Building Wellness from Inuit Ways of Knowing: The Pilimmaksaijuliriniq Project

At Ilitaqsiniq, we believe that wellness begins by connecting to culture, to community, and to ourselves. This belief is at the core of the Pilimmaksaijuliriniq Project, which was created to build frontline mental health resiliency.

Pilimmaksaijuliriniq equips frontline workers and community champions with a deeper understanding of Inuit culture and realities. Grounded in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) it teaches Inuit ways of being, knowing, and caring for one another. Participants discuss the impacts of colonization, while also reclaiming Inuit strengths, resiliency, and protective factors that have sustained communities for generations.

Through shared learning, reflection and cultural activities, participants are supported to build not only skills, but confidence, relationships, and networks that last well beyond the workshop.

In 2025, Pilimmaksaijuliriniq was delivered as a professional development workshop to Nunavut’s Community Wellness Coordinators and Community Justice Workers. These frontline workers carry enormous responsibility in their communities. This project was designed to support them in meaningful, culturally rooted ways.

The workshop creates space to:

• Learn Inuit concepts of well-being from a cultural perspective
• Understand the role of community connection and intergenerational knowledge sharing
• Practice mindfulness, grounding, and stress-management tools
• Explore healthy boundaries and self-care in frontline roles
• Reflect on what it truly means to create safe, culturally respectful spaces—physically and emotionally

Improving Community Outcomes Across the North

The impact of Pilimmaksaijuliriniq continues to grow. Funded by the $1 million Arctic Inspiration Prize, MakeWay, and other partners the project has expanded beyond Nunavut’s borders. More frontline workers across the north are now equipped with Inuit-led approaches to care that are grounded in community knowledge.

We are also deepening the program through continued Inu-vation. Pilimmaksaijuliriniq is being embedded into Ilitaqsiniq’s Train the Trainer framework, strengthening community-level capacity by:

• Researching Inuit mental wellness protective factors
• Working with therapists and psychologists experienced in Nunavut
• Integrating Inuit wellness teachings alongside western mental health models

Why This Work Matters

By the end of Pilimmaksaijuliriniq, participants leave with more than just tools—they leave with affirmation. The workshop validates the importance of Inuit culture, traditional knowledge keepers and Inuit ways of being and knowing. Frontline workers are better equipped to create safe, supportive environments that promote healing, trust, and respect—for their clients, their communities, and themselves.

Pilimmaksaijuliriniq reminds us that wellness is not something imported. It already exists in our communities, our histories, and our relationships. Our role is to nurture it, together.