Leader gets strength from history
National Inuit Youth Council president learns from ancestors
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, November 9, 2015
IQALUIT
"These are my grandparents," says Maatalii Okalik, touching a photo she took from her shelf, naming each person in the frame.
Maatalii Okalik, president of the National Inuit Youth Council, cherishes her family history. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo |
"This is an example of why I do what I do."
Okalik, an Iqaluit resident who became president of the National Inuit Youth Council earlier this year, finds much of her drive to be a positive voice for Inuit youth in that history.
"I have a lot of pictures here to remind me of that strength," she said, detailing the circumstances that led to the photograph and the many interruptions federal policies made in her family's life.
"We are still here despite all of those assimilation policies... I want to honour those who came before us and ensured that we did survive. That's my interest."
Okalik was born in Iqaluit, raised as a child in Pangnirtung and went through school in Ottawa. The identity and culture crisis of retaining her Inuit heritage in an English-speaking world has been at the forefront of her life since it began.
She began life as a fluent Inuktitut speaker but, growing up in Ottawa, she found it difficult to communicate in school. Focusing on English became a survival technique.
"I wasn't able to communicate with my classmates, I wasn't able to communicate with my teacher to ask to use the bathroom," said Okalik. "There was a lot of shame attached to that, not being able to communicate for basic rights and needs. I think my survival mode kicked in and I decided that I would do well in English and I would do well in school, and I did. But that meant that I sacrificed my Inuktitut language proficiency."
That focus on English means she struggles to communicate with elders and unilingual Inuktitut speakers now. Many Inuit, especially youth, find themselves in a similar position and part of Okalik's mission is speaking out against the shaming that can occur within the Inuit community about proficiency in Inuktitut.
"Lateral violence contributes to stigma within Inuit," said Okalik. "I don't think people do it on purpose. I think it's a learned behaviour. It might be in a joking way, but it will be received in a negative way by people learning Inuktitut."
One negative experience can completely alter a person's journey, she said, and she's heard from youth who were made fun of for how they spoke.
"Some people think in Inuktitut and can speak Inuktitut but feel ashamed to because they're worried about that shaming that happens sometimes," she said.
"I'm not trying to point any fingers. What I'm trying to do is send the message for Inuit to encourage one another, first of all.
"Secondly, for Inuit youth to feel safe to reclaim their language and put as much importance on Inuktitut language revitalization as English. It is up to us to save our language."
As president of the National Inuit Youth Council, Okalik is serving a two-year term that, despite being a volunteer role, takes up much of her free time.
She works with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, sits on the board for the Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada and is dedicated to furthering the interests of Inuit youth.
She wants to have a positive impact and lead by example. Beyond removing the stigma around language and culture, she wants to see suicide eradicated and the discussion around it focused on a positive approach to prevention, one that celebrates life.
She is a busy person who has excelled in school. On top of a full-time job with the Government of Nunavut, she is finishing a human rights and political science degree online.
Okalik finds much of her determination in the Inuit stories she was told growing up.
"I've been told about the triumphs of Inuit as far as storytelling goes back," she said. "I have always been in awe and very proud to be Inuk based on those stories that were told."
The stories share Inuit societal value systems, rules of kinships, coping mechanisms against anything that might challenge them, from weather to dispute resolution.
"All of these stories indicated our strengths and that's what I'm rooted in," said Okalik, speaking about what she sees for her future.
"Behind me is a strong foundation of many, many generations before mine. That's what makes me stand strong. Ahead of me are decisions that I will make as an individual who is very keen on making well-researched decisions.
"I have been wronged in the past, just like every single person has struggles and negative experiences and from those negative experiences that's what helps people decide what's right and wrong and how they're going to address those issues."
