Why should research in Nunavut be done with or by Inuit? “Because we know our land better,” Michael Milton explains. Born in Iqaluit but raised in Pond Inlet, he lived in Ottawa for four years and recently returned home. Homesick and aware his grandma is getting older, he left the city to go back to where his mom raised him. He works for a non profit called Ikaarvik, which answers one of the primary research challenges in the North.

Milton describes this challenge saying, “We're sick and tired of researchers coming in extracting knowledge and information and then leaving giving promises of showing what the results are going to be but more often than not those people that were involved in never getting the results back.” Ikaarvik theorizes the root cause is around infrastructure and a need for relationships.

Ikaarvik means ‘bridge’ and the program positions youth to be the bridge between Southern scientists and researchers and Northern communities. The youth have the opportunity to learn scientific and research jargon but have the cultural context of having been raised in community by elders and hunters who have their own on the land expertise and as such can walk in both worlds.

What the program aims to do is have youth conduct their own research for the community based on community priorities. He joined the program as a research assistant on a water quality project initially as a youth cohort participant and now he advocates for Inuit involvement in research and contributes to opportunities for community research. Without ongoing core funding, they are busy but juggling individual projects while waiting for money to come in.

When it came to his own educational experience, his mother was an elementary school teacher and he did well in school when he was interested in a given topic. He was always curious to learn more about travel and the world outside his community. Milton applied to the Students on Ice program and was accepted and spent a summer on a former Russian research vessel. He got to go to Greenland and meet his Inuit neighbours from there. His eyes were opened to tourism, science and research. He met musicians, researchers, and he got to learn about their experiences.

After high school he went to Nunavut Sivuniksavut where he met more people, experienced more great things but remembered he didn’t like sitting and learning. He did complete the program but took a few years off from his education until he returned home to Pond Inlet, moving from job to job until he became the assistant to the Economic Development Officer at the hamlet.

While working as marine facilities security officer for the summer, Milton met people who connected him with an opportunity to do cruise ship training through Parks Canada and Adventure Canada and he got to fly to Greenland after attending an Economic Development Officer conference in Toronto. Tragically, while his professional life was becoming full of opportunities, he lost his mother when she was struck by a drunk driver.

“It doesn't really feel like work at all if you are interested in what you do.”

Over the course of his career he’s been able to participate in a number of trainings including entrepreneurial training through Inspire Nunavut and additional cruise ship training in Iqaluit. He also learns a lot online and by asking people questions. One opportunity has led to another, from marine security, greeting cruise ships, and offers to work on cruise ships. Milton’s been able to contribute to recommendations for research guidelines for Southern researchers coming into Nunavut and also to help other communities implement their own programs like Ikaarvik. In doing so, he was able to meet members of his family he hadn’t met before. He’s also had the chance to travel to a Nunavut Heritage Trust workshop in Winnipeg.

To manage his mental health and wellness, Milton reads and does exercises like squats, pushups and situps until he’s tired. Instead of exercising regularly, he uses fitness as a way to manage frustration in the moment. He also moves his body by shaking his leg, playing with his fingers or fidgeting. To stay present with his ADHD and anxiety, he tries to feel his surroundings, tap or move around.

If he could give his younger self advice, Milton would say, “if it feels like it's gonna be an effort, and you don't feel like it, do it anyway.” Looking back on unfinished projects and missed opportunities, he wishes he had the discipline to follow through with more things.

As far as inspiration, Milton is driven by the people around him and the stories they share about what they have done. He’s inspired by meeting new people, building relationships and achieving dreams together. With so many opportunities coming up, he loves to be able to refer people he knows to things that he’s not a fit for himself. “I try to be nice to everybody because I didn't have the best life and I know, everyone else didn't either. We all have our own differences and struggles so it's best to be nice to people,” he explains.

While he’s confident in his message, he’s had experiences where he’s felt anxious. As a panelist for Self-Determined Arctic, he was a substitute for another panelist who was unable to attend due to travel issues. Milton turned his worry into seeing it as an opportunity to practice in front of a crowd and speak about his organization and the research he’s doing on shipping impacts and microplastics. In the end, his message around the importance of Inuit research involvement was well received and his confidence was boosted. It’s a message he was able to take to Cambridge as well and he’s been excited to spread these important ideas around the world.

Advocating for Inuit community-based research, empowering Northern youth and connecting with people all over the world, Michael Milton is following where his passions lead him. Moving from extraction to empowerment and exploitation to enrichment, he’s creating change in knowledge and opportunity creation in Northern research. Bridging science, youth, culture and Northern communities, he’s found his place in bringing people together for the common good and a brighter future.  

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.