A Visit with Inuk Elder Reepa Evic-Carleton
On Monday, January 30th from 5:30-7:00 pm, the Department of Family Medicine and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives will host Inuk Elder Reepa Evic-Carleton (Pangnirtung, Nunavut) for a lighting of the qulliq and discussion led by Inuk Assistant Professor in Family Medicine, Richard Budgell. Together, they will discuss the meaning of the qulliq, their work in the health field, and more.
Location: The Department of Family Medicine (5858 Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal), Third Floor
Transport: 165 Bus or the Côte-des-Neiges metro (blue line)
Refreshments will be provided.
Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/KeA2zq2Luq
More about the speakers:
Reepa Evic-Carleton was born in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, and then relocated to the community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut when she was 5 years old. In the North, her work experience included working for 10 years as a Housing Manager in Pangnirtung and one year as Community Social Worker in Child Protection.
In 1989, she moved to Ontario. In Ottawa, Ms. Evic-Carleton spent 7 years working as a Family Support Worker at Tungasuvvingat Inuit, working closely with the shelter CAS Ottawa and sitting on the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. Ms. Evic-Carleton also worked at Pauktuutit, the national association for Inuit women, coordinating national activities around the issues of substance abuse. She then co-founded the Mamisarvik Healing Centre, the first Inuit-specific trauma and addictions treatment centre in Southern Canada. At Mamisarvik, she worked as a therapist and then as the Program Coordinator. In 2017, Reepa joined the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth, and Families, where she works as a therapist and facilitates parenting programs and healing circles for mothers.
Richard Budgell was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine in 2020. He is a Labrador Inuk and lectures, writes and does research on Inuit health. In 2022, he developed and began teaching the first Inuit-specific health course at McGill.
Prior to joining Family Medicine, he was a federal government public servant in First Nations and Inuit health, and other Indigenous fields, for more than thirty years. Has was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for exemplary public service in his role in the creation of the Aboriginal Head Start program, an early childhood development program for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families. He has a Master of Arts degree in Canadian Studies (Aboriginal concentration) from Carleton University and began doctoral studies in History at McGill in 2021. He is involved in a variety of research projects, including Inuit cultural safety in health care and the Inuit community in southern Quebec.
In late 2022, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives welcomed Professor Budgell to a new role as the Special Advisor on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit translates as “that which Inuit have always known to be true” and can be interpreted as encompassing the system of beliefs and knowledge characteristic of Inuit. In his role as Special Advisor, Professor Budgell will provide advice to the Associate Provost on strengthening and developing relationships with Inuit entities; enhancing Inuit inclusion and recruitment at McGill; and promoting Inuit curriculum and teaching.
