Trip of a lifetime for Nunavik students who ‘deserve the world'

Montreal Gazette

4 days ago

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Some of the girls playfully chased each other while others batted balloons back and forth as they waited for the Ubers that would take them to the next stop on their field trip.
But then Jini Papikattuk, who had just given them a tour of Nunavik Sivunitsavut, which offers post-secondary courses in the St-Henri district, began her farewell message in a mix of Inuktitut and English. The screeching and commotion of 20 girls, aged 11 to 15, suddenly stopped.
The Inuit population worldwide is 180,000, Papikattuk told the group, which had arrived in Montreal with their teachers from the northern Quebec village of Salluit last Saturday.
'And in our region, we're only 14,000,' Papikattuk said, referring to Nunavik, which has 14 communities that include Salluit. 'So we're rare. We're rarer than a diamond.'
Papikattuk's words seemed to resonate with the girls, who are on an eight-day trip to Montreal and Ottawa that was more than a year in the making.
Thanks to their fundraising, they're being treated to the trip of a lifetime, including visits to La Ronde, the Montreal Science Centre and the Biodôme, pizza-making, nice hotels, shopping with their idol, Inuk-Mohawk singer and actress Beatrice Deer, and a tour of the Governor General's residence, Rideau Hall.
What's your favourite place so far, they were asked?
'Everywhere,' two girls answered, almost in unison and without hesitation.
'I said it was going to be fun and I wanted to come to Montreal,' Lizzie, 12, said of why she had worked hard to be part of this group — the 'Girls Group,' as it's called by the four teachers at Ikusik school in Salluit who created it almost two years ago.
This is their inaugural trip.
The group was conceived to build life skills, self-esteem and a sense of community, Julianna Krupp, one of the teachers and organizers, said.
'We're really trying to build confidence, just showing the girls that in their future they can do anything they put their minds to,' she said.
'That's really the foundation of our girls' group. We want to show them that their hard work pays off.'
Maintaining a good school attendance record is one of the criteria for membership in the Girls Group. That's not a given in communities experiencing trauma, severe poverty and overcrowding, and reeling from fatal police interventions.
'They deserve the world,' Krupp said of the girls. 'They go through so much every day and they still show up.'
'We give them some rules,' said Kemmley Charles, who like her colleagues is in her second year of teaching at Ikusik. The school belongs to the Nunavik school board, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq.
'They have to be responsible, they have to work, they have to be respectful, they have to come to school. And that motivates them because they know that if they do all that stuff, they can come on this trip.'
The tour on Monday of the facility where Papikattuk teaches was meant to show the girls what's open to them if they continue their studies, said Olivia Hadar, another Ikusik teacher and group organizer.
'It was a labour of love,' she said of the hours that were dedicated to activities with the girls, such as sleepovers, as well as writing proposals, fundraising and planning the trip.
The Girls Group even developed a community event during the past year. The group hosts a monthly elders' dinner where the girls serve meals, like caribou stew, to older people at the school.
'I'm seeing them smile,' Hadar said of the girls. 'It's so nice to see.'
The school board has other projects to encourage students to stick with their studies, said Rochelle Mathurin, a student support professional at Ikusik and another founder of the Girls Group.
For example, the board is preparing the annual Nunavimmiut Futures Fair in different villages, including Salluit, this October.
'It's so the students can learn about future opportunities with employers,' Mathurin said, adding that the event will end with a community feast.
The itinerary for the trip was developed by the four teachers, who wanted to combine kid fun and education.
'They're learning a lot,' said Sarah Alaku, who teaches at Ikusik and joined her colleagues to chaperone the trip.
Alaku, who was born and raised in Salluit, and many of the girls have visited Montreal before — but not like this, she said. Her daughter, Hailey, 15, is a member of the Girls Group and on the trip.
The group departed for Ottawa on Wednesday, where they were scheduled to meet the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, on Friday. Simon, who was born in Nunavik, is the first Indigenous person to serve as Governor General. However, she wasn't available at the last minute.
One of the girls, who had an accident in a pool, stayed behind in Montreal with one of the teachers. But the group was to meet up again in Montreal late Friday before their scheduled flight home Saturday. It's a 10-hour trip back to Salluit.
Among the highlights of Montreal for Sophie, 11, were staying at Hotel Bonaventure and visiting La Ronde. But Papikattuk's guided tour of Nunavik Sivunitsavut also left an impression.
In partnership with John Abbott College, the facility offers 25 high school graduates from Nunavik a year of CEGEP-level courses that help them connect with their culture and, for many, transition to college.
A message on a wall at Nunavik Sivunitsavut reads: 'Honour my culture with pride, pursue my ambitions with purpose and move forward with strength and love.'
Papikattuk asked who would like to attend Nunavik Sivunitsavut when they're older, and most of the girls raised their hands, including Sophie.
And when Papikattuk remarked that Quebec's Inuit population is rarer than a diamond, Hadar closed her eyes.
They're all gems in the Girls Group, she said when she opened them. 'Sparkle like a diamond.'