b'INUIT SUPPORTINUIT INTEGRITYBy Sarah B. HoodFor Amanda Kilabuk, COVID draws attention back to Inuit families and the unique challenges they faceI n mid-June, the province of OntarioIndigenous people, and Inuit in particular, work announced the creation of a newtogether; theres no prominent hierarchy like there Indigenous Womens Advisory Councilis in the Western world, says Kilabuk. There are to address issues like human trafficking asleaders in the community that people refer to for well as child, youth and family healing andadvice and guidance, and Elders, but when youre wellbeing.working in a collaborative environment like a council, everyone will have an equal voice and As its newest member, Amanda Kilabuk lookswork together to find success.forward to helping bring traditional Inuit societal values, known as qaujimajatuqangitAs a relatively recent transfer to the (ways of knowing) to bear on these challenges.South, Kilabuk also brings to the She is also optimistic that the COVID-19Council an intimate understanding pandemic may intensify awareness of theof what she calls the push-pull inequities facing Indigenous communities. on Inuit when they leave their homelands of Inuit Nunangat. Kilabuk is the executive director ofHaving relocated from Nunavut Tungasuvvingat Inuit (TI), the provincialto Ottawa just four years ago, organization serving Inuit in Ontario. InuitKilabuk has personal experi-are a minority of a minority, and so beingence of both the perception able to advocate on Inuit womens issues onthat Inuit in the South have a provincial level is very important, becausean easier life because of Ontario is not our traditional homeland,things like the milder climate she says. and lower food costs, and There are eight qaujimajatuqangit, and of these,the realities of dislocation Kilabuk believes that two are particularly significant in this process: aajiiqatigiinniq, which is decision-making based on consensus, and piliriqatigiinniq, which has to do with collabora-tive relationships and working together for a common cause. 28Fall/Winter 2020'