Good health for Inuit women means addressing poverty and financial insecurity

This is not meant to challenge anyone. It is important that you hear that the Inuit are hurting and I ask you politely to hear me out.

Perhaps, the people of the North haven’t always been listened to like they should because they do not talk like us or think like us and they do not act like us when pushed against a wall, and so, they have not been heard. They are so far away and there is little information trickling south about them.

The plight of the Northern people is easy to dismiss because we don’t see them and like someone pointed out, the information is skewed.

The power to make a difference, but what about political will?

In 1997, the Human Rights and Youth Commission, alerted by the lack of services available to children in need of protection, concluded a five-year-long investigation by pointing out that overcrowded housing in Nunavik posed a very serious threat to the development and well-being of children. This issue, the lack of housing in Nunavik, has been dragging on for years.

The present situation looks the same 

Ten years later, between 2007 and 2010, the situation is similar. There, families and social workers are struggling with the placement of children because available families are often far away from the communities. As Nunavik is a gigantic territory, these communities are often thousands of kilometres apart.

Relative homelessness refers to people living in spaces that do not respond to basic health

In Inuit culture, elders are custodians of a millennial wisdom and knowledge. Only they can transmit the wealth of traditional Inuit culture to future generations. Nevertheless, an element of continuity is necessary to maintain the fundamental values, traditions, language, and resources that characterize Inuit culture. To this end, all of the regional Inuit communities are linked to the larger Inuit community of Canada.

Mothers should have a safe place to go to with their children

In April 2016, I embarked on an 8,000-kilometer walk across Canada to:
1- Raise Canadians' awareness of the reality of Inuit women and children in Nunavik, Quebec;
2- Raise funds to build a safe house for the children of a Nunavik village in northern Quebec.

To date, I have covered five thousand five-hundred and eighty-two kilometres in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, parts of Ontario and Quebec.

No Child Should Take the Long Way Home is seeking solutions to counter the number of placements Inuit children are subjected to and to help the mothers recover their children. On September 26th, I had covered 5582 kilometres. The next lap from Rossport, Ontario (2418) should bring me to the end of the 8000-kilometre journey.

Differences and similarities between First Nations and Inuit of Canada.

A few weeks ago, I was asked about the differences and similarities between First Nations and Inuit of Canada.

Faced with a daunting list of seemingly unrelated similarities and differences between First Nations and Inuit people, one may feel confused about them.

So, I propose to look at some of the main differences while exposing some of their similarities.

Self-perpetuating systems ensure the failure of families

On Thanksgiving, there were more Indigenous children in Canada sitting at stranger's tables timidly eating someone's turkey instead of sharing a special time with their own family, be they aunties, uncles and/or grandparents. Canada’s colonial practice of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families did not end with the closing of Indian residential schools. It continues today in the form of provincial and territorial child welfare systems, which remove Indigenous children and youth at alarmingly high rates.

No Child Should Take the Long Way Home seeks solutions that have been tried by other Canadians to keep apprehended children close to their communities as an alternative to flying them out thousands of kilometers away.

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, M.D., P.C., M.P., Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs says it very well:  ''Children are our future, and to give them the best possible start in life, we must collectively move from an intervention-based approach of apprehension and protection to prevention-based approaches to community, families and children's rights and well-being. Working in genuine partnership with First Nations is critical to developing community-led solutions for reform that will reduce the number of children in care and result in better health, education and economic outcomes.''

Major stresses in the Northern households are responsible for social problems

Although dozens of isolated indigenous communities in Canada have recently declared states of emergency due to suicide epidemics, unclean water, and a lack of adequate infrastructure, there is not yet into a common commitment to further the voice, the rights, and dignity of children.

There are unsung heroes among the Inuit women

There are unsung heroes among the Inuit women

As I watched my good friend Annie, I remember thinking there were unsung heroes among them. More than half of the women were grandmothers. None had white hair; they seem to have retained a full head of dark hair in spite of their age.

In our rich country, 80% of food bank users are children

When I decided to start walking from Victoria BC, I was not anticipating my learning curve regarding poverty. As a mother, as an engaged citizen and as a walker with a mission to walk and talk, I was only aware that I needed to bring attention to critical issues facing the children of Nunavik.
My purpose is to empower women and children on their rights, about
their options and what it takes to actually make a difference.

From my meeting with Mayor Helps, it is an understatement to say that housing is a Canadian concern.

Although she did state that BC was in a good position to build social housing conditional upon the other half of the money coming from another source (CRD), my heart was skipping a beat thinking about the people of the North. In the case of BC, there is to be an announcement soon.

The story from here-THE CHILDREN NEED A VOICE

If there is one justice in this world, my project qualifies as one seeking justice. It has everything to do with life and about making sure we bring to others a strong sense of justice and the power of faith to achieve it.

Into a new stage of the project: my purpose

What is my purpose, you might ask?
When I went to work up North, I really thought I could make a DIFFERENCE but it became soon apparent that I was hitting upon walls I had not expected. Over and over, I was told I did not have judgment, not enough experience of the North and that I just didn’t understand. I was always left alone with my questions. It wasn't until I read Catherine Richardson's book that I fully understood what I had seen, heard and felt.

So it became apparent that  I could not, just sit there and watch it happen. Thereby, my walk and my purpose evolved as I made plans to go across Canada, not only to inform but also to raise funds for safehouses so that the children can stay safe and remain in their communities.

Bridge the differences and build connections

Inuit are at or near the bottom of all indicators of core socio-economic well-being. The oppression has led Inuit people to lose contact with their culture and identity. But, despite the hardship and adversity in power, with a failing of the justice system, the importance of the family in the social, economic and political of the people highlights their ability to work TOGETHER to find relevant solutions for themselves. Such approaches, mobilizing all resources, provide steps that redefine culturally appropriate processes for the people.

The solidarity of women in favor of profound changes is already underway

Despite the magnitude of the task, despite the appearance of what some call a waterproof wall, despite the dominant discourse that says that the Inuit accept their destiny, we must reject the attitude of "giving up" that there is nothing to do but wait.
Rather, the problems have been identified, measures to redress the situation in depth are being felt.

Looking to the future, a priority on everyone's doorstep

How does the future look to the women of Nunavik?

How do they think they will organize community efforts to build resilient families and individuals?

How do they think they will teach non-violence and components of healthy relationships while developing codes of conduct that promote respect and strengthen non-violence?

How will they deal with poverty, food shortage, violence, suicide and generalized gender inequalities serving as prerequisites for trafficking in women and how will they protect their girls?

How will find the resources to ensure the children are safe?

Taking care of communities for the well-being of the children

In Quebec, on average, 70% of Indigenous and Inuit households derive their income from social assistance. Canada is 78th in industrialized countries if we let statistics speak on the poverty of Indigenous and Inuit people. One in four children lives in poverty among Aboriginal and Inuit.

The children disappear behind the numbers and their poverty is concealed behind statistics that reflect a general improvement of the situation, but completely obliterate the disparities in our society.

No Child Should Take the Long Way Home is a grassroots initiative to help children in need of loving care, of a protective and stable environment to meet their basic needs for protection, shelter, and education.

Girls become women

More than 6 000 women and children per day escape violence in Canada. Within these, Indigenous and Inuit women and girls between ages 15 and 34 are three times more likely to be victims of violence than other women in Canada.

No Child Should Take the Long Way Home is a grassroot initiative that wants to reverse the tendency of more Indigenous children from distant communities sent into foster care across the country.