International Elders Day

Elder Susannah Singoorie speaking at World Suicide Prevention Day 2010 event on Parliament Hill

Today marks the 20th annual International Elders Day, a day when we should all pause and reflect upon the valuable contribution elders make to our societies and our cultures.

For Inuit, elders are anchors to our language and culture. Many of them grew up within very traditional and unilingual lifestyles on the land. They are the members of our society who have the closest connections to our history, our stories, our teachings, our spirituality, and our pre-European contact culture.

Today, when the opportunity presents itself, thank an elder for this contribution. Talk to them about our language, our culture, and our history. They hold a valuable knowledge that we would, quite literally, be awash in outside influence and culture without .