New name for anti-suicide day

September 10 will now be called “Embrace Life Day” in Nunavut.

Elsewhere in the world, the day is known as “Suicide Awareness Day.”

But Inuit organizations and the Government of Nunavut are following the lead of the National Inuit Youth Council, which rebranded the day as Embrace Life Day, to emphasize the positive values of living well, rather than the tragedy of lives lost to suicide.

Nunavut’s Isaksimagit Inuusirmi Katujjiqatigiit Embrace Life Council is organizing community marches on Sept. 10, where participants are asked to waves flags designed for the event.

Wristbands will also be given to children, along with a brochure, entitled “Embracing Life: This is who I am.”

Suicide rates among Canadian Inuit are 11 times the national average.

Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said a better understanding of mental illness in Inuit communities could help curb these deaths.

“Our communities need to recognize mental illness and see it for what it really is. It can be treated; people just need to know where to go for help and how to help if asked,” Simon said in a press release.

As well, mental-wellness programs need better, more sustained funding, and organizations involved in combating mental illness need to share information better, Simon said.

Health minister Leona Aglukkaq chimed in.

“We need to remember that life is full of limitless possibilities if we embrace life each and every day,” Aglukkaq said in a press release.