country needs right now,鈥� he said, particularly in light of the recent discoveries of the remains of hundreds of Indigenous children who died attending residential schools across Canada.

鈥淲ith everything that鈥檚 been going on with all the kids they鈥檝e been finding...鈥� Lock said before trailing off. 鈥淚鈥檓 getting emotional.鈥�

As Lock steers a boat down the Koksoak River, the land where the 鈥渙ld Kujjuak鈥� is located is visible. That鈥檚 where Simon and Popert鈥檚 family used to live, until after the Second World War, when the Americans turned over an airbase to the Canadian government and the community resettled there.

Returning to Kujjuak鈥檚 former location, however, is how Popert reconnects with her childhood.

鈥淲e lived here for a good number of years when my father was transferred from the Kangiqsualujjuaq outpost camp,鈥� she said.

Popert and Simon鈥檚 father, a white man who spoke Inuktitut, ran a Hudson Bay Company trading post, which is how he met their mother, an Inuk woman. The family moved around Nunavik when the children were young before settling on Kujjuak.

Willy Etok鈥檚 father used to trade fur with Simon鈥檚 father at the Kangiqsualujjuaq outpost camp. He said Simon will make a difference in her new role as Governor General and put their people on the map.

David Annanack, the mayor of Kangiqsualujjuaq who grew up with Simon, is of the same opinion.

鈥淵es it will for all the First Nations. It will help them to create their future because we鈥檝e been put aside too long,鈥� he said.

As Popert tours her old homeland, she鈥檚 reminded of her late grandmother and the stories she would tell of overcoming adversity.

鈥淚 think the resiliency is in me and my siblings and Mary, but it鈥檚 in all Inuit,鈥� she said.

It鈥檚 that spirit that will guide Simon in her new position, according to Popert, and help her to achieve a brighter tomorrow for generations of Indigenous Peoples to come.