Makivik Magazine Issue 72

Nain Hosts 2005
National Inuit Youth
Summit
By Adamie Padlayat
Our last National Inuit Youth Summit
(NIYS) until this year was held in Inuvik,
NWT in the Inuvialuit region back in February
of 2002. Back then the National Inuit Youth
Council (NIYC) established three main objectives:
Education and Training, Culture and
Language, and Suicide Prevention.
The NIYS is normally a biannual meeting
of youth from across the Canadian North,
but due to lack of funding we had to postpone
it for an extra year. It also meant that
my role as the president also lasted an
extra year because the elections are held
only at these summits.
Our most recent summit took place in
Nain, Labrador, from March 27th to 30th,
2005. At least 20 youth from Canada's
North were invited. We are all connected
when it comes to culture and language; as
well we are all touched when we hear that
another young person has taken his/her
life. So we asked each region to give their
thoughts in order that we bring some valuable
tools to our home communities.
On our first evening in Nain, the delegates
were given a northern community
feast at the school. Three regions missed
the feast due to poor weather, but they got
to Nain early the next morning in time for
the meeting.
Vice-president of the Labrador Inuit
Association, Tony Andersen, gave an
SAPUTIIT YOUTH ASSOCIATION
SAPUTIIT YOUTH ASSOCIATION X2
inspirational welcome to the youth, followed
by Nain Mayor Henry Broomfield and
an opening prayer by Johannes Lamp.
Since 2004, the NIYC developed a
National Inuit Youth Suicide Prevention
Framework, which has been one of the highlights
in my term as the chairperson of the
NIYC. Qajaaq Raurri Ellsworth has done so
much on this hard file of suicide prevention
and we commend his work every chance
we get. Qajaaq and the previous president
of NIYC, Christa H. Chunk, did an excellent
workshop on suicide prevention the first
morning of the summit. All the participants
who wished to say something about suicide
were given time to say their piece.
The youth coordinators were requested
to attend another workshop on proposal writing
to the Canadian Heritage Department
for funding available to northern communities.
The culture and language workshop
was also very important and Bernadette
M. Dean from Rankin Inlet showed a most
impressive PowerPoint TM presentation entitled,
Pinjunnaqsiniq Camp and Someone's
Daughter.
Regional reports of activities worked
on in Nunavik, Kitikmeot, Kivalliq, Baffin,
Inuvialuit and Labrador were presented
as well.
The delegates from each region were
requested to bring items such as handicrafts
and traditional ulus, saviks, panaqs, kamiks,
and pualuks that were auctioned to donate
to three youth from the Canadian Arctic who
are walking from British Columbia to Ottawa
to bring awareness to the problem of suicide
in the North. The auction was amazing.
Also, each time a delegate was late for a
meeting, they were requested to make a
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The whole gang — out in the Labrador sunshine for a "boil-up".
donation to the suicide awareness walk. A
total of $4,226.13 was raised for the cause
throughout the three-day meeting.
On the last morning, we headed out
for a "boil-up" (which means to go and
have tea out on the land) in a place called
Qaukpuq. The youth enjoyed the event in
the fresh air — eating, playing soccer, and
taking pictures.
There were three youth that vied for
the position of NIYC president for the next
two years, until the next summit that will
be held in Baker Lake in 2007. Mr. Jason
Tologanak from Iqaluttutsiaq (Cambridge
Bay) won and we congratulate him and
look forward to supporting him as the new
NIYC leader.
It has been indeed a great opportunity
for me to chair the NIYC for the past
three years. This experience has given me
the privilege of meeting with great leaders
of the Canadian Arctic and to visit the
Inuit regions of Canada. Once again, thank
you.
MAKIVIK mag a zine
53