The Spirit of Understanding: Mandy Sammurtok, Inuk lawyer and culture keeper
It isn’t easy, being one of the few Inuit counsels in the Government of Canada, but it is a role that Mandy Sammurtok is happy to have. It was her late father’s dream that she become a lawyer. Family, culture, community make Mandy and make her who she is today: not just a lawyer on the forefront of reconciliation, but as an ambassador and champion for Inuit inside of the Government of Canada.
Mandy’s is a story of hope, of family and the importance of understanding.
What’s in a Name?
Whenever Mandy introduces herself, she is acutely aware of the eyes of her ancestors looking down at her.
She is aware of her great-grandparents, Leoni and Victor Sammurtok, who were first impacted when her traditional home of North Chesterfield Inlet was colonized. Her great-grandmother, her Amouq, lived to be one hundred years old. “She taught me about our traditions,” Mandy explained. “I remember talking to her when I was younger about traditional adoption and traditional naming”.
She is aware of her father’s grandfather, with whom she shares a name.
“I was named Inukruak after my dad’s family member and in Inuit culture, when you're named after a person, you're named after them in respect, and people actually look at you as that person and give you the respect of that person.”
Her father Paul Sammurtok was a residential school survivor, taken from his community and sent to federal day school in Nunavut and residential school in the Northwest Territories. As an adult, he developed a passion for Inuit politics. He was known in communities and hamlets as somebody who could help understand and fix their problems. Paul worked as the Executive Director of several Inuit organizations, helping to negotiate land claims. As he worked on those claims, he recognized the importance of the law in obtaining autonomy and justice for his people. He saw the future in the eyes of his daughter, and he encouraged her to study law.
Mandy still remembers his words: “Panik – panik means daughter in Inuktitut– you are going to be a lawyer because that's what we need. We need, lawyers who can help get our rights because nobody understands us.”
Mandy and her late father, Paul Sammurtok, in 1982 boating in Hudson Bay.
Mandy’s parents separated when she was around two years old, and she moved to Winnipeg with her mother when she was old enough to start school. They chose Winnipeg for many reasons: it is seen as the main medical center for Inuit from the Kivalliq region so Mandy and her brother would be able to stay in close contact with their father and their Inuit family. It also had the medical and educational resources that Mandy and her family needed.
When it was time for her to go to university, Mandy embraced what her father had told her. She went to law school at the University of Manitoba. When she graduated, her father cried. He was so proud.
During her undergraduate studies, Mandy had a son, becoming a single mother. Her father came to live with her in Winnipeg to help and support her. It was thanks to this support that a couple of years later Mandy decided to adopt a second son, her younger brother’s son, through custom adoption.
With a family to take care of and a law career ahead of her, Mandy began looking for work – ideally a position that would allow her to work for Inuit. This meant leaving Winnipeg. “Inuit are a nomadic people,” explained Mandy “so I was happy to move to Northen Manitoba to do my articling, and proud to eventually work in Nunavut as a criminal defense lawyer.”
A Day in Court
Ever since her family’s decision to move to Winnipeg, Mandy had understood that there was sometimes a lack of services in the North. It was as an articling student in northern Manitoba and as a criminal defense lawyer in Nunavut however, that Mandy developed a greater understanding of how the criminal justice system can act as a substitute for gaps in housing and social food programs.
“When I was an articling student with Legal Aid Manitoba in The Pas, one of my first appearances in court involved a man, let’s call him Charlie,” she said. Mandy recalled standing in front of a judge with her principal, the lead counsel, to defend Charlie, an older homeless man and a member of a local First Nation. He had allegedly stolen something very minor off the street.
The judge seemed to know him. He asked Charlie how the winter was going to be, and Charlie answered that he thought it was going to be a long and cold one. Mandy could see the judge and her principal, the lead counsel, exchange glances.
Mandy and her family while living in Manitoba in 2017.
Mandy whispered to her principal asking what was going on. The judge asked Charlie directly what he thought should be done. Should he be imprisoned for the minor theft until May, after the winter? Charlie said the end of April would be better for him.
“They decided to give him months of jail so that he could get out in the spring to start trapping and hunting,” explained Mandy. She knew there were different realities for Inuit in the North, but this just reinforced to her that awareness, empathy and understanding were principles that needed to be applied to justice here. Charlie might have frozen to death on the streets in the winter. He was negotiating for housing. While she was already passionate about helping Inuit, that passion was now combined with understanding through her courtroom experience.
