A new generation of researchers in Nunavut are beginning their career, not in labs or lecture halls, but in their communities, on the land, and through storytelling, art, and oral histories. At the heart of this movement is the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre (Qaujigiartiit), based in Iqaluit. Since its founding in 2006, Qaujigiartiit has focused on doing health research in a way that respects Inuit knowledge, centres community voices, and builds local leadership.
An example of this work is Qaujigiartiit’s commitment to engaging youth in arts-based, community-led research. These projects invite young people to explore meaningful issues, such as mental health, identity, sexual health, family, grief, and climate change, through creative methods like drawing, sewing, photography, digital storytelling, and performance. Rather than being positioned as subjects of research, youth are recognized as knowledge holders and co-researchers. They help shape the research process, choose meaningful ways to share their experiences, and explore how their voices can contribute to community strength and collective understanding. This model emphasizes the understanding that research is not simply about collecting data, but about building relationships, honouring lived experience, and supporting community well-being. Grounded in Inuit values, Qaujigiartiit sees research as a pathway for healing, empowerment, and the elevation of cultural knowledge and science — processes that are guided by the needs, voices, and strengths of the community itself. For many, the experience is deeply personal and empowering. It helps build confidence, connection to culture, and a stronger sense of belonging. It also introduces skills that can carry into future work in health, education, or community leadership.
Over time, these programs have created space for youth to step into larger roles, some return to work with Qaujigiartiit, while others carry their experience forward in their own communities. This is where the impact grows. Qaujigiartiit is not only supporting research implementation, but also building long-term capacity by creating early opportunities for youth to learn, lead, and contribute to solutions. Their youth programs remind us that learning takes many forms — it happens through stories, relationships, creativity, and connection to culture. When young people are supported with tools that reflect their realities, guided by community values, and trusted to lead, education is a living process. This kind of learning strengthens intergenerational knowledge, nurtures resilience, and prepares youth to navigate a future shaped by both ancestral teachings and evolving challenges.
“At its heart, Qaujigiartiit represents a whole-of-community effort to elevate Inuit pathways to wellbeing within our academic and educational systems. It’s about making space for Inuit knowledge, values, and ways of knowing to lead and shape how we teach, learn, and grow together,” says Dr. Gwen Healey Akearok, Executive and Scientific Director of the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre.
Qaujigiartiit challenges traditional academic notions about what counts as research. In many institutions, research is measured by publications or policy reports, but at Qaujigiartiit, it is measured by relationships, collaboration, and action. They are concerned with who benefits from the work, who gets to decide what matters, and how research is used as a tool for action to support the well-being of people in real and lasting ways. The centre’s success shows what happens when Northern communities lead. From a small local initiative, Qaujigiartiit has grown into a respected research institution recognized across Canada and the Circumpolar world, yet its foundation remains the same: research must be built on trust, led by the people it affects, and shaped by local and cultural knowledge and science.
For UArctic and its member institutions, Qaujigiartiit offers a strong example of how to build Northern capacity in a way that is truly community-led. It shows that investing in youth and in Indigenous knowledge systems is not only good practice, but also essential to building a future where Arctic communities are healthy, connected, and thriving.