Tusaayaksat – Winter 2018

One of the best gifts Indigenous communities can make to the culture of Canada is to influence our respect for elders. Western culture, for all its positive developments, unfortunately tends to get distracted by youth and can forget about the older generations. People in the south still love and value their grandparents, but they’re seen as breaking down, wearing out their usefulness in society and in the denouement of their plot line. Just the names explain everything about the perspectives: elders compared to seniors. That's not the case here in the Western Arctic. People don’t just respect their elders. They look to them for guidance. Elders hold valuable life lessons and secrets from the past. They’ve already made all the mistakes 20-year-olds are about to make, and they can help youth get through those difficult times. They might not move as fast, they might have trouble hearing you and they probably are not coming to drop-in volleyball, but they sure tend to love talking and telling stories. That oral history is so valuable. It’s beautiful to be part of a community that celebrates its elders in the way Tuktoyaktuk did Persis Gruben’s 100th birthday in October. Don’t tell the fire chief, but I think Kitti Hall might have been pushing capacity for that event. Respect and love for our elders is one part of Inuvialuit culture that not only needs to continue, but should be shared.

—Stewart Burnett, Editor-in-Chief