Saturviit Inuit Women's Association of Nunavik Pascale Laneuville June

Saturviit Inuit Women’s Association of Nunavik BRING HOPE AND RESTORE PEACE A STUDY REPORT ON THE LIFE AND CONCERNS OF INUIT WOMEN OF NUNAVIK Pascale Laneuville June 2015 A long version of this report can be downloaded from www.saturviit.ca. Saturviit Inuit Women's Association of Nunavik (www.saturviit.ca) In partnership with the Community-University Research Alliance Leadership and Governance in Nunavut and Nunavik (www.cura.leadership.ciera.ulaval.ca) Prepared by Pascale Laneuville Graphic design: Beat Studio ISBN 978-0-9948550-1-5 ©Saturviit 2015 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of tables iv Acronyms and abbreviations v Introduction 1 Methodology 5 Chapter 1. Housing shortage and homelessness 9 INTRODUCTION 9 HOUSING SITUATION AND HOUSING POLICY IN NUNAVIK 10 PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE 13 HEALTH AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF HOUSING SHORTAGE 15 HEALTH ISSUES 15 NARRATIVE: EXPERIENCING CONJUGAL VIOLENCE AND FEELING AT HOME NOWHERE 16 HAVING NO HOME: BEING STUCK IN A HOUSE WITH ALCOHOL ABUSE AND VIOLENCE 16 CONFLICTS BETWEEN CO-RESIDENTS, AND LACK OF SPACE FOR CHILDREARING 18 HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS IN MONTREAL 19 WHY MOVE DOWN SOUTH? 19 NARRATIVE: LIVING ON THE STREETS: DRINKING, BEING BEATEN, AND LOSING HER CHILDREN 22 EXPERIENCES OF HOMELESS INUIT IN MONTREAL 22 SERVICES AND HELP FOR HOMELESS INUIT 25 SUMMARY 26 Chapter 2. Schooling, employment, and the economy 28 INTRODUCTION 28 OVERVIEW OF NUNAVIK’S EDUCATION SYSTEM AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 29 PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE 31 WHAT HAS TO BE IMPROVED IN NUNAVIK’S EDUCATION SYSTEM 34 SECOND-RATE EDUCATION AND THE LANGUAGE ISSUE 34 THE RESPONSIBILITY OF TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS 35 TEACHING OF INUIT HISTORY, MORE CURRICULA, AND BETTER SERVICES FOR STUDENTS 39 DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN JUNIOR COLLEGE STUDIES 40 NARRATIVES: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF SCHOOL DROPOUT ON WOMEN’S LIFE 42 UNDEREMPLOYMENT: NOT ENOUGH JOBS OR LACK OF WILLINGNESS? 44 FINANCIAL HARDSHIP 47 SUMMARY 51 Chapter 3. Violence and abuse 54 INTRODUCTION 54 PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE 56 GENERAL IMPACTS OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE ON COMMUNITY LIFE AND RISK OF DEATH 58 NARRATIVE: ALCOHOL ABUSE AS AN IMPETUS FOR FAMILY VIOLENCE 62 CONJUGAL PROBLEMS WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE 63 i NARRATIVE: A FAMILY STRUGGLING WITH DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE 66 FAMILY VIOLENCE: THE CHILDREN SUFFER 67 THE RELATIONSHIP WITH ALCOHOL AND HOW TO COPE 70 BACK TO THE PAST 70 CONTROLLING ACCESS TO ALCOHOL 74 EDUCATION ABOUT ALCOHOL AND TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM 76 CONJUGAL VIOLENCE: LIVING IN FEAR AND SILENCE 79 NARRATIVE: HOW SOCIAL ISSUES STEM FROM ONE ANOTHER 82 SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN 83 SUICIDE: TEENAGE DISTRESS 86 SUMMARY 88 Chapter 4. Social services and the justice system in Nunavik 92 INTRODUCTION 92 NARRATIVE: HOW SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD LEADS TO YEARS OF STRUGGLE 94 THE JUSTICE SYSTEM 95 POLICE SERVICES AND ATTITUDE 95 RELUCTANCE TO DENOUNCE A RELATIVE OR A SPOUSE; THE SLOW SYSTEM 96 IGNORANCE, AND BEING LEFT ON ONE’S OWN 98 IMPRISONMENT OR COMMUNITY INTERVENTION: TWO DIFFERENT METHODS 100 NARRATIVE: BETWEEN MONTREAL AND THE NORTH; FEELING ALONE AS A MOTHER AND A GIRLFRIEND 102 DIRECTOR OF YOUTH PROTECTION (DYP) AND SOCIAL SERVICES 103 TRUST IN SOCIAL WORKERS, NOT A FOREGONE CONCLUSION 104 NARRATIVE: MOTHERHOOD, ALCOHOLISM, AND THE DIRECTOR OF YOUTH PROTECTION 109 DIRECTOR OF YOUTH PROTECTION (DYP): REMOVING CHILDREN OR WORKING WITH THE FAMILIES 110 OTHER SERVICES AND PROGRAMS PROVIDED BY INUIT 112 NEIGHBOURHOOD WELLNESS PROGRAM 113 WOMEN’S SHELTERS 113 SUMMARY 115 Chapter 5. Social bonds: fragmentation and reconnection 118 INTRODUCTION 118 PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE: MARITAL STATUS AND NUMBER OF CHILDREN 119 CONJUGAL RELATIONSHIP: BEING A MAN AND BEING A WOMAN 122 ROLE SHIFTING AND IMBALANCE OF POWER 122 NARRATIVE: FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, UNTIL DEATH 125 MARRIAGE, THEN AND NOW 126 “YOUTH JUST WANT TO FOLLOW THEIR MIND” 128 PARENTING: BEING A CHILD AND BEING A PARENT 131 “BABIES HAVE BABIES” 131 “MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME HOW TO CONTROL MY EMOTIONS” 134 HELP PARENTS TO HELP THEIR CHILDREN 137 PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE; BEING AN ELDER AND BEING A YOUTH 138 COMMUNITY LIFE, AND HOW TO WORK TOGETHER ON RECONNECTING AND HEALING 141 SEWING GROUPS AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES 142 PROMOTING MUTUAL AID AND DIALOGUE FOR HEALING 144 SUMMARY 148 Conclusion 152 ii Bibliography 154 Appendix 1 - Schedule and participants 160 Appendix 2 – Nunavik Inuit Women’s Manifesto 163 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Age groups of the participants by community .......................................................................... 