{"id":20778,"date":"2026-07-14T11:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/?post_type=taqralikonline&p=20778"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:05:20","slug":"gathering-strength-inside-the-first-inuit-womens-summit","status":"publish","type":"taqralikonline","link":"https:\/\/www.makivvik.ca\/fr\/article\/gathering-strength-inside-the-first-inuit-womens-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Gathering Strength: Inside the First Inuit Women\u2019s Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In October 2025, in the coastal town of Sisimiut, Greenland, something unprecedented took place. Inuit women from across the circumpolar world gathered for the first summit dedicated entirely to their voices, rights, and futures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organized by the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), the Inuit Women\u2019s Summit brought together 42 participants from across Inuit Nunaat, including Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, with addi-tional representation from Chukotka joining virtually. By the end of the three days, the group had produced the Inuit Women\u2019s Summit Declaration, a document many are already calling historic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Alicia Aragutak, Corporate Secretary of Makivvik, attending the summit wasn\u2019t something she initially planned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually wasn\u2019t supposed to go,\u201d she says. When ICC reached out to Makivvik for participant suggestions, Aragutak responded by thinking through who, across Nunavik, would be best suited to attend. \u201cI went through all of Nunavik in my head,\u201d she explains. \u201cChildcare, politics, domestic violence\u2026I was matching people to what I thought the summit would focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She put forward a list of other women. In the end, though, she was chosen to attend alongside Nunavingmi Ilagiit Papatauvinga Executive Director Mina Beaulne. Another delegate had been expected but couldn\u2019t make the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once there, Aragutak found herself surrounded by an unusually diverse group of Inuit women. There were professionals from many different fields, including leaders, advocates, midwives, lawyers, and community builders, but what stood out most was how easily their experiences connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were so many relatable topics,\u201d she says. \u201cWe were just immersed in advocates and leaders.\u201d

The conversations often returned to the same core idea: when you talk about women, you\u2019re also talking about children, and when you talk about children, you\u2019re talking about the future. That connection gave the discussions a strong sense of purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Arnajaraq St\u00f8vb\u00e6k <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most difficult conversations focused on violence and the lack of safety in many communities. Participants spoke openly about how limited options can make it nearly impossible for women and families to leave harmful situations.

\u201cIn some places, there are no safe spaces,\u201d Aragutak says. \u201cNo real options. Sometimes people feel like they have to pretend nothing happened.\u201d

Those realities aren\u2019t isolated. A lack of safety affects everything from housing to education to food security. Overcrowded housing, in particular, came up repeatedly as a factor that increases vulnerability and stress within families.

\u201cAccountability is very, very hard,\u201d she says referring to how to ensure perpetrators take responsibility for their actions. \u201cWe need to find a way to make accountability normal.\u201d

At the same time, the summit wasn\u2019t only about challenges. It was also about learning from one another. Aragutak describes it as a constant exchange, with women sharing what\u2019s working, listening to what isn\u2019t, and recognizing that each region is at a different stage in its evolution.

\u201cIn Nunavik, we know our truth,\u201d she says, referring to the impacts of colonial systems. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to move into reconciliation with creating programs, having those conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other regions, she observed, people are still uncovering those truths. One of the most striking discussions for her involved Greenland, where participants spoke about past reproductive interventions (forced sterilizations) that are still being understood today. The long-term effects, including declining population numbers and ongoing health concerns, are still unfolding.

Moments like that reinforced how important it is to understand Indigenous rights frameworks, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

\u201cWe hear about it, but we don\u2019t always use it,\u201d Aragutak says. \u201cWe should be learning it the same way we know our land claims and using it to push things forward.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Arnajaraq St\u00f8vb\u00e6k <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aragutak also took part in a panel on mental health and wellbeing, where she spoke about changes she has seen in Nunavik over the past two decades. Drawing on her experience with initiatives connected to the Isuarsivik Regional Recovery Centre, she described a growing focus on grassroots approaches to healing.

\u201cThere\u2019s been a real shift toward individual and community well-being,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it\u2019s not coming from one idea or one person. It comes from the people themselves, what they want, what they need.\u201d

She also spoke about cultural practices that continue to support Inuit families, including naming traditions that create immediate networks of care for children. These systems, she says, are a strength that communities continue to build on.

Alongside these conversations, there was a sense of pride in what Inuit communities have already accomplished. Aragutak points to Nunavik as an example of a region that has made progress in reclaiming authority and building its own approaches, while still recognizing that there is more work to do.

The summit ended with the adoption of the Inuit Women\u2019s Summit Declaration, which outlines priorities and recommendations for advancing the rights of Inuit women and girls. The document is expected to be presented at a future ICC gathering in Iqaluit and used as a tool for advocacy at multiple levels.

There is talk of holding another summit, although organizing something of that scale takes time and resources. The Inuit Women\u2019s Summit directed ICC leadership to organize a second Inuit Women\u2019s Summit to take place during the term 2026-2030 and called upon future ICC leadership to convene Inuit Women\u2019s Summits in each term.

For Aragutak, though, the most important outcome isn\u2019t just the declaration or future plans. It\u2019s the connections that were built and the shared understanding that came out of those three days.

\u201cIt was inspiring,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re learning from each other. In some ways we\u2019re ahead, in others we\u2019re catching up. It was really give and take.\u201d

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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