November 14, 2008
Suicide is a selfish, heart-breaking act
I am writing to you because I couldn't before now. I am writing to you because suicide has been so prevalent in my family that I can't pretend it didn't happen again.
I am writing to say what I need to say, and though my family may be angry at me for saying these things, I am writing because no one else is saying it.I hope I can be forgiven by my family for what I have to say.
My uncle Boaz committed suicide this past summer.
He didn't do it in the typical way. He didn't shoot himself, or hang himself. He had nothing but the land as his weapon of choice.
He went for a "stroll" on the land with no proper clothes, no gear, no rifle, no supujuq, and no intention of being found or coming back. He made sure when he left Pond Inlet that no one would be able to find his body.
And like everything else that he did well, he executed perfectly this stupidly selfish plan.
His body was never found, and now I live in wonder. Is his body floating around somewhere? Sometimes I dream where to see him. I"ll never know, but I'm haunted by my thoughts because that's all he's left me.
I can't speak too much about my mother's, aunts' or uncles' feelings because that's up to them. I can say that we have lived in denial until now because he didn't even give us the dignity (if you can even call it that) to leave us a body to bury.
I know there are people out there who still even think he's alive because he was such a good hunter and knew how to live on the land. He has children, and my heart especially goes out to my cousins, who have lost a father in their lives who won't enjoy their milestones.
The news didn't report on him because probably, and rightly so, they have policies that say it's best not to report on suicide. But this was so hushed, for a man I believe was so great.
I need his memory to be acknowledged, and not shamed, and not kept quiet.
I believe he was and would have been many great things: father, grand-father, sibling, uncle, mentor, memory. He had the best and worst sense of humour. I remember when I was 17, walking down the road in Pond Inlet after a fresh caribou catch. He smeared caribou blood on my face, which made us both laugh very hard as I was gagging on the stink of unbrushed teeth and fresh caribou blood smeared under my nose on my way home.
That was the kind of brutally funny man he was. He would do anything to make someone laugh, especially if it was at your expense.
I personally want to thank all the people who were involved in the search for my uncle Boaz, and who took the time because they cared and believed they could bring him back to us safely.
I also want to say to everyone who is living in destitution or may be feeling hopeless, my uncle was a hero to me before that day, before he thought about his children, his wife, his siblings, his nieces, and nephews. I will never forget the man he was, but if you think you're going to become some kind of hero, or if you think you're alleviating some pain that you're experiencing in the moment, don't be so friggin' selfish.
The love that we receive from our families is unconditional. There is nothing like it. You can't experience the love when you're gone, and neither can we.
Give us the hope we need and the understanding that nothing is static, nothing ever stays the same. It's impossible to be sad or happy all the time forever. Give your head a shake, and your life a chance, and stop breaking our hearts.
When you're going through a hard time, so are we, if you'll only tell us so. If you're feeling pain, so are we, if you let us know. If you're dead, a part of us dies too with you, because you didn't give us a chance to help, and we feel helpless to help anyone else.
Call it tough love, or honestly, I'm tired of having my heart broken by people who can't think beyond the moment they're in. In my darkest moments I've always been told by my mother, "it can't last." And she was always right.
If we started actually thinking the way the old people did, we would understand that it's about rushing toward survival, not death. You can count on death. It's imminent. On the other hand, being around our loved ones isn't.
I'm thankful for those of you who read this through. I'm thankful for my family's patience. I'm thankful I had an uncle Boaz.
Lucie Idlout
Toronto
NTI, Inuit associations do not serve Inuit
I would like to make some comments and update some people who wonder about those who have concerns about the negative impacts we may face from proposed uranium mining.
I shouldn't say "may," as some people already suffer from broken spirits, since we are being ignored even before the first microgram of yellowcake is dug up.
First of all, I am really ticked off that our community representative on the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Edwin Evo, had only one question for Areva. ("Promised uranium mine wins KIA plaudits," Nunatsiaq News, Nov. 7)
Late in 2006, Baker Lake Concerned Citizen's Committee requested one year of operational funding from KIA and from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to set up an office to inform and update the concerns that people have about what is happening with the many uranium exploration projects and the proposed uranium mine in our hunting grounds.
We received a letter about four months later from the NTI president saying that our request for funding proposal was denied.
He says that beneficiaries already have a voice through our KIA representative, and also through the local community lands and resources committee. He also explained the various insitutions of public government that were formed to protect and regulate our environment.
This is just to explain to you my side of story and some of the obstacles showing how the CLARC is insufficient as an alternative to the concerned citizen's committee.
For example, last year Areva worked on a feasibility study and environmental assessment of the Kiggavik Project. There were many proposed projects such as two all-weather routes, proposed docking sites, and a bridge crossing the Thelon River.
As part of their public consultation, they met with handful of committees, including the HTO and CLARC committees. The CLARC committee is supposed to be a voice, as the NTI president stated, for our beneficiaries, operating under KIA with representatives from the HTO, elders, youth, the hamlet and KIA.
As a representative for the HTO, I strongly stated that we cannot possibly have community input unless we meet with the people that we represent. I suggested to the CLARC that we request $3,000 to meet with elders, youth, and hunters separately to get their comments and input.
