What is happening to the Arctic?

This letter is addressed to the government leaders (especially those who are elected,) concerned citizens and those who are teaching the vulnerable, the children.

I’m hearing a lot about the ‘scientists’ doing a lot of research in regards to the climate in the Arctic. Who lives in the Arctic? The Inuit and other people who want to make Nunavut their home.

The food the Inuit depend on comes from the land in the Arctic; flowers, leaves and berries that Inuit eat come from the land. The water the people drink in the Arctic comes from the land in the Arctic. Everything that is in the Arctic is dependent on one thing after the other as an ecosystem.

It’s time for the elected officials to start learning and get involved with what is really happening to the environment in the Arctic. It’s time for the citizens and those who are concerned to start asking questions. If you don’t ask, you will never learn.

High school kids, if you don’t get an answer or you’re not satisfied with the answer you get, go to the top and demand the answers. You have a right to know! Start asking questions like, why are there so many people with cancer these days? I bet it’s not only from cigarettes.

I bet it has a lot to do with what they’re breathing in from the air also. It’s not time for elected officials and those who have a good income coming in to sit back and relax. It’s time to start listening and caring about what’s going on in the Arctic.

Why am I in the south and shooting my mouth off? I ate those flowers, the leaves the berries, looked for little fish along the edge of the lakes and ocean, drank the water, ate the fish, seals, rabbits, ptarmigans, caribou, and polar bear that my father and mother caught many years ago. These are beautiful memories I have that I hope will also be a beautiful memory for every little child that is growing up in the Arctic.

Martha Peet
Winnipeg