Kitikmeot women weep over the state of youth

Martina Kapolak breaks down in tears as she speaks about the impact of drugs and alcohol in western Nunavut communities during an Oct. 6 presentation to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association’s annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

CAMBRIDGE BAY— Martina Kapolak broke down in tears as she spoke Oct.6 at the Kitikmeot Inuit Association annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay.

“The drug dealers are murdering and killing our children,” said Kapolak, the women’s delegate for Bay Chimo and Bathurst Inlet, whose young nephew recently died.

It was a plea echoed by other women and elders at the KIA.

The stories they told during the meeting were depressingly similar: many youth are alienated from their families, culture and language, and turn to drugs and alcohol.

They don’t know the skills of butchering animals or preparing skins for clothing, and some don’t even want to go on the land, preferring the comforts and attractions of the community.

When they do go out camping, the gap between elders and youth there can be so large that interpreters the two generations are now able to communicate only with the use of interpreters.

To curb the growing use of drugs and alcohol in the communities, Kapolak and the other women delegates called for more action from police and airlines.

Kapolak also suggested the Kitikmeot needs a neighbourhood crime-prevention watch program similar to the “citizens on patrol” program that is active in Alberta and Manitoba.

The KIA women delegates also wants stricter penalties for those caught dealing in illegal drugs, along with more education for youth — on the land and in schools — and information about family planning.

Too many young people are having children at an age when they don’t know how to raise them, the women delegates said.

They also asked for shelters to combat homelessness, more sewing centres, and money to replace funding that vanished with the expiration of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation’s programs.

In Kugluktuk, the loss of this healing money led to the closure of a local shelter.

In Gjoa Haven, there’s another problem: women have a building to use for activities but it has no heat or power.

Many of the KIA elder delegates asked for boats, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles to help them get youth out on the land.

They also want to see more elder-youth camps, like the successful gathering held this past summer near Kugaaruk, which could “assist communities in solving local problems and issues.”

Bernadette Uttaq, the elder delegate for Taloyoak, said their comments weren’t intended to be hurtful to youth.

“No one is mad at you. We care for you — we’re all created by God,” Uttaq said.