Following her time as a criminal defense lawyer, Mandy worked for the territorial government in Nunavut and, eventually, as in-house legal counsel and Chief Operating Officer for the Kivalliq Inuit Association. There weren’t many Inuit lawyers then and Mandy felt that she was in high demand, which came with a lot of responsibility. She worked hard, trying as best she could to deliver justice for Inuit, and became President of the Canadian Bar Association of Nunavut. As a mother of two, it was a lot to balance.
That was before she got a concussion.
Mandy’s tips:
- Share your story: “Being a lone Inuk encountering a colonial structure like the Government for things like healthcare or education can be intimidating and frustrating. I like to share that I am Inuk and be available to people should they have questions because our culture hasn’t been very well understood or well represented in the Government and understanding will help people to treat Inuit with patience and understanding. I bring photos of my family and of Nunavut to my meetings. I share information about Inuit naming traditions and Inuit custom adoption with my colleagues to help them understand and care about Inuit. I try to teach with my personal story and hope others do the same.”
- Understand Indigenous people: “Do not think of all Indigenous people as the same! First Nations, Metis, and Inuit aren't the same. It is important to learn and understand their cultures and traditions, particularly about the Inuit as they are very misunderstood. True justice must account for their needs.”
- Do things with care: “Reconciliation means doing things with care. When working on Indigenous issues, we can't try to get it done fast. It must be done with care and we must be mindful about what our Indigenous partners want done. It has taken 150 years or hundreds of years to screw up, and it's going to take generations to get better.”
Joining Justice
Concussions are often misunderstood. The severity and recovery time can differ widely. Mandy had a bad one, with a long recovery time. She knew that she couldn’t keep going the way she had been, often acting as the sole legal recourse in an organization. She needed support. But the concussion didn’t dull her appetite to make a difference, she just had to find a different path.
That’s when Mandy considered applying for the Government of Canada. Her family’s relationship with Canada was a difficult one, it included colonization, residential schools, and intergenerational trauma. However, when her father had encouraged her to pursue a career in law it was because he felt that there was a lack of understanding of the Inuit by Canada, and that she would be able to help educate people. As the path to reconciliation is one to be walked together, Mandy decided that she would take a step. She applied to be a legal counsel at the Department of Justice and, with her knowledge and expertise, was hired.
It was difficult at the beginning. She had to relocate several times to support her family, including eventually back to Winnipeg as well as adjust to the realities of working in a large organization with different people. She did all this while dealing with the after-effects of her concussion. For Mandy, it wasn’t love at first sight.
She tried connecting with other Indigenous and Inuit employees and, while some of them adjusted to government work, others left.
Mandy takes any opportunity she has at work to inform others about Inuit culture and what makes it unique. She sees how sharing her courtroom and lived experience as an Inuk woman can change the federal justice system for the better. “I feel that as an Inuk lawyer with the experience that I have, the department actually needs me,” said Mandy. “I have contributed to opinions, lending my experience, in ways that affected departmental thinking on an issue.”
Being an internal ambassador for Inuit people at the Department of Justice led Mandy to taking an assignment working in the Indigenous Rights and Relations Portfolio, where she works on files related to reconciliation – notably the Indigenous Justice Strategy.
“Oh, I've been loving the work that I've been doing here, especially since I'm working towards reconciliation,” she said. Mandy thinks back to Charlie and the other people she helped in her career, including one Inuk client that she had to help get in jail so he could get the proper mental health resources. She understands that overrepresentation is a problem but that there is more than that and it is a nuanced and complex issue that needs thoughtful solutions.
Mandy’s father continued to help her take care of her family, right up until his passing. She holds his memory close, as she holds the memory of her great-grandparents and her family. They all experienced trauma, as has she, but she perseveres. Mandy keeps in touch with her family and other Inuit in Nunavut and, whenever she is able, she visits her home in Chesterfield Inlet.
What is the Indigenous Justice Strategy?
The overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system is a serious and complex issue rooted in systemic racism and the legacy of colonialism.
In consultation and cooperation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis, Justice Canada is developing an Indigenous Justice Strategy to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system. Given the shared responsibility for Canada’s justice system, this work is also being done in close collaboration with provinces and territories.
Today, Mandy Sammurtok continues to anchor herself in her traditions and in her community, as she tries to make a difference in the way the Government of Canada understands the Inuit. She knows her father was proud of her. “He thought I was very successful, and he loved what I did with my life,” said Mandy, speaking in front of an image of her great-grandparents. “I think my great grandparents behind me would be also. I like to bring them to my meetings so that people can see the type of people who used to live on our traditional lands and were directly affected by colonization.”
Mandy carries those lands, her people, and her family in her heart in all that she does.
Chesterfield Inlet, 2018, for a summer visit back home.
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