Notions of mental health and wellness depend on core cultural values. For Inuit, these include respect and care for others in the extended family and community as well as for the land, animals and the environment. Inuit understanding of the healthy person gives importance both to self-sufficiency and to interdependence. Healthy individuals show resilience in their ability to solve problems through innovation and resourcefulness and in their ability to work together with others for a common cause.
There is wide recognition that certain mental health problems have increased in Nunavik in recent years, most evident in the high prevalence of suicide among youth, and many people link this directly to the impact of sedentarization, economic and political marginalization, and the rapidity of culture change which has posed particular dilemmas for youth, families and communities. Understanding the sources of mental health, resilience and well-being is therefore of crucial importance…
