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Funds sought for friendship centre

John Curran
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 9, 2008

WINNIPEG - When Inuit arrive in Winnipeg for school, medical appointments or work, right away it's clear something is missing.

This bustling provincial capital of more than 630,000 people offers only minimal support to visiting or transplanted Nunavummiut - unlike the other major centres of Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton and Yellowknife.

Bernadette Niviatsiak (formerly Makpah) said she wants to change that and is fighting to have an urban Inuit friendship centre established as soon as possible.

"We'd like to set up somewhere like the west side, maybe in St. James, because it's a little quieter," she said.

She envisions a friendship centre where Inuit can come together to feast, drum dance, share a conversation in Inuktitut or even just to get some honest advice about finding a suitable apartment.

This last point is far more important than some may think, she said, adding if someone makes a bad decision about housing they can set themselves up for failure from day one.

"I see so many students who come here, particularly from the Kivalliq, and end up with an apartment that's an hour away from their school," she said. "Eventually they just stop going."

Her partner, well-known Inuit artist Jerry Ell, said students from the Kivalliq communities would do far better in Manitoba schools if they were given the assistance they need when moving to such a large city.

"One year we had 22 students from Arviat enrolled in schools around Winnipeg, but by Christmas all but four had dropped out," he said.

"Politicians say children are the future and education is critical, but they're letting them drop out due to a lack of support."

Niviatsiak began her crusade for the much-needed facility in 2003, and said the situation is getting critical.

"There are Inuit ending up in the sex trade and many others addicted to drugs," she said, adding the time to act is now before more Northerners have their lives destroyed.

"Each day another 40 to 50 Inuit arrive in Winnipeg on personal business and up to 25 more come for medical appointments."

With the recent addition of direct flights between Winnipeg and Sanikiluaq, those numbers are only growing higher.

Sanikiluaq elder Lucassie Arragutainaq said he thinks it is imperative to get a facility soon.

"It's something they have in other big cities like Edmonton and Montreal," he said. "It's absolutely critical we get one here too before more people get hurt."

According to Statistics Canada there are currently 235 Inuit living in Manitoba's capital and another 700 or so scattered around the rest of the province.

Those numbers are likely low, said Kate Bloy, a researcher in the final stages of a study on Inuit needs around Winnipeg for the federal government.

"The census is inaccurate due to the data collection methods," she said. "People don't always indicate they've moved from their home community in Nunavut - so there are likely many more people now living here from the Kivalliq."

Bloy's report, which will be released soon to the federal interlocutor for Metis and Non-Status Indians, looks at four key areas of concern for Winnipeg Inuit: community, medical information and services, housing - especially for single mothers going to school, and education.

"As southerners, we often mistake Inuit culture as being the same as other First Nations," she said. "But that isn't true, Inuit are unique ... there is a definite need for an urban Inuit friendship centre in Winnipeg."

Niviatsiak liked what she heard from Bloy, but then again her idea for a facility in Manitoba's capital has had supporters in the past, too.

"In 2004, the mayors of the Kivalliq region approved a motion to support an Inuit friendship centre here," she said. "We can't wait any longer ... we're looking for funding now."

That's something Chesterfield Inlet's Barney Aggark would like to see before he loses any friends or relatives to the dangers lurking around Winnipeg's streets.

Like many Kivalliq residents, he said he makes the trip to Winnipeg about four or five times a year.

"A friendship centre could help keep people from making the wrong choices," he said.