Stories from Parents: Raising Proud Inuk Children - "It Starts at Home"

Abstract

Background: The Colonization, the residential school system, the Indian Act, TB sanatoriums, and the dog sled slaughter have all impacted the health of Inuit and resulted in intergenerational trauma. The impact of these events resulted in loss of culture, identity, language, and ways of living a subsistence lifestyle. Within Nunavut, Inuit are healing and are revitalizing inunnguiniq, which is the journey to obtain knowledge and skills that will help us enter society and live a good life. Methods: Using a community-based participatory research approach 20 in-person semi-structured interviews were conducted in Iqaluit, Nunavut during November and December 2018, with parents/caregivers who were raising their Inuit children. The questions allowed the parents to broadly answer questions surrounding parenting, the supports and challenges, and stories about raising an Inuk child in today’s society. Data analysis was guided by grounded theory. Findings: Using NVivo 12 Windows, three prominent themes were identified: 1) language, 2) education, and 3) identity development. Each theme is a reflection of how the parents who participated in this project and their own upbringing have impacted and influenced their parenting decisions. 1) Language connects to our culture and our identity. 2) The parents expressed obtaining a formal and informal education. Certain aspects of the Inuit culture cannot be taught in indoor classrooms, therefore the parents expressed the need for a more balanced education curriculum that incorporates Inuit culture as well as life skills development. 3) Identity development focused on raising their children to learn certain Inuit values, which were miksirkarnirq (having a strong foundation), pijitsirniq (serving, respecting and helping others), pilimmaksarniq (becoming skilled), and avatitinik kamattiarniq (being aware of our environment). Conclusion: Raising an Inuk child to retain their language, gain a robust balanced education, and develop a strong Inuk identity starts at home. Parents and caregivers need to receive the support from all organizations that support childhood development in order to further support raising their child.