Rankin Inlet (Sep 22/04) - After six years working towards giving Inuit women a voice in Ottawa, Veronica Dewar decided it was time to step back and concentrate on her family.

The president of the Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association gave up her post in August, moving back to her home town of Rankin Inlet soon after.

"It was time to support my husband and move up here," said Dewar.

Advocacy for Inuit women

Her future is unclear, but Dewar hopes to continue her advocacy for Inuit women through counselling at the Glad Tidings Church.

"I'm itching to get back home and get involved. That's always been my desire in my heart: to be available to everyone," she said.

Dewar moved to Ottawa in 1998 after assuming the presidency of Pauktuutit, giving up her retail store in Rankin and uprooting her family.

She calls those years "a struggle" for all the challenges she faced through the association.

With a team of workers and an annual budget of $300,000, Dewar knows that the association has come a long way.

"When I got in there, it was a mess. We had to reestablish our communication with the government," she said.

Being able to do that paved the way for Pauktuutit to become a national association, alongside the likes of the Assembly of First Nations and other aboriginal groups.

"You have to constantly advocate. We need a voice, we need to be at the table," she said of Inuit women in Canada.

Increasing respite care in Inuit communities, increasing awareness about HIV/AIDS and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and violence against Inuit women were some of the issues Dewar highlights from her term.

"It's come a long way, but it still has its struggles," she said.

Mary Palliser of the Hudson region has assumed the presidency until elections can be held in 2005. Dewar is hoping an Inuit woman will step up to the plate.

"I hope they get strong women in there," she said.