The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) is looking to reverse a trend of despair.
To do that the international non-government organization – representing approximately 180,000 Inuit across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia – is holding the 2021 Inuit Health Summit from Sept. 20 to Oct. 26.
The summit’s main goal is to promote mental wellness among youth through cultural reclamation. The first session included over 50 Inuit from across Inuit Nunaat.
ICC Chair Delee Sambo Dorough stated this is an especially important conversation right now.
“As Inuit, we know cultural continuity is a protective factor against suicide,” she stated. “The Inuit Health Summit is a space where youth can openly discuss what supports and doesn’t support their connection to culture and foster a space where we all belong. Youth are joined by Elders and senior Inuit leaders eager to hear their perspective and support them in this journey to carry Inuit culture forward for our collective wellbeing.”
The summit was originally supposed to happen in Kuujjuaq, Quebec, in September 2020 but it was postponed due to the coronavirus.
As the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging, the Circumpolar Inuit Health Steering Committee (CIHSC), which is organizing the event, decided to take it virtual.
CIHSC Chair Minnie Grey said she is looking forward to participating in the summit, though she hopes large in-person events will resume post-pandemic.
“We’re very social people,” she said “We would have much preferred to see each other and hug each other and do cultural activities together. But we really don’t have any choice.”
The steering committee has split the event into six virtual meetings, which will be accessible in English, Greenlandic, Inuktitut and Russian. Topics of discussion will focus on how adults and Elders can help youth connect with their culture and identity in a fast-changing world and parenting with Inuit values.
Participants will also discuss infrastructure shortages in northern communities, such as overcrowded housing, the lack of potable water in some regions and the lack of reliable internet in many Inuit communities.
Other topics will include and techniques for suicide prevention.
Numerous sources indicate Canada’s Inuit suicide rate is one of the highest in the world. However, it is also a problem for Inuit across the circumpolar world, said Grey.
“In order for us circumpolar Inuit to support one another, and to work together to find solutions, it is very important to communicate,” she said. “I think it’s really important that as Inuit, we understand one another and that we are not alone. That we are one people and that we can work together to overcome all these disparities and situations that are very much affecting our way of life.”
“As you know, we’re all under different government regimes,” she continued. “We want to be able to reach policymakers, program managers and other leaders in making sure that mental wellness is always a priority in all areas.”
She said cultural continuity protects Inuit youth from suicide and despair.
“One of the things that we want to come out of this summit is hope,” she said. “We have very strong cultural ties with each other. Our people are very resilient, and adaptable. Our ancestors survived the harsh conditions and environments that they lived in. And we can take that strength and apply it to our modern lives.”
“We have, we have a beautiful land, we have a beautiful culture, we have our beautiful language, we have beautiful traditions,” she continued. “We’re very proud of that and we want to see it continue. And that’s why it’s so important to have these conversations.”
This summit is being called as a result of the 2018 Utqiaġvik Declaration, which mandated the ICC to host a circumpolar event on mental wellness.
The final session on Oct. 26 will include a cultural celebration and discussion of next steps.