A movement dubbed ‘Inuit me too’ is sweeping across Inuit nunangat and beyond, with women speaking out against abusive men in leadership positions under a shared hashtag.
But the national representative body for Inuit women has found itself in the crosshairs, being called out over anti-LGBTQ2 social media posts purportedly made by its new board chair.
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada tells Global News chairwoman Looee Mike “is taking a leave of absence from the board, while alleged conduct is investigated.”
The organization is tight-lipped about the sudden dismissal of CEO Nikki Komaksiutiksak, a queer woman, while investigating claims its new board chair made anti-LGBTQ2 social media posts.
Komaksiutiksak also wouldn’t comment and Mike didn’t respond to an interview request.
But many Inuit women are speaking out, including Polaris Prize winning singer/songwriter and author Tanya Tagaq.
“That’s supposed to be an Inuit organization for Inuit women,” Tagaq says. “If people in that organization can’t push aside their internal biases to follow the mandate, then it is a defunct corporation. The whole thing doesn’t work.”
On Thursday, Nunavut Senator Nancy Karetek-Lindell added her voice, with a lengthy statement on her senate social media page saying, “a neutral stance or staying silent in the face of harm reinforces and allows abuse to continue.”
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“True leadership means choosing courage over comfort and standing beside those who speak up, even when it challenges institutions or reputations of those who hold positions of power. We need to stop giving space for abusers to hold these positions of trust amongst us.”
Karetek-Lindell went on to add, “Inuit leaders and organizations have a responsibility to act decisively when harm occurs within their ranks. Leadership without accountability creates mistrust. Avoiding accountability to “protect the organization” weakens trust and integrity.”
But Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout in a statement to Global News, seems to suggest the movement has gone too far.
“So many Inuit continue passing on intergenerational trauma by living in pain and anger,” Idlout said. “Some of what we must sift through is when those traumas drive our action, including calling for individuals to be removed from positions. I do not support putting down people to lift ourselves up from our traumas. By dealing with our grief, pains and angers, we should not spread hate.”
Cora Kavyaktok is an Inuk photographer living in Alberta advocating for women who feel voiceless back home. She takes issue with Idlout’s words.
“That somebody in a powerful position has a statement like that, I can’t believe it. I’m without words for that,” Kavyaktok says.
Tagaq also rejects Idlout’s criticism.
“Why don’t we flip the script a little bit — it’s pretty hateful to watch women be hurt, and do nothing to protect,” says Tagaq. “(The movement) is not a question of hate.”
The federal NDP didn’t respond to emails asking if they endorse Idlout’s statement.
The MP has family ties to Manitoba Inuit Association CEO Nastania Mullin, who has been targeted by the #InuitMeToo movement.
The association has been at the center of investigations of abuse and harassment by Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health in the past year and six of eight board members left the organization amid the turmoil. Board chair Michael Kusugak has previously disputed allegations of a toxic workplace and said a recent investigation found no wrongdoing at the organization or with the CEO.
A petition earlier this month, which has more than 1,200 signatures, calls for Mullin’s removal.
Inuit association board member Joanie French stepped down following an Oct. 17 meeting telling Global News, she felt she couldn’t stay after failing to get the board to hire legal counsel and do a thorough internal investigation of the embattled organization.
On Oct. 24 the association informed Global News an interim CEO is in place but they wouldn’t comment further. It’s unclear if Mullin remains with the organization. Neither he nor anyone from the board responded to interview requests.
Crystal Martin is one of the women leading the ‘Inuit Me too’ movement. She says the community has mobilized to take back power and demand accountability.
“Normally, you know, Inuit are very quiet about things,” she says. “You hardly see any protesting happen within Inuit communities… and I think now we’re seeing that aggression out through these petitions, through supports, through solidarity.”
Gendered violence is a massive problem in the north. Women in Nunavut are victims of violent crime at a rate more than 13 times higher than women in Canada as a whole.
The risk of a woman being sexually assaulted in the territory is 12-times higher than the provincial-territorial average.
