How to Learn More: Useful Links and Resources

The first step to solving these issues is educating yourself and others.

In order for you to do so, we’ve provided the resources we found most useful during our own research. Some of the links provide maps and news stories, while others provide more in-depth research papers. These resources focus on health issues in Canada and the arctic more broadly.

Remember: educating yourself is just the first step. Visit our page on how to get involved for more actionable steps that you and others can take.

Infant Mortality in the Arctic:

• Get some background on Canadian disparities in birth outcomes with this resource.
• See an overview of the history of infant mortality in Canada here.
• Check out this visual of the differences in infant mortality throughout the Arctic with this map.

Current Healthcare Efforts:

• Read about a program designed to make the healthcare profession more accessible for indigenous communities here.
• Learn about local efforts in Nunavut to lower infant mortality with “Baby Box” Efforts.

Mental Health in the Arctic:

• Learn more about the intersection between climate change and mental health in Inuit communities here and here.
• Read about the impacts of colonization on Inuit suicide rates here and here.
• A great overview on the mental health crisis in Canadian Inuit youth can be found here.

Arctic Internet Access:

• The Arctic Council has formed a group focused on bettering  internet access in the Arctic called the “Task Force on Improved Connectivity in the Arctic” (TFICA). To read their latest report from 2019, click here.
• Satellite Startup provides high-speed broadband connection to a German ice-breaker studying climate change.
• OneWeb’s fiber-like internet service began in 2020 to support under-served and unconnected communities.
• With help from the internet, a Sámi school preserves reindeer herding 
• Interactive Map of Cell Phone Coverage in Alaska
• Canada’s Connectivity Strategy: High-Speed Access for All

The COVID-19 Pandemic:

• Public Health Agency of Canada’s report on Indigenous peoples and Covid-19
• Medical experimentation and the roots of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Indigenous Disparities in the Healthcare System:

• Read more about Canada’s Troubled Health-Care Relationship With Its Indigenous.
• Learn about the history of systemic racism in Canadian healthcare here.