6 Table 2. Housing situation of the participants by community ........................................................... 14 Table 3. Situation of the participants who live in Montreal ................................................................ 20 Table 4. Educational degree, employment, and financial situation of the participants, by age group .......................................................................................................................................................... 32 Table 5. Employers and kinds of work of the participants .................................................................. 34 Table 6. Participants’ profile in terms of alcohol and cigarette consumption, violence, sexual assault, and suicide ................................................................................................................ 58 Table 7: Marital status of the participants ............................................................................................... 119 Table 8: Number of children, adoptions, and cases of single motherhood ................................ 120 iv ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CLSC: Centre local de services communautaires, which may also refer to CSSS (Centre de santé et de services sociaux) and may be called simply clinic or nursing. DYP: Director of Youth Protection FASD: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder FCNQ: Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec Health Board: Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS) KMHB: Kativik Municipal Housing Bureau KRG: Kativik Regional Government KSB: Kativik School Board NRBHSS: Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services NV: Northern Village (municipality) SHQ: Société d’habitation du Québec v INTRODUCTION It is well known that Northern communities, like other Aboriginal reserves, are in Canada among the ones most affected by all kinds of social problems. For decades, they have shown the highest rates of suicide, dropout, family violence, alcoholism, and so on. This reality is not so easy to comprehend and even harder to handle. Unfortunately, too many Canadians are unaware that the current situation is directly connected to still very recent colonial history; nor do they understand how it has impacted individuals and families. Doubtless, rapid changes in lifestyle and the disconnect between generations, caused especially by residential schools in the 1950s and 1960s, still affect all Inuit adversely. Therefore, the first step toward positive changes would obviously be to learn about and from the past, both from the standpoint of the colonizers and from that of the colonized, this being a long and trying process. The ongoing colonial relationship must also be overcome. Such a purpose is embodied by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was formed in 2008 after the Harper Government’s official apologies for the legacy of residential schools. We have certainly cause for hope. Besides government initiatives, many Inuit have also taken diverse actions and engaged in discussions to give voice to their stories and to break the circle of violence afflicting their communities. During the summer of 2005, Inuit women came from each of Nunavik’s 14 communities and from the South to meet at Qilalugaq Camp near Puvirnituq, where they reflected on Nunavik’s political and social situation. During this gathering, the participants came up with recommendations that would bring attention to the needs of Inuit women and children. They also drafted a manifesto called “Stop Violence” (Appendix 2) and asked all individuals and organizations to adopt it. Following the meeting, Saturviit1 Inuit Women’s Association of Nunavik was created with a mandate to give Inuit women and children a voice, to break down the wall of silence surrounding their experiences, and to promote their wellbeing. This report echoes and goes beyond the initial set of recommendations made in 2005 at Qilalugaq Camp. It presents the results of a research project initiated in January 2013 by Saturviit in partnership with the research program CURA Inuit Leadership and Governance in Nunavut and Nunavik: Life Stories, Analytical Perspective and Trainings.2 The goal of the study was to probe the conditions of life of Inuit women from Nunavik and to learn about their concerns, needs, and aspirations, in order to come up with concrete solutions to social problems. To do so, a graduate student in anthropology came to visit Inuit communities and interviewed more than one hundred women. Since Saturviit’s main mission is to give women a voice, the purpose of this book is to report their words as faithfully as possible, and not to offer a deep analysis of the historical causes of current social issues, any more than it is to give an interpretation of the overall 1 “Saturviit” means “people who bring hope to restore peace.” 2 This CURA (Community-University Research Alliance) is a 5-year (2010-2015) research program directed by Frédéric Laugrand (Department of Anthropology, Université Laval) and

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