I stated that we cannot make decisions without consulting with them. After all, this is a consultation process. This was in month of May. The letter was written and given to our KIA rep, Edwin Evo, for his action.
In early October of this year, the CLARC met on some other business and I raised the question again of how we can possibly decide on important issues without knowing what our people want. I asked about the status of the $3,000 in funding we requested last May. Our KIA rep responded "I don't know."
All I can say for KIA's joyful celebration is that you do not hear, or give us a voice for our comments and input. You make thousands of dollars from our hunting grounds and you cannot even spare us a lousy $3,000!
It's all because you are afraid that once our beneficiaries start meeting, sharing concerns and getting a voice, it's going be a different tune than the music you're dancing to.
In short, the Kivalliq Inuit Association and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. does not serve us. They are only thinking about filling their wallets from our hunting, fishing, and traditional land, the root of our cultural and traditional spirit, quickly selling it to foreign companies, to people who do not share our beliefs.
Joan Scottie
Baker Lake
Nunavik must take action on elder abuse
I would like to show my appreciation for our elders in Nunavik. I think we understand quite well what our elders endured to get us to where we are today.
Yet, they are abused by many.
I have seen first-hand what addiction to alcohol and drugs can do to a person and I have also seen what addicted persons can do to his or her elderly parents or grandparents to satisfy their addiction.
Elders today are feeling unwelcome with the changes in society and the introduction of drugs and alcohol. Yes, some might have abused them before during the changes and during the introduction of federal day schools and during the High Arctic Relocation to name a couple of the many issues that took place many years ago.
Yes, some might still be abusing them today. These are the unresolved issues that society must take action on.
We know that these social issues have been passed down to the next generation. We also know that the third and fourth generation seems to be the worst of all the generations that have been affected. This is only because drugs are more available and stronger.
It would be the best time for families to take action on the many social issues that affect them. I think it is about time that everyone stops hiding and being afraid of confronting social issues.
I see many options for help that are available. They might not be the exact solution that we are looking for, but maybe they are for many others. To name a few, I would like to point out a few places that could offer some assistance:
- Isuarsivik Treatment Center in Kuujjuaq;
- Qayaq Network for Men in Kuujjuaq;
- Womens shelter in Kuujjuaq;
- Womens shelter in Salluit;
- Womens shelter in Kuujjuaraapik, soon to move to Inukjuak;
- Jusipie Keleutaq of Quartaq;
- Social Services in each of the communities;
- Aaqqitauvik Healing Center in Quartaq;
- Your local reverend;
- Family and friends; and
- Spouse, children, parents.
As you can see, there are many places and people who could give a hand. I, myself am available with some training and experience in front-line intervention and social skills.
I just hope that I have reached out to people in need and I also ask that Nunavik takes action and works together to resolve the issues that we are plagued with so that we may provide a better future for the generations to come.
Andy Moorhouse
Inukjuak
November 7, 2008
GN explains position on caribou management
In the Nunatsiaq News of Oct. 17, 2008, and in the News North of Oct. 20, 2008, John Komak presented a discussion stating his belief that an increase in the wolf population is causing a decline in caribou populations.
Mr. Komak said in his letter that the needed solution is to control the wolf population by having the Department of Environment introduce a wolf control program.
Certainly wolves and other predators, whose diet consists of caribou, have a role in caribou population dynamics.
However, wolves are but a single piece in a complicated and intricate ecosystem. To suggest that wolves are the problem, and that killing them is the sole solution, is an impulsive reaction to a very complex issue.
Caribou herds cycle and change in numbers, distribution, reproductive success, migration patterns and other ways in response to a vast array of factors. These factors may include pressure from predators, but will also include weather patterns, temperature, snow cover, forage availability, human harvesting, and land-use related disturbances.
Both Inuit and scientific knowledge agree that caribou herds go through long cycles of abundance and scarcity in response to these and other factors.
It is not likely possible for us to halt or stabilize these millennia-old (and sometimes century-long) cycles by manipulating a single factor. Further, even if it was possible to change or manipulate these natural cycles, it does not by any means gives us the justification to do so.
The Government of Nunavut is presently developing a caribou management strategy to guide the long term management of caribou in Nunavut, and will be doing consultations to obtain the input of stakeholders.
Options for management, including managing human activity, protecting important habitat, and possible programs that will promote an active wolf harvest, will be discussed in this process, and the department looks forward to hearing from all concerned parties on how to move forward with this very important initiative.
Lastly, it is highly inaccurate of Mr. Komak to suggest that because the Department of Environment does not presently have programs supporting predator control, it has been infiltrated and fully staffed by animal rights groups.
The department is not necessarily always opposed to predator management as a wildlife management tool. Rather our position is that caribou management is not as straightforward as killing wolves.
In addition, the Department of Environment is fully supportive of sustainable wildlife harvesting, which is best illustrated by the fact that we have a number of programs to support harvesters, including financial support for trappers.
Drikus Gissing
Director, Wildlife Management Division
Department of Environment
Government of Nunavut
