The 'WHY'
The Opportunity:
Inuit Youth are essential partners in Arctic Research, Planning and Policy work
Inuit young leaders are shaping planning and policy through land, water and ice-based intergenerational knowledge.
Inuit youth are one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in Canada.
Inuit perspectives, knowledge, and lived experiences are vital to building stronger policies, programs, and futures that address pressing environmental and social issues for all Arctic communities.
Inuit Youth are leading cultural resurgence efforts and have grown up in a far more digitally connected world. They are uniquely placed to recognize and create opportunities to use technology alongside their cultural knowledge and education to shape a better future.
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Many of our teachings are passed down orally and only accessible in our language and stories. It is common practise for Inuit to include our children and youth in everything we do. Whether that’s sharing knowledge through stories, preparing food, hunting, or leadership and community discussions. It is colonial practises that say youth should not be included.
Karla Jessen Williamson, Inuk Researcher
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Supporting Indigenous sovereignty, rights and reconciliation
Policymakers and researchers have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to support Inuit youth leadership in research and policy. For too long, research in the Arctic has followed extractive, colonial patterns in which knowledge is collected from communities without ensuring that they benefit from, or even have access to, the results.
Supporting Inuit self-determination and sovereignty in policy and research—as outlined in the National Inuit Strategy on Research—is a matter of justice. By centring the voices of those most impacted by environmental change, we move beyond passive observation toward a "research/policy for us, with us" approach that respects Inuit sovereignty and fosters communal well-being.
Decolonizing research and policy practises requires a fundamental shift: ceding power and recognizing Inuit youth not as subjects of study, but as experts with vital lived experience and land-based knowledge.
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Supports the rights and principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.
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Supports the youth-identified priorities under Canada’s Youth Policy:
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Leadership and Impact;
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Health and Wellness;
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Innovation, Skills and Learning;
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Employment;
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Truth and Reconciliation;
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Environment and Climate Action.
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Shifting what counts as ‘evidence’ in policy & research
By honouring the use of creative and land-based approaches in policy engagement, we can move beyond endless cycles of ‘seeing & reacting’ to environmental change and societal challenges toward vividly ‘sensing and responding’ to it in ways that are answerable to communities.
Knowledge and Resources
We offer practical resources, stories, research, and tools to support Inuit youth in shaping, designing, and informing policy, planning, and research on their own terms.
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How it all started
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Arctic Futures emerged from Inuit youth-led research projects which explored how storytelling and art could support Inuvialuit youth in reflecting on and sharing how climate change and environmental issues were impacting them and their communities.
