‘We are humbled’: Nunavut organizations winners at Arctic Inspiration Prize ceremony

An Indigenous-led midwifery program in the Yukon has been awarded this year’s $1-million Arctic Inspiration Prize, while Nunavut groups dominated the three remaining prize categories when winners were announced Tuesday in Ottawa.

About 200 people were in the audience for the ceremony at Rogers Centre, including Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai, Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Nunavut Sen. Nancy Karetak-Lindell.

“The best solutions are created by the North for the North,” said Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, who gave the opening remarks.

The show opened with co-host Lawrence Nayally weaving a story that was part allegory and part true, about a moose-hunting trip. Performers moved about the stage, some depicting animals and others acting as hunters.

The Nunavut groups, as well as one from Nunavik, were awarded prizes in the category that recognizes organizations’ work in areas including sustainable housing, performing arts, science and traditional knowledge.

The Kitikmeot Community Elder Training Program was awarded $500,000 for its work supporting the next generation of elders in the communities, ensuring traditional knowledge is passed on.

It provides mentorship, cultural education and leadership skills rooted in Inuit cultural values. The program’s goal is to instill leadership skills in Inuit youth for the long-term preservation of Inuit knowledge and culture.

Elder Emily Angulalik makes a speech in Inuktitut and English while accepting an Arctic Inspiration Prize award on behalf of the Kitikmeot Community Elder Training Program To her right is Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok. (Photo by Jorge Antunes)

“We are humbled. My heart, my spirit is filled with gratitude,” said elder Emily Angulalik in her acceptance speech on behalf of the training program.

“Through health, healing and the betterment of elders, nothing is impossible,” she said.

Ajunngittutit was awarded $500,000. It is an Inuit-led education model providing alternative education for young people who are neurodiverse, meaning they have conditions such as autism or learning disabilities, and marginalized youths run by the Pirurqatigiit Resource Centre.

The program offers Inuktut-language revitalization and land-based and hands-on skills training to help neurodiverse youths reach their full potential.

Baker Lake Community Diabetes Prevention and Nutrition Program was awarded $223,000 for its community initiative combating the rise of Type 2 diabetes.

With the aid of traditional Inuit practices and health education, the program makes community and culturally based approaches an integral part of addressing chronic health challenges.

Nunavik-based Qimutjuit Men’s Association was awarded $425,000 for its work providing training and education by bringing elders and youths together for harvesting camps and traditional skills education.

The top prize for $1 million went to Yukon-based Bibia Nàtsät Ku: A Movement to Reclaim Yukon First Nations Midwifery and Sexual and Reproductive Health Care.

A ‘moose’ moves around the stage during co-host Lawrence Nayally’s story about a summer of 2018 moose hunting trip (Photo by Jorge Antunes)

Three Nunavut organizations were finalists for the $1 million top prize:

• Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre in Iqaluit, which ensures people have secure access to healthy food by hiring hunters to provide country food;
• The SeDNA program, which trains community members in the Kivalliq Region to collect fish DNA samples to maintain fish inventories in important lakes; and
• The Ujjiqsuiniq search and rescue readiness training program in Rankin Inlet, which provides safety and search and rescue training for youth travelling out on the land.

This year is the 13th anniversary of the Arctic Inspiration Prize, which describes itself as the largest annual prize in Canada. The charitable trust awards seed money to various northern groups so they can get their ideas off the ground.