WHITEHORSE, YT, May 7, 2024
/CNW/ - Ten innovative teams from across Canada's North were awarded a share of over
$3.2 million for their groundbreaking
by the North and for the North projects. The prizes were awarded
during a celebration held tonight in Whitehorse in partnership with the Arctic
Indigenous Investment Conference.
"For twelve years now, the Arctic Inspiration Prize has been
celebrating excellence of and for the North. Once again this year,
I am astounded by the incredible innovation and problem-solving
that is happening in the North," said Wally
Schumann, Chair of the Arctic Inspiration Prize Charitable
Trust. "The AIP is the largest annual prize in Canada, almost as big as the dreams and
resourcefulness of Northerners. These 10 winning projects are
poised to transform their communities for the better. We can't wait
to see it."
The $1 million prize went to the
Inotsiavik Centre. Inotsiavik, meaning "a place
to live well" in Nunatsiavummiutut, is a project that aims to help
revitalize Inuttitut and culture by providing an accessible means
to education and programming for Nunatsiavummiut. Its goal is to
open a not-for-profit cultural centre in Hopedale that serves as a welcoming, safe
space to host a range of vital cultural programming committed to
strengthening skills, confidence, and pride in Inuit identity.
"Winning this award is life-changing, not only for us as a team,
but for all Nunatsiavummiut. It has been the endless support of our
communities that has gotten us here, and we are beyond thrilled
that the Arctic Inspiration Prize has recognized this dream and
awarded Inotsiavik the $1,000,000
prize. We thank the Arctic Inspiration Prize Team for this
tremendous amount of support, and we are honoured to now be able to
plan and fund a wide range of language and cultural programming for
years to come," said the Inotsiavik team.
In addition to the $1 million
prize, five prizes were awarded in the AIP category that awards up
to $500,000 to each laureate team,
and four prizes were awarded in the Youth category, worth up to
$100,000 each.
Thay K'i Anint'i was awarded $499,000 to offer recovery and wellness
programming to support individual and community health recovery
programs built around Indigenous culture and western practices.
This two-eyed recovery and wellbeing centre would expand to bring
aftercare models throughout Yukon
with the goal of supporting recovery models for all.
Learning, Harvesting, Earning was awarded
$425,000. In response to the pressing
issue of food insecurity in Nunavut, this project would teach boys and
young men traditional skills of fishing for Arctic Char in both
winter and summer settings. The goal is to equip the young
participants with the expertise needed for sustainable fishing
practices – bridging the gap in traditional skills, and also
empowering young men with meaningful employment opportunities and
the opportunity to contribute to their communities.
Indigenizing Work with Traditional Knowledge and Support
Project was awarded $112,000 to address the multifaceted challenges
faced by Indigenous employees at Aurora Heat, a sustainable fur
business in Fort Smith, NWT.
Through ongoing collaboration and a comprehensive understanding of
the mental health crisis in the North, this project will address
the root causes of employment instability, food insecurity, and
lack of cultural connections.
Hebron and Nutak
Reunions was awarded $298,000
to provide an opportunity for the remaining able-bodied evictees to
return to their homeland together at Hebron and Nutak/Okkak Bay in the summer of
2024. The impacts of this project will be far-reaching and
long-lasting. These reunions will provide a healing opportunity for
evictees and those participants who may be impacted by the eviction
from Hebron and Nutak.
Therapeutic Farm School program was awarded
$500,000. The program is designed for
K-12 students with disabilities in the Yukon, particularly those with
neurodiversities such as Autism, ADHD, and other cognitive delays.
The program will encompass learning through experiential means, on
the land from a First Nations perspective, with a combination of
supports. Students will learn important skills to help them in
making more meaningful connections with others, leading to positive
mental health outcomes, higher rates of graduation and more
successful learning experiences.
In the Youth category, four projects demonstrated their
outstanding commitment to making a difference in their
communities.
Investing in the Futures of Inuit Women was
awarded $98,000. This project will
provide employment and skill building opportunities for young Inuit
mothers and women. The skills learned will provide tools to
increase their earning income potential as well as increase their
confidence. The participants will be encouraged to form a
collective and explore the opportunity of a social enterprise that
could bring innovation at a community level.
The Yukon Young People's Theatre Festival was
awarded $99,000 to hold a 3-day Yukon
Youth Theatre Festival at the Yukon Arts Centre in early 2025. The
goal of this project is to provide those young people with an
opportunity to experience the benefit of the performing arts, and
the positive impacts they have on health and well-being.
L.O.V.E. Inuktut was awarded $100,000 to revitalize and safeguard 11 dialects
of Inuktut through the creation of beginner-level immersion-style
videos. This project will concurrently work on an innovative app
that integrates language-learning videos into daily life.
Positioned as a complementary addition to existing resources, the
app will link to various Inuktut resources, ensuring a
comprehensive learning journey and contributing to the sustained
growth of Inuktut language and culture for years to come.
Youth Coalition 4 Food Security North was
awarded $100,000 to support, engage
and connect youth in food initiatives in their regions across
northern Canada. The goal is to
get youth engaged with local food production and empower them to
share knowledge and experiences. The outcome is to create a network
of resources by youth, for youth, to support engagement in food
dialogues and initiatives in the North.
The ceremony was hosted by Andrea
Brazeau and Leonard
Linklater, and featured performances by a variety of
northern artists under the artistic direction of Sylvia Cloutier.
About the Arctic Inspiration Prize
As the largest annual prize in Canada, the Arctic Inspiration
Prize (AIP) inspires, enables and celebrates the achievements
of the people of the North. The AIP recognizes diverse teams and
enables their innovative projects in the fields of education;
health and wellbeing; culture, arts and language; science and
traditional knowledge; climate change; and the economy. Each year,
the AIP awards: one $1 million prize,
up to four prizes of up to $500,000
each, and up to seven youth prizes of up to $100,000 each. The AIP is owned and governed by
the northern-led AIP Charitable Trust and is a community of
Indigenous organizations, governments, industry, philanthropy, and
many other partners from the North and South.
SOURCE Arctic Inspiration Prize