Makivik Magazine Issue 65
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A Glance at the Past<br />
with Commitment to<br />
the Future<br />
By Adamie Padlayat<br />
FILE PHOTO<br />
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Nunavik’s youth representatives at a <strong>Makivik</strong> meeting in Inukjuak, 1989.<br />
ALEC GORDON<br />
As the years go by, yesterday’s youth<br />
become the adults of today, hence it has<br />
been said many times: “Today’s youth are<br />
our leaders of tomorrow.”<br />
Many <strong>Makivik</strong> executives have taken<br />
momentous standpoints regarding youth<br />
involvement in the issues of the day. I<br />
have approached Johnny Peters, Tania<br />
Qinuajuak and Mary Simon to get a combined<br />
summar y of how youth concerns<br />
have evolved, and where the youth have<br />
sought guidance and advice.<br />
First of all, I came across a story in<br />
the April, 1976 edition of Taqralik magazine<br />
that was submitted by Johnny Peters,<br />
entitled “Young People Wake Up”. In this<br />
article, Johnny Peters wrote, “ I would like<br />
to give my viewpoint to all young Inuit people.<br />
I have thought of this for a great deal<br />
of time. Maybe it would help a lot if the<br />
young people would start building some<br />
sort of a committee in each of the settlements.<br />
I am sure that some of these<br />
settlements do not have such things.<br />
These young people are losing a lot of<br />
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Strolling at the 1976 False River Youth Conference.<br />
valuable things in their minds.<br />
“If each of the settlements had youth<br />
councils or some sort of committees, it<br />
would be considered a great help to our<br />
life and culture. Maybe they would even<br />
visit each other and have meetings in one<br />
settlement annually. If this is considered<br />
well, and if people accept it, we would try<br />
and find money to start the young peoples’<br />
committee in the settlements.”<br />
Johnny has been one of the longestterm<br />
leaders for <strong>Makivik</strong>, now serving his<br />
13th year of service as an executive member.<br />
Johnny says today, “Our young Inuit<br />
are more involved today. They are more<br />
equipped. They have committee’s in each<br />
community as well as a regional youth<br />
committee for Nunavik. The Youth are able<br />
to watch over their political, cultural, environmental<br />
and wildlife in their own region.<br />
We must keep our Youth in the loop as<br />
they will eventually take over our files.<br />
I then came across the December/<br />
January 1976-1977 edition of Taqralik,<br />
which really blew my mind when I saw the<br />
front cover photo showing a group of young<br />
looking Inuit with a big sign on the wall<br />
behind them that read: “Youth Meeting,<br />
Puvirnituq, November 4,5,6 1976”.<br />
I had a good telephone conversation<br />
with Tania S. Qinuajuak, who was the first<br />
president of the Northern Quebec Regional<br />
Youth Council, with “a very good board of<br />
directors,” back in 1976. Back then, youth<br />
council directors could hold their seats for<br />
two years and regular directors could hold<br />
their seats for one year. I told him I’d<br />
write a few questions for him concerning<br />
the past 25 years since the inception of<br />
youth councils. Tania replied with a letter,<br />
in which he wrote: “ I will try to answer the<br />
best I can... after all, it’s been over a quarter<br />
of a century since we’ve had those first<br />
meetings. It brings back good memories.<br />
“The first regional youth meeting was<br />
organized and sponsored by the Recreation<br />
Department of the Northern Quebec Inuit<br />
Association (NQIA), and it was held in<br />
Kuujjuaq in late August of 1976. It was a<br />
first regional youth gathering was mostly a<br />
fact-finding meeting about a rapidly growing<br />
youth population in the region. There<br />
were no firm agendas or mandates.<br />
“Naturally, having a roomful of 60<br />
or so young people with fresh and eager<br />
minds, some good ideas and discussions<br />
were tossed back and forth. In that meeting,<br />
the need for a regional youth council<br />
or youth association and youth committees<br />
were brought forth. At those meetings, we<br />
passed a resolution to start such a council<br />
and committees. Subsequent meetings<br />
were held, and youth council and youth<br />
committees were born.<br />
“We communicated with each other by<br />
long distance telephone calls (we already<br />
had satellite phone service) or by giving<br />
a letter to a passing traveller going to a<br />
certain village. We had no fax machines, e-<br />
MAKIVIK magazine<br />
73
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