EDITORIAL: Ivujivik

At approximately 500 kilometers away from the Arctic Circle lies the village of Ivujivik. Inuktitut for a "Place where ice accumulates because of strong currents," Ivujivik is home to 350 residents, 95% of whom are native Inuit. Compared to the rest of Canada’s citizens, the Inuit have higher rates of injury, suicide and diabetes.

The village is experiencing some growing pains. The region's suicide rate is 22% compared to the national statistic of 2%. The last two Inuit born in an igloo, Manu and Paulusi are now ailing great-grandparents. In recent years a school, a church and a grocery store were erected. Video games, mobile phones and the Internet became an instant hit among teenagers who now would rather stay inside their heated homes and watch TV than hunt with their parents. The elders believe that the sudden change in Ivujivik’s cultural climate has left the younger generation feeling confused and isolated. They are no longer content with the life that their parents and grandparents led, but feel ill equipped to venture outside the only world they know – a world where even the nearest hospital is a plane-ride away.

Overseeing the health and well-being of Ivujivik’s residents is nurse, Laurent Brisbrouck, a forty-three-year-old Frenchman who has found a home in Canada’s northernmost settlement for the last 14 years.