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| February 4, 2014 |
As
I mentioned in a previous post, 2013 saw the highest number of recorded suicides
in Nunavut. The final tally at the end
of the year was forty-five. The rate is
dangerously getting close to one suicide per week. Suicide has been a big problem since the
territory's creation in 1999. In
response to last year's high suicide count, the territory's chief coroner,
Padma Suramala, is calling a special inquest into the high suicide rate. As well, ASIST workshops would be held in
fifteen communities starting in February.
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| February 4, 2014 |
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a two day, 15-hour workshop, designed
and administered by LivingWorks. The
"highly interactive, practical, [and] practice-oriented workshop", gives
participants the tools and skills needed to help "prevent the immediate
risk of suicide." Classes can be
taught in English, French, and Inuktitut.
Teaching the course in Inuktitut is made possible by the 17 local Inuit ASIST trainers
in the territory. LivingWorks is hoping
to increase this number in the near future.
Arctic
Bay was the first community to receive ASIST training on February 4th &
5th. The participants would be the
teaching & administrative staff of Inuujaq School. Naturally, regular classes were cancelled for
those two days. The English instructor
was an RCMP officer and was accompanied by an Inuit instructor. A local Inuit lady was hired to provide
English-to-Inuktitut translation for the school's two unilingual Inuit
teachers. The workshop consisted of
interactive lectures, instructional videos, group sessions, and acting out
scenarios requiring intervention. ASIST
uses a speaking intervention model; physically stopping a person from
committing suicide is left to the police and emergency services.
I
really liked the ASIST workshop because I learned a lot and feel better
prepared should a student or adult come to me and say that they have had
feelings of suicide. As well, I am
trained to detect some of the warning signs and in response, approach that
person and talk to them about what they are feeling. I liked how all the teaching materials were
Inuit-oriented. Most of the teaching
resources in the north come from the south, making it a challenge for learners
to see the relevance.
At
the same time, the workshop was (a little) stressful for many because suicide
touches everyone in the north. It
appears that every Inuk has had a family member(s) or close friend(s) that has committed
suicide. No one wants to relive those
painful memories. I was aware of suicide
when I was growing up down south but it never affected me until I began
teaching up north. One of my students in
Iqaluit chose to end his life in December 2012.
I didn't know about it until another student came and told me.
Everyone
received a certificate for successfully completing the two-day workshop and
posed for a class photo. The ASIST
trainers departed for Resolute on February 5th, the next community to host the
ASIST workshops.
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| The Sun arrives. |
Supposedly,
the sun arrived on February 5th at around noon, except no one in town could see
it due to low overcast clouds. Mother
Nature was forcing everyone to wait an extra day. At least we were treated to colourful clouds
on the morning of February 4th. Everyone
got a good look at the sun when classes resumed on the 6th. The mood in the air was anticipation; think
of the large crystal ball in Times Square making its descent during the New
Years Eve celebration. I briefly
interrupted my second period Social Studies class to take a picture of the sun
as it slowly crept over the distant mountains.
A few high school students from other classes briefly came over to my
class to get a glimpse of the sun. At
lunchtime, I grabbed my camera and headed over to the Northern Store to get a better
shot of the sun. I didn't want any power
lines in the picture.
Inuujaq
School held a sun celebration on the morning of Friday, February 7th in the gym. Before 9am, the staff cleaned the gym, hung
posters made by elementary classes, and set up chairs and tables for a morning
breakfast. Invitations were extended to
parents, elders, and community leaders.
Teachers and students were wearing bright clothing and traditional Inuit
sunglasses made out of cardboard.
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| Inuujaq School student Rosalie lights the qulliq. |
The
celebration began with the lighting of the qulliq, a traditional Inuit oil
lamp. The lamp was lit by Rosalie, a
high school student. Then the middle
school students performed an Inuit song that welcomed back the sun. The girls sang the lyrics with Eunice, one of
the middle school teachers, while the boys played on Inuit drums. The performance was well received by everyone
present. The last act before the
breakfast was a yoga exercise led by Dane, the grade 4 teacher. He explained that it was a way to say "Good
morning" to the sun. Everyone
followed Dane's movements and it was interesting & entertaining to
watch.
Breakfast
consisted of various fruits, yogurt, hard boiled
eggs, bannock, coffee, tea, and juice.
Inuujaq School staff served the people in attendance, handing out plates
of food, juice boxes, yogurt, and spoons.
If people wanted seconds, they had to help themselves at the long row of
tables at the front of the gym. When
breakfast was finished, everyone helped in the cleanup before returning to their
normal routines. Regular classes
continued for the rest of the school day.
Everyone was happy that the sun was back. I could only imagine how envious the people
of Resolute and Grise Fiord were because I heard they wouldn't see the sun
until the end of the month.
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| Arctic Bay's mayor, Philip Kalluk, distributes breakfast to hungry students. |
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