Coastal Zone Conference 2006

In August, the Coastal Zone Canada 2006 (CZ06) conference was held in Tuktoyaktuk. The location of the conference was no accident. Tuktoyaktuk was the perfect springboard for the theme of CZ06: to raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by residents of the Arctic coastal zone, where marine ecosystems are facing rapid changes.

The conference highlighted Canadian and Circumpolar experience in marine and coastal management, including research on ocean resources, critical habital areas, and global warming effects. The communities of the ISR was brought together with those of Nunavut, Nuvavik, the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area and beyond Canada – to coastal communities throughout the circumpolar Arctic.

Ayouth conference was held prior to the main conference. Presenters and participants alike came out excited by their discussions and findings. Cultural activities were also organized. Lisa Steen, a resident of Tuktoyaktuk said, “It was the biggest thing going on in town. It was a big gathering for the local people too. I went to the last dance and the arctic fashion show. It was good to see lots of non aboriginals square dancing.”

Randal Pokiak was a presenter at the youth conference. He said, “It was the first coastal zone conference of this scale to be held in the ISR. Something has to be said for the success of the IRC, the Joint Secretariat and Tuktoyaktuk. It helped our organizations to prove ourselves, having settled our land claim for well over twenty years.”

The people he met at the conference impressed him. “Many of those who attended were from the south, and they showed real interest in the information presented to them. I was pleased to meet intelligent young people, some from New York and California, who are in training to work in ocean resources.” He believes this kind of participation meant more people were heeding the wake up call about climate change.

Ryan Walker, who called himself a “non indigenous aboriginal” and is a high school student in Tuktoyaktuk, felt the youth conference was worth his $125 registration fee. He said, “ It let people who are not from the North learn about the coastal area. It was interesting for me to learn that there are a lot people working towards alternative energy in Tuktoyaktuk, for example with wind turbines. It made me want to conserve more and to change my daily habits.”

John

Stuart is a familiar face at most youth events, volunteering as a coach or chaperone. Most affectionately call him “John John”. He runs the youth center in Tuktoyaktuk, and his experience helped him coordinate volunteers at CZ06. He worked with 80 volunteers. “About 65 of them were youth. The youth really helped out. We took care of the chauffeuring, clearing up after meals, and security. All the volunteers showed up for the beach clean up, and did a good job on cleaning up the ocean coast.”

John quit his job at NTCL to work at the youth center. “I resigned because I wanted to work with youth. I didn't like being away from home for so long, it was six months on and six months off.”

“I like doing sports, and as I got older, I started coaching the kids in soccer and volleyball. I recently got certified as a wrestling coach, and I plan to start a club for the youth in October. It will be a challenge, but I am the only certified coach in Tuk right now.” John was a wrestler in his high school days.

ToJohn, wrestling requires maintaining a good state of mind and stamina. He seems to have the same balanced approach to life. “When I was younger, there wasn't much for youth to do in Tuk, a lot of my friends went down the path of drinking and doing drugs. I didn’t, I did a lot of sports instead. I had a great group of friends who all hung out and liked sports. We had parties but didn’t drink or do drugs.” His best memory of sports is the companionship. “It didn’t matter if we won or lost as long as we were having fun.”

He tries his best to make life fun for local youth. “We have a lot of activities on the go for youth at the youth center, so they are never bored. Teen dances are really popular right now, we also have movie nights, sleepovers, sewing clubs, reading night, and we bring elders in to tell stories.” As a youth coordinator, he is aware that “There's not much opportunity up here for youth. Families don't have much time for their youth. My job is like that of a referee and a nurturer. Some kids come in hurt, and I try to help them. I talk to them and if I find out that it’s really bad I’ll probably call the proper authorities. There's a 1800 kids help phone (1800-668-6868) that not enough youth know about.”

John acts by example. After attending a session on Global Warming at the CZ06, he decided to stop driving and to stop using fossil fuels.

“I heard that ice caps are melting and water is rising, eroding the coast. Using less fossil fuel will slow the warming down. There is nowhere you need to drive to in Tuk. It takes longer to walk, but you can walk,” he said.

John has an eleven-year-old son Hayden, and is a single dad. “My son's always there with me, parenting is hard but rewarding. We are pretty flexible with each other; I think he's following in my footsteps!” http://www.kidshelpphone.ca

The Kids Help Phone website is a great resource for youth to express their feelings and to get counseling and advice from caring adults.

Check it out!

The community of Inuvik comes together for Take Back the Night, a march to raise awareness about violence against women and children.