Feds and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami establish an Inuit health research network, but ‘unacceptable reality’ of long travels remain – National Observer
November 3rd 2022
A new Inuit research network, funded in part by a $6.4-million grant from the federal government, will seek to inform health-care solutions for the 70,000 Inuit in Canada, many of whom must leave their homes and families to receive specialized care in the South.
The money awarded to Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), a non-profit advocating for Inuit across the country, will support its National Inuit Strategy on Research, which centres Inuit knowledge and self-determination and builds capacity for Inuit-led research.
The network will strengthen Inuit-led research and support existing work that collects data on Inuit needs like surveys, field research and datasets. Throughout Canadian history, research has largely been used as a colonial tool to dehumanize Inuit communities and justify the expansion of Canadian sovereignty, the ITK’s research strategy reads. The new network will work with existing institutions but with an Inuit-specific lens, said ITK president Natan Obed.
