Pauktuutit Celebrates 25 Years of Advocacy and Success!

2009 marks a very significant milestone in Pauktuutit’s past, present and future. This year, Pauktuutit will celebrate 25 years of success in raising awareness about issues of priority and concern to Inuit women, and all Inuit in Canada. The theme for celebrations during 2009 is celebrating Inuit women and leadership, and their many remarkable achievements.

Pauktuutit will hold its next annual general meeting in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in March 2009. Many nationally and internationally recognized Inuit women from across the Arctic will be invited to share the celebrations, but also to share their views on their personal and collective challenges, barriers and many successes.

Incorporated in 1984, priorities identified for action through resolutions passed by Board members and delegates to Annual General Meetings included issues related to the administration of justice, family violence, lack of access to health care services, the lack of adequate housing, and the need for birthing in the communities. Women’s equality and human rights have remained overarching issues since its inception.

Early priority issues have evolved over time to include new and emerging issues such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C and other blood borne diseases, FASD, Inuit women in business, addressing the legacy of residential schools, and protecting Inuit cultural and intellectual property.

The organization has also not shied away from very difficult issues such as the sexual abuse of children, and issues related to advancing Inuit women’s equality rights in Inuit and the broader Canadian political environments. During the journey to Nunavut, Pauktuutit was an active partner with the Nunavut Implementation Commission in advancing a model for the Nunavut Government that would have seen equal numbers of men and women elected to the Legislative Assembly. While the gender parity proposal was not successful in a territory-wide plebiscite, it stimulated significant public discussion about governance in Nunavut.

There has been significant progress in some areas in a relatively short time. Pauktuutit has been a leader in innovative and creative approaches to raising awareness and addressing these issues in an Inuit-specific context, and has become a credible and valued partner to many Inuit communities, organizations and governments. Some tangible results include Pauktuutit’s contributions to the efforts by many to support and return traditional Inuit midwifery and birthing options to women in the communities, which is now being actively addressed by various governments and other stakeholders. A remarkable milestone was achieved in 2008, when two Inuit midwives from Nunavik were granted full licensure by the Ordre des Sages Femmes du Québec (OSFQ). According to the Canadian Association of Midwives “This bold step marks, perhaps for the first time, the recognition and value of traditional pathways to learning midwifery alongside the prescribed and dominant routes to practice. It sets a precedent, not only for Nunavik, but for Northern and aboriginal communities across Canada, and perhaps the world, who wish to bring birth back to their regions. This was truly a moment for celebration.”

Other very successful initiatives include the multi-faceted ‘Livesavers” project, which raised awareness about HIV and AIDS in Inuit communities and has developed numerous practical and relevant resources for use in the communities. The project’s widely recognized country food condom covers were enthusiastically received by the Inuit public, front-line workers, educators and health promotion agencies, as well as receiving international recognition and acclaim as a unique and effective culturally-appropriate public health education and intervention program. This program area has expanded to include Hepatitis-C, and emerging topics include sexual health issues related to resource extraction and large-scale development projects in Inuit communities across the Arctic.

Family violence has remained a priority for Pauktuutit and its members. There are many complex factors that contribute to the high rates of violence in the communities. Violence has consistently been identified at Pauktuutit’s annual general meetings as a high priority issue. Inuit communities and Pauktuutit’s board members report a need for crisis and long-term counselling, safe shelters and training of Inuit front-line workers.

The Nuluaq Project was a three-year initiative (2003-06) developed by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada to improve the coordination of abuse prevention services and resources in Inuit communities. It has a search able database and network contact list of about 400 services and programs. Information from the database and additional interviews was analysed to prepare two reports: Inuit Healing in Contemporary Inuit Society and Abuse Prevention Services in Inuit Communities. A multi-stakeholder National Advisory Committee on Abuse Prevention was established to create this action-oriented strategy, based on Inuit principles of healing and working together, to promote best practices and to support increased collaboration on abuse issues. Pauktuutit’s vision is an Inuit society of healthy individuals who respect the past and embrace the future as Inuit, and who live in supportive families and caring communities.

Most projects are guided by working groups and advisory committees comprised of Inuit and other experts in the field, which are formed as needs and projects arise. Current advisory bodies include the:

• National Advisory Committee on Abuse Prevention;
• Sivumuapallianiq – Journey Forward Residential Schools Healing Strategy Advisory Committee;
• Canadian Inuit HIV/AIDS Network (CIHAN); and
• Inuit Nunaani Midwifery Working Group.

Pauktuutit works closely with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Inuit Circumpolar Council on a number of issues of mutual priority and concern such as health, climate change, education and economic development, to name but a few. Pauktuutit also participates as a member of numerous national advisory committees, and enjoys positive partnerships with a number of Inuit, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations such as the Inuit Tuttarvingat of the National Aboriginal Health Organization, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and the Nasivvik Centre for Inuit Health and Changing Environments. Pauktuutit’s activities are made possible through funding provided by a number of federal, provincial and territorial governments and departments, without whom none of this success would have been possible.

Pauktuutit’s success has been the result of strong and committed direction from a Board of Directors comprised solely of Inuit women. The other half of the relationship includes a dedicated and tireless staff, who have implemented the direction provided by the Board and AGM resolutions through developing and implementing numerous projects, and supported the Board’s efforts in advocacy on behalf of its membership to influence policy change in broad areas.