Yukon group wins $1M Arctic Inspiration Prize for Indigenous midwifery centre

A project focused on Indigenous midwifery and reproductive health care in the Yukon is the big winner of this year's $1-million Arctic Inspiration Prize, with the money set to go toward building a new facility in Whitehorse. 

It's one of several projects from across the North that were named as Arctic Inspiration Prize winners at a gala ceremony in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon. The finalists were announced last month.

Apart from the $1-million grand prize, other projects will get anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 in funding.

The Arctic Inspiration Prize awards millions of dollars each year to projects in education, health, culture, arts, language, science, traditional knowledge, climate change and the economy. A total of $3.7 million was awarded this year.

The largest prize will go toward a project led by the Council of Yukon First Nations called Bibia Nàtsät Ku. It would open a house in Whitehorse where Yukon First Nations elders and midwives could offer sexual and reproductive health care, including birthing services. It would also offer training for Indigenous students.

In a news release from the Arctic Inspiration Prize on Tuesday, a member of the Bibia Nàtsät Ku team is quoted as saying the prize represents a "turning point."

"It means we can begin building a house of care that honours our ways of knowing, our languages, and our futures," the spokesperson said.

Other prize winners announced on Tuesday include:

• $500,000 for a Nunavut-based, Inuit-led education program for neurodiverse and marginalized youth by the Pirurqatigiit Resource Centre.
• $500,000 for a mentorship and leadership program for elders in Nunavut's Kitikmeot region.
• $233,000 for a nutrition and education program in Baker Lake, Nunavut, aimed at combating Type 2 diabetes rates.
• $500,000 for Cheko, a Yellowknife-based project to empower youth through land-based learning, mentorship, and entrepreneurship skills.
• $425,000 for a project led by the Qimutjuit Men's Association in Nunavik to address food insecurity and strengthen cultural practices through harvesting camps. 

Six winners were also announced in the youth category, with each project receiving $100,000 except one, a traditional beading and sewing program in Nunavut, which will receive $90,000.

The $100,000 prize winners in the youth category are:

• A documentary about a youth dog sledding club in the Beaufort Delta region.
• The Dehcho Youth Energy Action Council, which draws on Dene knowledge to find climate solutions.
• A pan-northern youth gathering to find solutions for issues related to mental health, education and environment.
• The Northern Laughter Movement, which uses humour and storytelling as tools for wellness and leadership.
• A documentary project about the impacts of climate change on traditional hunting practices among Gwich'in in the Peel watershed region.