Seven innovative teams from across Canada’s North – including the Yukon – have been awarded a share of over $2.7 million for their groundbreaking by the North and for the North projects.

As the largest annual prize in Canada, the Arctic Inspiration Prize (AIP) celebrates the achievements of the people of the North.

The latest prizes were awarded during a celebration held Wednesday evening in Ottawa.

In the Youth category, the N’’tsaÜw Chu’ Kedts’edán Kù Traditional Camp was awarded $100,000 to build a traditional camp on the Porter Creek Secondary School campus in Whitehorse.

That will help the school and the greater community to engage in authentic cultural programming.

The camp will build capacity in educators and help students see themselves and their cultural teachings as valued.

The $1-million prize went to the Pilimmaksaijuliriniq Project.

It will build additional mental health competencies and Inuit wellness traditional teachings to support the delivery of community-based programming across Inuit Nunangat.

The project will support community organizers, champions, activists and trainers who deliver community-based programming with the goals of fostering, protecting and building the resilience of all community members.

Three prizes were awarded in the AIP category that awards up to $500,000 to each laureate team, and three prizes were awarded in the Youth category, worth up to $100,000 each.

Lessons from our Elders was awarded $450,000 for their initiative to engage high school students in identifying historic artifacts cited in stories told by community elders.

By working with 10 communities over a one-year period, the project aims to produce a virtual exhibition with artifacts that most northerners would otherwise never see, and stories that most northerners would otherwise never hear.

Shäwthän Näzhì: Recovery Support Program was awarded $500,000 to provide intensive and ongoing after-care support following attendance at treatment programs.

The three-year project will include capacity-building within the Yukon Indigenous wellness practitioner community, an intensive recovery support program and model sharing combined with train the trainer implementation.

Nunavik organizations and communities have united to create a new research governance organization, named Atanniuvik, which will advance Nunavik Inuit self-determination in research.

This project won $500,000 to focus on building the human capacity at the heart of Atanniuvik’s operations, including ensuring that Atanniuvik is run by and for Inuit.

While preparing for a large Circumpolar Northern Games event in Inuvik, and in light of mental health and spiritual crisis in many northern communities, Northern Games Youth Collaboration “Inuvialuit Piuyausiq” won $100,000 in the Youth category to hold a Northern Youth Development program in Tuktoyaktuk.

It will help the next generation of leaders promoting healthy activity and cultural connectedness by focusing on mentoring youth and highlighting volunteerism.

The Nunavut Youth Creative Collective was awarded $100,000 to develop their agency that proposes working as a social enterprise to increase Inuit representation in advertising, media and other digital forms like social media and website design.

The Nunavut Youth Creative Collective would also look to the communities to hire creative talent among youth community members that cannot find meaningful work in their chosen field without having to leave their homes.

The ceremony was hosted by Andrea Brazeau and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and featured performances by Vision Quest, Beatrice Deer, and Terry Uyarak under the artistic direction of Leela Gilday.

“The Arctic Inspiration Prize is the largest annual prize in Canada, and how wonderful that its focus is on the North and northern excellence,” said Wally Schumann, the chair of the AIP Charitable Trust.

“These seven laureates are now well on their way to achieving their dreams.

“Their projects are outstanding examples of people from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise coming together to use their skills and knowledge to bring about the change they want to see for their communities.”

The AIP recognizes diverse teams and enables their innovative projects in the fields of education, health and well-being, culture, arts and language, science and traditional knowledge, climate change and the economy.

The AIP is owned and governed by the northern-led AIP Charitable Trust and is a community of Indigenous organizations, governments, industry, philanthropy, and many other partners from the North and South.

“I would like to send my heartfelt congratulations to the Yukon’s two winners of the Arctic Inspiration Prize,” Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon said Wednesday.

“Both projects – N’’tsaÜw Chu’ Kedts’edán Kù Traditional Camp and Shäwthän Näzhi: Recovery Support Program – focus on issues that are important now and in the future; youth skills development and mental health support.

“I am very pleased to see these two projects receive this type of recognition on a pan-northern level, and wish them nothing but success as they implement these grassroots programs.”

Geraldine Van Bibber, the Yukon Party MLA for Porter Creek North and an AIP Ambassador, said she is “so proud of the team at Porter Creek Secondary School and their receiving of the 2022 Arctic Inspiration Award for the creation of N’’tsaÜw Chu’ Kedts’edán Kù Traditional Camp.

“As an Ambassador and an original board member of AIP, I cannot express adequately the honour it is to see worthy projects be awarded seed money to complete their dreams and ideas.

“Well, done and I look forward to visiting the project when complete.”

Wade Istchenko, the Yukon Party MLA for Kluane, added, “The awarding of this type of funding to the Shäwthän Näzhi: Recovery Support Program will not only support the Kluane region, but many other Yukoners.

“I know Diane Strand is a committed community member and has volunteered with numerous organizations, and has served as a previous chief and now a Village of Haines Junction councillor.

“She, along with her team, have put in many hours to develop this program,” Istchenko added.

“This prize will mean they can fulfill their goals of taking this recovery program to the next level.

“Congratulations to all involved with this important program. I know the Haines Junction community is extremely proud of this amazing accomplishment.”