Connecting with Inuit Elders

The Inuuqatigiit Centre brings Inuit of all ages together to celebrate and sustain their language and culture. “We had to pivot our service model as soon as the pandemic hit from hands-on to all virtual, so we had to provide computers and laptops and access to Internet for our youth and our elders,” Adams said.

Deborah says it was fun training the elders how to use the technology. “Mental health for the elders was very important during the pandemic because they have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that they weren’t able to see…It was for them to connect with their loved ones during the pandemic, to keep communicating, doing a lot of wellness check-ins, to make sure they are supported emotionally, mentally, in any way. It was a way to keep the communications open to their families who reside in the North and here in Ottawa.

“We had a virtual elders Zoom meetings,” she said. “So everything is always theme-based according to what elders would like to talk about. One of the things they have done is a lot of different clothing patterns, sewing mittens or making parkas, because clothing is also our identity and it has distinct meanings for a child newborn to an adult. Every design has a meaning for each gender as they grow, so these are the things that we capture to pass on, transfer to our l children who are here accessing our programs, so it is wonderful to work with elders in that way.”