Iqaluit teaching student elected president of National Inuit Youth Council

Teen mental health will be the driving focus for Gwen Natsiq as she serves as president of the National Inuit Youth Council.

“I’m a huge mental health advocate,” she said during a phone interview with Nunatsiaq News. “Being in the communities, you learn a lot.”

Natsiq, 21, from Iqaluit, was elected by youth council members from all Inuit regions last week in a race that included three other candidates, Trevor Wright, Davina McLeod and Nia Morris.

Natsiq replaces former president Susie-Anne Kudluk of Kangirsuk. Her term runs from 2025 to 2027.

As council president, Natsiq will represent Inuit youth across Canada while serving as spokesperson for the council at the national and international levels. She will also participate on the board of directors of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada, and participate as an observer on the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee.

Her strategy for supporting adolescent mental health will be to seek opportunities for youths to be seen and heard, she said.

“I want more opportunities for youth to bring their voices to leadership conferences, or mental health conferences — places where students can advocate for what they believe in,” she said.

Natsiq has worked in environments that embrace Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or Inuit traditional knowledge and world view, and this will inform her tenure, she said.

“I believe that working together is very important to creating solutions,” she said. “Consensus, that’s very normal to me. I don’t believe that one person should speak for all. We all speak for each other.”

As a high schooler in Iqaluit, Natsiq attended youth leadership conferences hosted by the Rotary Club and other organizations. She participated in Nunavut Youth Parliament as well.

Natsiq is currently working on a teaching degree at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit, where she has served as student council president.

The National Inuit Youth Council was established in 1993 by Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, now known as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, to advocate for Inuit youth in Canada.

The council is made up of six voting members and one president elected to a two-year term.