Ottawa, ON – Today, the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) honours International Inuit Day, celebrated each year on November 7th. This important day of recognition was established in 2006 by the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), an international non-governmental organization representing Arctic peoples (the Inuit, the Yupik, and the Chukchi) living in Canada, Greenland, and parts of the United States and Russia (Alaska and the Chukchi Peninsula, respectively).
ONWA celebrates and honours the voices of Indigenous women and girls as they contribute in leadership roles in the family community and internationally. We wish to celebrate accomplished Inuit women and their extraordinary diverse achievements. Today we honour Inuit women such as Governor General Mary Simon ᒥᐊᓕ ᓴᐃᒪ Inuktitut: Ningiukudluk the first Indigenous Governor General in Canada, and Susan Aglukark, OC ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ whose blend of Inuit folk music traditions with country and pop songwriting has made her a major recording star around the world. These women are but a few Inuit women proudly standing shoulder to shoulder with their Inuit sisters throughout the north.
“As an Inuk woman from Nunavut, International Inuit Day removes arbitrary border lines. As gatekeepers to the north we choose to celebrate the beauty of our unique and distinct culture throughout the Arctic regions. Let’s all take the time today to show our appreciation of Inuit contributions to art, language, sport, traditions and so much more.” – Roxanne Ruediger, ONWA, Director of Corporate Services
“To me, as a female Inuk, International Inuit Day represents all the hard work that my forefathers and foremothers have done to advocate for our rights, our culture, and our language. It is a day for us to come together as a community to celebrate our accomplishments, our rich Inuit heritage, and traditions. It is important to preserve our culture and language; we collectively do this through our songs, drum dances, throat singing, story telling, hunting and the sewing of our garments which is passed down from one generation to another. I am proud to be Inuk and I am proud to me.” – Stephanie (Mikki) Adams, Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families, Ottawa
Join ONWA online November 7th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm EST in celebrating Inuit heritage with guest speaker Vicky auf der Mauer. Vicky (she/ her) is a proud Inuk Woman from the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, she is on a mission to share her experiences and beautiful culture. She gives talks across Turtle Island to students, entrepreneurs, and leadership teams encouraging them to unlearn mainstream messages about money. She speaks about tapping into their power, and creating change to the systems that have created an unsustainable imbalanced and unwell society.
For more information and media inquiries, contact:
Andre Morriseau, Communications Manager
Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA)
Email: amorriseau@onwa.ca
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