Inuit Youth Have A Voice Too

The first line of the chorus from the song “Teenagers” by the band My Chemical Romance is, “Teenagers scare the living sh*t out of me.” For most of my adult life, this could have been my mantra. Quite frankly, I found teenage coolness intimidating and always dreaded or avoided interacting with them. I’m also of an age where I can barely remember the details of my own adolescence.

Today, I actually really want to be around young people. That’s been a big change for me. I’ve learned I can connect with a teenager. I never thought that would be possible until I started working with Inuit youth.

I first visited Nunavut in 2006 in search of something good. Ever since Nunavut was formed just over a decade ago, the majority of reports have been only of its socio-economic failures. Generally, when I only see bad, I know there is something good just around the corner. It didn’t take me long to find it.

Upon arrival, I met Lori Idlout. She introduced me to a stunning culture—one of gentleness, kindness and generosity. What I saw did not wholly reflect what the media portrayed.

Lori is the executive director of the Embrace Life Council (ELC), an organization dedicated to working with youth in Arctic Canada. As we have witnessed in the series of media reports on Nunavut this week, young people in the North have issues, to say the least. The ELC’s mandate is to empower these youth to act and think positively and to celebrate their life, culture, language and history.

In 2008, despite my lack of experience working with youth, I was asked to help as a photography facilitator on an Embrace Life Council initiative called “Inuusivut” (meaning “Our Way of Life”). The main focus of this project is to provide the necessary skills-based training in photography, filmmaking and leadership to enable youth to be the driving force in the visual exploration, promotion and sharing of mental health related issues. In short, two Inuk filmmakers and myself travel throughout the Territory teaching a variety of visual communication techniques to groups of kids aged between fifteen and nineteen. So far, we have trained about one hundred and twenty youth in twelve communities.

It was especially challenging for me to take on this initiative because there were many barriers that had to be broken down before I felt I could connect with Inuit teenagers. I had to earn their trust not only as an adult but also as a stranger - or Kabloonak - in their community.

We teach about fifteen kids at a time and our 7-day workshops usually begin with an introduction to camera mechanics and basic visual composition. After a day or so of playing and experimenting, the youth are ready to work on their individual projects; either a photo-essay, multi-media project or short film. The ideas are storyboarded and scripted as best they can, shot and then edited to final production using state-of-the-art equipment. At the end of the week, we have a public showing where family and friends are invited and the kids get to stand up in front of an audience to introduce their projects. For most Inuit teenagers who are naturally extremely shy and quiet, this can be a daunting task.

The kid’s projects are mixed and always interesting. They sometimes tackle difficult subjects such as sniffing, bullying, the environment and those memorable and pesky adolescent relationships - subjects that are almost impossible for them to verbalize, but somehow come alive when cameras are put in their hands. The projects also seem to have an interesting mix of Northern and Southern sensibilities, often captured in their use of both English and Inuktitut languages – or Inuklish as we call it.

I’ve come to believe that art is part of an Inuk kid’s DNA. The level of artistic and visual acuity is nothing short of astonishing. When we show them what they’re capable of, it has a very positive effect on their well-being and mental health. Getting them involved in documenting their community not only encourages active participation, but it also turns the focus from death to life. Through this kind of communication process and participation, we hope that the youth will not get sucked into the funk that creates a cycle of failure, which in the worst of cases, leads to substance abuse and all too often, suicide.

John Ralston Saul, in his book “A Fair Country”, states that “a successful Northern strategy means Northern communities made stronger in a Northern way, which means approaches not imitative of Southern urban beliefs, but approaches naturally integrated as a blend of old and new Northern ways.” From my viewpoint, the first place to start with such a strategy is with Inuit youth.

At one of our public showings in Rankin Inlet, I was asked to say a few words. I told everyone that I had started the week teaching basic photography and ended the week trying to replicate some of the photographs taken by the students. I also wanted to say that nowadays, the only thing that scares the living sh*t out of me about teenagers is their immense creative potential and raw intelligence. But I didn’t think that would translate well into Inuktitut.