The Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Adventure

FEATURES OF INUIT HEALING

• PERSONAL READINESS
  - Everyone must progress at their own pace and in their own time
• HOLISTIC
  - Source of pain must be addressed so as to find balance in their lives
• TELLING ONE’S STORY
  - Purpose of healing is to process the past through the telling of one’s story
• FLEXIBILITY
  - Each healer or Elder practices in a way that is best for him or her
• IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION
  - Inuit healers consider it is better to deal with problems as soon as possible rather than to avoid them
• COMPASSION AND EMPATHY
  - Healers treat individuals gently
• INUIT CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE
  - Healers and Elders believe that the loss of culture is fundamentally at the root of today’s social problems and that the only way to heal is to develop cultural values and skills

The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. ‘Correcting Inuit Inmates in Nunavut, Canada. February 2, 2007.
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2311.2006.00414.x