Sheila Watt Cloutier: An Indigenous Leader

Establishing Historical Significance

Sheila Watt-Cloutier was born on December 2, 1953 and is still a live today. She is from a small Inuit community in Nunavik (Northern Quebec). She was raised by strong women who did not rely on the men in her family, making her feel empowered. She grew up learning that everything mattered, and everything was connected which lead her to become a politician, activist, community leader, and Nobel-Peace Prize nominee. She has won many awards such as the Global Environment Award (2002), National Aboriginal Achievement Award (2004), Sophie Prize (2005), International Environmental Leadership Award (2006), Rachel Carson Prize (2007, Nation Builder of the Decade (2010) and the Right Livelihood Award (2015).

Continuity & Change

Sheila is an influential figure to the Inuit community and continues to advocate for climate change. To begin, she worked as an interpreter of Inuktitutat at a clinic where she noticed the chronic health problems, such as drugs, alcohol, respiratory illnesses, skin infections, viral and bacterial infections due to poor living conditions and loss of traditional culture. She also set up a childcare facility and playground for the community and worked as an administrator for the Kativik School Board (KSB). Through this, she realized how much the Inuit families struggled on a day-to-day basis. She became the department head of student services and recognized the mental health issues within the board and reorganized a more supportive residence program. After, she helped research the alcohol and substance abuse in northern communities. In 1995, she was the corporate secretary for Makivik Corporation and addressed the social and educational issues for Nunavik youth. Moreover, she helped create the film Capturing Spirit: The Inuit Journey. From 1995-2002 she was the Canadian president for the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). She became the International chair of ICC where she represented Inuit people in Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Russia from 2002-2006. Then, she vocalized the negativity of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) used in manufacturing which made toxic waste that does not break down. In addition, the POP has major negative effect on Inuit people. In addition, she was an active committee member of International Arctic Science and gathered information on global warming trends. This created a partnership between the stakeholders (allied Indigenous groups, US National Science Foundation, National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The research found a rise in Arctic temperatures, widespread glacial and ice melting, and documented the issues of global warming on humans, animals, and plants. In 2015, Sheila published her book “A Right to be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic, and the Whole Planet,” expanding her thoughts on global warming.

Cause & Consequence

When she was a child, Sheila was taken away from her family and moved into a residential school across Canada because she was Inuit. Sheila fought as advisor on the education task force committee and helped produce the document in Inuktitut, English and French, Silatunrimut: The pathway to Wisdom. This document outlines the weaknesses of the education system which caused conflict between the task force committee and the Kativik School Board. Sheila also critiqued the synthetic chemicals that were causing negative consequences for the Inuit food supply and health, but their health continued to degrade, as nothing changed. She also advocated for climate change, however, it got worse, which meant many traditions could not continue without the cold weather and were lost as a result. In addition, she filed a petition about greenhouse gas emissions from the United States about Inuit people’s human rights, but they did not hear her in court. To this day, she continues to fight for climate change and how it will not only impact the Inuit lifestyle and traditions but how it will affect the whole world.

Taking a Historical Perspective

Sheila strongly believed the Arctic, where she resided, should stay cold to protect the Inuit traditions, humans, animals, and plant life. She emphasizes how it diminishes their transit routes, homes, structures, and hunting season. In addition to the Inuit, it affects the whole world when the Arctic does not stay cold. Across the world, it affects ocean temperatures, coral reefs, farming, sea levels, insects, and increases natural disasters. These causes pushed her towards leadership roles to fight for what she believed in. She has impacted the lives of many Indigenous people, including fighting for their education, health, rights, culture, and creating awareness of climate change. She has become a great leader for Inuit people, and all of this started because she was told everything mattered and everything was connected.

Ethical Dimension

I believe that everything Sheila did was ethical; she was always on a board or committee and did not do anything unethical. Sheila believed they deserved their human rights to continue living their culture. Sheila recognized the unethical living conditions due to the pollutants and continued to fight for the causes. She wanted what was best for the Inuit committee, regarding their mental and physical health and their traditions. Sheila has become a spokesperson all over to fight for the changes.

Integration

I could integrate the story through Science, Health, English, and Social Studies curriculum because she was an activist for climate change due to the pollution. We could discuss the effects of pollution on the body and how it affects the Inuit community life (physically and emotionally). Moreover, we can use this story and integrate it into drama by using role-play. Students can form groups of 4-6 people, write scripts for their play, including Sheila, her community, and the government. To finish off, students could prepare for a debate on climate change.

Curriculum Links

Grade 5 Social Studies Specific Expectations

B1.1 assess the effectiveness of actions taken by one or more levels of government, including Indigenous governments, to address an issue of national, provincial/territorial, and/or local significance

B2.1 formulate questions to guide investigations into social and/or environmental issues in Canada from various perspectives, including the perspective of Indigenous peoples and of the level (or levels) of government responsible for addressing the issues.

B2.5 evaluate evidence and draw conclusions about social and/or environmental issues, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives on the issues, including the perspectives of Indigenous peoples and of the level (or levels) of government responsible for addressing the issues

B3.1 describe the major rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship in Canada

Grade 6 Social Studies Specific Expectations

A1.1 explain how various features, including built, physical, and social features of communities, can contribute to identities in and images of a territory and/or country

A2.5 evaluate evidence and draw conclusions about perspectives on the historical and/or contemporary experience of a few distinct communities, including First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit communities, in Canada

A3.1 identify the traditional Indigenous and treaty territory or territories on which their community is located

A3.5 describe significant events or developments in the history of two or more First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit communities in Canada

B3.5 identify some significant political, social, and economic interactions between Canada and other regions of the world, and describe some ways in which they affect these regions

Conclusion

I chose Sheila because she is an inspiration to all, it is empowering to see a strong female leader who participated in many political issues. I want everyone regardless of their gender and identity, to feel like they can make an impact in the world. I hope to create a classroom that has justice-oriented citizen where students feel comfortable and interrupt their learning to think about what they believe in.

Resources:

Robinson, Amanda. "Sheila Watt-Cloutier". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 23 May 2017, Historica Canada. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sheila-watt-cloutier.

Watt-Cloutier, S., Ted Talk: Human Trauma and Climate Trauma as One. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nn-awZbMVo

https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/library/legal_docs/testimony-before-iachr-on-global-warming-human-rights-by-sheila-watt-cloutier.pdf