Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Panniqtuuq (Nov 11/02) - Madeleine Qumuatuq was appointed to a two-year term as president of Qulliit, Nunavut's Status of Women Council, last June.

She wants to see more female leaders in the territory and increased awareness of women's health issues.

Madeleine Qumuatuq has many vocations but, most importantly, she's a mother. Two of her three children, Wesley and Natasha, are at home with her in Panniqtuuq learning their language and culture. - Christine Kay/NNSL photo

News/North: What are your responsibilities as president of the council?

Madeleine Qumuatuq: My main responsibility is making sure we're effectively lobbying the government for change.

N/N: What is the council working on right now?

MQ: The number one issue we want to work on and are working on is violence against women. It's not just a women's issue. It's a whole community issue, a Nunavut issue. We all have children and they are affected by it. Their schooling is affected and their health is affected.

N/N: What are some of the other issues?

MQ: Another project we are working on is the fight against breast cancer and other health matters like cervical cancer. We want to get some awareness out there. There are so many health issues that we're not dealing with. But we have to deal with it step by step. Something else we discuss whenever we meet is parenting issues -- parenting issues and skills and how Inuit parenting was taken away when we moved to the communities.

N/N: What do you mean?

MQ: Kids are not listening to the elders any more and it goes way back to when we moved to the communities. When education was introduced to us we stayed within the school system most of the day. Our parents didn't take care of us any more, the school did. Now we're saying let's take it back. Children are a parent's responsibility. They are our responsibility. We want to get some programs in there to help out, like income support.

N/N: What has the council done to work on this so far?

MQ: We had a parenting skills workshop in (Panniqtuuq) last fall at the college. There were 15 participants. Each member of the community is doing what we can.

N/N: How did you grow up?

MQ: I had to go to Iqaluit to finish school. We didn't have high school level here. Then I went to Ottawa for a program called Nunavut Sivuniksavut. I wanted my kids to know the small community life and get to know their language so I moved back here. I couldn't for a while cause there were no jobs.

N/N: What about your family? Were they unilingual?

MQ: My parents were unilingual. I think I was three or four when I first started to try to interpret. My mother was such a good sewer that she was always asked to make parkas and kamiks by the white people. I was trying to translate for them. I guess I made it through that. They normally got the end product and they were happy with it. She was always involved within the church. She was a volunteer councillor within the community. I grew up with my mom always helping other people and I think that was passed on to me. I notice it going on to my daughter as well.

N/N: How many children do you have?

MQ: I'm a single parent with three kids. One lives in Iqaluit with their dad.

N/N: Where is the office for Nunavut's Status of Women's Council?

MQ: The office is in Iqaluit in the Royal Bank building. Our council is all mainly unilingual Inuit speaking women so it took a little bit more time to set up the office. We just got two vice-presidents. One is Allison Brewer of Iqaluit and the other is Annie Napayok of Whale Cove.

N/N: Where do you work?

MQ: I work for the hamlet as the economic development officer. I guess it's going on two years now. Before that I did a lot of work dealing with violence. I worked in Iqaluit with social services. We started the Ikajugtiit program that provided support for victims. We got funding from the federal government. It ran for three years and no one else took it over after we left. Then I started working in the justice department. Now, I work with the total opposite. I worked with the offenders. I worked all over the place and I've also been a part of different committees.

N/N: What sorts of committees?

MQ: I'm on the Health and Social Issues committee. I'm also on the community's airport relocation committee. We're thinking of putting it behind Mount Duval. There's a valley much like this one. We're doing the feasibility study now.

N/N: What do you hope to accomplish during your term with the council?

MQ: I really want to see some programs for violence against women. There's no victims' assistance programs, there's no counselling for women. It's a passion for me to make sure there's a shelter or at least a safe home in every community. I also want to make sure there is something for offenders. We hope to get a program in place that helps offenders deal with their issues holistically. We have to find the reason behind all the anger. We can't just put a Band-Aid on it.

N/N: Who's your role model?

MQ: I just came back from Ottawa with Elisapee Ootoova. She got the Governor General's award. We were in Ottawa for two days and we were smiling for two days.

N/N: Why is she your role model?

MQ: She's an elder and she's made the transition from traditional Inuit culture to modern Inuit culture today. In between all of that, she's maintained her family. She's been involved in justice. She's written a book. She's talked on the radio about parenting skills. She's an awesome lady. She freely gives advice even when people aren't asking for it. That's the Inuit way.

N/N: How is the council supporting women who are in leadership roles?

MQ: We've talked a lot about the lack of women in leadership. Why is it that women make only 79 per cent of a man's salary? This is new for us. We didn't work 50 years ago and we didn't get paid for it.

There's really no support for women in power that makes them want to stay there. We're looking to other provinces or territories to see how they are giving this support. The elections are coming up and we'd like to see more women running. One way to make women's voices heard is to run for these positions. We'd like to be able to support these women when and if they run.

N/N: What do you hope to see happen in Nunavut?

MQ: I want to see our Inuit culture and language enforced more. If we don't have the language than we don't know the culture as well as we would have. I want to see everyone in the community working together again. It's almost like an inter-agency meeting.

N/N: Do you plan on staying with the committee after your two-year term is complete?

MQ: Even if I'm not part of the council, I think I'll always be involved in making women's lives better. By women I mean women and their families.