Another memorable moment took place after the students began to volunteer for tasks. I noticed a few people weren't volunteering to do anything, so I said, "You know, if nothing that we have listed so far interests you, then think about how you can incorporate your interests into this project. For example, if you don't know how to edit videos but you like to draw, perhaps we could figure out a way to use your animations in the video. Or, if you have always wanted to be on the radio, we could set up a time for you to talk on the air about the project." When I mentioned the radio idea, two previously unenthusiastic boys (actually, they're my age) perked up and volunteered for the job. I realized then that this project, in addition to bettering the Cambridge Bay community, is going to allow these students to develop practical skills: pitching an idea to the hamlet council, making calls to the airlines, interviewing community members, talking on a radio show...all of these parts of the process are going to prepare them for life in ways that "book learning" cannot.
Later this morning, the grade 4 class came into the Heritage Society to celebrate the end of their traditional sewing project with a tea party! They each told the elders why they were thankful for their help and posed for lots of pictures with their mittens. I am sad to see them go, because this class has been my favorite to work with.
Evidently I am "cool"
Some of the boys pose with their mittens
I heard it announced at school that there would be a suicide prevention meeting tonight, so I decided to check it out. The forty-person audience was composed mainly of middle-aged and older adults, but there were a few youth there as well. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss methods to reduce suicide, particularly through life affirmation and intervention strategies. When the microphone was handed over to the audience, I thought that the conversation would be limited to suggestions for new programs, but what surfaced was something much, much more powerful:
"I think literacy is important. Until a few years ago, when I went back to college to learn to read and write, I didn't know what literacy was. Now I know literacy is to be able to read and write. I think we need to have more programs to teach this to people because it makes people powerful."
"Hi, my name is Donna. When I was two years old, I was diagnosed with TB, taken from my parents and didn't see them until I was eight. I stayed in residential school until I was eighteen. I suffered physical, mental and verbal abuse, but thank God not sexual abuse...although it was almost all the same to me the way I was treated. I think we need a way to talk about our residential school experiences, because there are a lot of repressed emotions in this community that people need to talk about. There are a lot of people still hurting. Maybe if the youth hear about our experiences, they will take value their education more and take pride in all of the trials that Inuit have overcome."
"My grandson committed suicide, but we never saw it coming. He was quiet, so we never saw it coming."
"Meetings like these are great, they really are...but what we need is something lasting. I can't tell you how many community meetings like this that we've had that have left community members with more wounds than solutions."
"I am so glad that the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) took me to jail. They kept me from succeeding at committing suicide. They saved me from myself."
"Hi, my name is Jordan*, and I am 17 years old. I attempted suicide when I was 14, after my parents divorced...Attempting suicide is something that you never recover from, but I have taken my life into my own hands and have started finding new ways to express my emotions, like through music. Two weeks ago, I received training on how to use video equipment. Now, I am having more opportunities to use the equipment and teach other students how to make videos. I think we need more programs like this; programs that teach students useful skills that make them feel useful."
*(For the record, this Jordan is the same Jordan from the environmental class. When he talked about the new opportunity for him to use his video filming and editing skills, he was referring to the recycling project!)
"What we need are more cultural programs, to preserve our language and our traditions. If we are losing our language, losing our culture and losing our identity, it won't be long before we lose our hope."
Before I came to Cambridge Bay, I read a lot about the high youth suicide rates in the Arctic. I researched and discussed social determinants for the staggering statistics. But I learned more from this meeting than any paper I could have read. The emotion in the voices of people who have been touched by this issue is the most powerful educational and empowering tool that Inuit have.
Three years later, Jordan is a smart young man with a lot to live for
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