Pauktuutit podcast weaves ‘beautiful tapestry’ of Inuit women’s stories

Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada is launching a podcast that focuses on gender equity in Inuit Nunangat, as well as food insecurity and housing.

Hosted by the organization’s knowledge translation co-ordinator, Natalie Ittinuar, Unipkausivut Our Stories: Spotlight on Gender Equity features as guests Inuit women from the Inuvialuit, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut regions, plus urban centres in the south.

“This idea with the podcast series was to capture those stories from Inuit leaders in the field of gender equity, but also just Inuit leaders like elders, community leaders in general,” said Amanda Savory, manager of Pauktuutit’s violence, abuse prevention and justice program, in an interview.

“Nothing like this has ever been done, to our knowledge, so it’s something that we’re pretty excited to launch and to start, and hopefully this paves a new way for more work like this and to highlight more Inuit women, girls, and gender diverse Inuit.”

Pauktuutit held a launch for the podcast Wednesday at the Canadian Museum of Nature, where people could drop in and listen to some of the eight episodes before they release, which is tentatively set for May 27.

Crystal Lennie of Inuvik, N.W.T., appears in a few episodes. She attended Wednesday’s event.

“I think they did an excellent job,” she said. “I think that they’ve woven the stories into a beautiful tapestry of how it is across Inuit Nunangat, and they tell the story of how we as women see each other historically, but also how we see us moving into the future.”

With a masters degree in public health, Lennie used her time on the podcast to talk about the impacts of food insecurity in Inuit communities. She reflected on her upbringing and hunting with family but also shared her advice for young people who wish to pursue opportunities.

Lennie’s main takeaway from the podcast: “We can all help each other to achieve a better quality of life by continuing to practise our traditional values of being kind, continue to share our food when we have it, and continue to help women excel in whatever they choose to do.”

The first episode of the podcast is expected to be available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, Savory said.