Western Nunavut youth, elders grapple with tough topics at CamBay meeting

Delegates at the Kitikmeot Inuit Association give elder Annie Neglak a standing ovation after at the Oct. 7 elders presentation during the KIA annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

Kitikmeot Inuit Association youth delegate Talia Maksagak of Cambridge Bay, at left, speaks Oct. 7 during the youth presentation at the KIA annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay. (PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

CAMBRIDGE BAY — Elder Annie Neglak of Cambridge Bay says she no longer wants to head to the local stores after the monthly pension cheques arrive at the post office.

“Adults and grandchildren cling to them so they can [take their money and] support their bad habits of alcohol or drugs,” said Neglak during an Oct. 7 presentation on elders’ concerns at the Kitikmeot Inuit Association’s annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay.

Bootleggers and dope-dealers also go straight to elders’ homes to sell them booze and drugs after the money comes in, Neglak said.

Overcome with emotion as spoke, Neglak said she was speaking to the AGM on behalf of those elders who aren’t able to speak up for themselves — “I have to voice it,” she told the gathering.

Among the instances of abuse cited by Neglak — a disabled elder whose niece and nephew take his pension every month.

The abuse that Neglak sees does not take place only in Cambridge Bay either, but everywhere, she said, asking people to speak up when they become aware of elder abuse.

“I have to bring it out,” Neglak, the recipient of the 2012 Council of the Federation Literacy Award for Nunavut said.

“I might as well have a cancer because it eats at me like a cancer. It has to be said if I want our Nunavut to be happy, and our communities and our families.”

Delegates at the KIA rose to give Neglak a standing ovation after she finished speaking.

Elder Catherine Qirnguq of Kugaaruk said people in her community would like a bank so elders could do direct deposit of their pension cheques and “stop our children, grandchild from cashing our cheques.”

The elders also said they need:

• interpreters at southern health care facilities because elders are sent out for medical care without an escort because they can understand English, but not well enough to understand medical terms;

• more home care in Kitikmeot communities;

• elders vehicles;

• more housing — because in one Kitikmeot community four elderly women live in a one-bedroom unit; and,

• more cultural programs.

Curbing drugs and alcohol in communities were likewise among the concerns raised in the presentations of women and youth to the KIA AGM.

Youth also spoke about the need to focus on healthy relationships to improve conditions in the communities.

“Many youth get into relationships at an alarmingly young age and have difficulty understanding what the responsibilities and roles of being in a relationship are. This is a major health concern,” said Talia Maksagak of Cambridge Bay.

“Too many young people are having unprotected sex resulting in a lot of young girls getting pregnant when they aren’t ready to provide financial, emotional, and mental support to their children because they are still in school or have dropped out and have no job qualifications.”

Maksagak also said the lack of programs for youth remains a big issue in every community.

“If there were more programs devoted to the different ways to cope with stress, loss, puberty, changes and balancing work, school and social life, the rate of unfortunate events [like suicide] will decrease drastically,” she said.

“A nice chat with an elder can cheer up the youth, or to hear stories from the past on how our ancestors lived makes a big impact on the youth of the 21st century in a positive way.”

To that, elder Bernadette Uttaq of Taloyoak responded that she can’t talk to her grandchildren because they don’t speak a common language.

Elders have failed in giving youth support and pass on the language, she said: “It’s us, the elders… the parents are to blame for this situation.”

But Sarah Jancke, KIA’s program coordinator for women and youth, said it’s important not to assign blame, but to move forward.

Resolutions stemming from the youth, women and elders presentations at the KIA AGM will guide the organization’s work in the coming year.