Nunavut United for Life event offers show of support for youth

Here are some of the ideas that came up during last week’s United for Life gathering in Baker Lake. (IMAGE COURTESY OF EMBRACE LIFE/FACEBOOK)

Last week more than 100 Nunavummiut gathered in Baker Lake to connect during a three-day-long United for Life gathering for suicide prevention.

The meeting, organized by the Nunavut Suicide Prevention Strategy partners, which include the Nunavut government, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Isaksimagit Inuusirmi Katujjiqatigiit Embrace Life Council and the RCMP, brought together elders, community wellness leaders, businesses, Inuit organizations and treatment groups in Baker Lake for discussions and activities.

The United for Life gathering was a direct result of a jury recommendation from the Nunavut coroner’s 2015 inquest into suicide.

And it was timed to coincide with Sept. 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, or, as it’s called in Nunavut, Embrace Life Day, which saw many walks and other events organized, from Ottawa to Baker Lake.

For Baker Lake MLA Simeon Mikkungwak holding such an event as the United for Life gathering outside Iqaluit was a step in the right direction.

Suicide is “a critical issue in our territory,” Mikkungwak said, and while the government is doing what it can with respect to suicide, “it was nice to see representatives from across Nunavut” coming together in his community of about 2,000, he told Nunatsiaq News.

On Sept. 13, the final day of the gathering, Nunavut health minister George Hickes, along with the other partners in the suicide prevention policy, joined in a “symbolic signing of support” for the Umingmak Child and Youth Support Centre, a project by the non-profit Arctic Children and Youth Foundation.

The centre, funded in part by the government of Canada, is set to open in 2019 in Iqaluit and is designed to address the needs of child victims and children who have witnessed a crime.

“The symbolic signing of support for the Umingmak Child and Youth Support Centre is an important step in our commitment to improve the health and well-being of children and youth in Nunavut,” Hickes said in a joint news release.

Before the United for Life gathering, more than 30 youth, aged 17 to 25, took part in workshops over the weekend.

The week’s activities were capped with a concert on Sept. 13, featuring Looee Arreak, Susan Aglukark and Aasiva performing along with youth singers and throat-singers, with Mikkungwak as master of ceremonies.

In a news release, NTI President Aluki Kotierk said the United for Life gathering provided space for youth to discuss the process of community healing, “not only with each other but also in our languages.”

“Not only was their innate strength acknowledged but they also became aware of other supportive tools and avenues available to them. It is important that we create safe spaces to discuss heavy issues,” Kotierk said.