Nomadic Life, Settlement Life, City Life – The Noah Tunnillie Story

Noah Tunnillie divides his life into three compartments: Nomadic Life, Settlement Life, City Life. 

“Part of my life is having to change so much stuff about myself,” he says. “I’m embracing the challenge. I’m growing from my struggles.” 

The first struggle happened when Noah was just four years old. 

Just like generations before, Noah’s family lived a nomadic life. That is until Noah began developing respiratory problems. His family had to move to Cape Dorset, now known as Kinggait, Nunavut. 

Culture Shock 

“Everything started to change from what I was learning out there, from living part nomad, to settled. That was the first culture shock for me.” 

As his family settled in crowded Cape Dorset, Noah went to school. At first it was “easy-peasey” for him. Then, high school happened. When he was sixteen, Noah discovered hashish. 

“I got lazy in school,” because of his smoking, he says. 

After high school, Noah continued living with his parents in an overcrowded home. He had no choice; his entire town was overcrowded. 

When his younger brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, the family moved, bit by bit, to Montreal so he could receive treatment. 

It was in Montreal where Noah got into alcohol. Yet, despite the drugs and alcohol, Noah still made frequent trips to visit relatives in Ottawa, who travelled there from up north to receive healthcare. 

“It took its toll on me,” Noah says of his drinking and smoking, prompting him to move to Ottawa in 2005. 

Things were okay for Noah until a little over a year ago when he made some tax filing errors, eventually losing the place he was living in the Carlington area. 

“The money dried up, so I moved into Shepherds of Good Hope’s shelter until somebody could help me settle my taxes.” 

“I didn’t have to sleep outside,” Noah remembers with gratitude. “The shelter helped me with clothing, and they put me in touch with a tax specialist.” 

Gratitude is a big part of Noah’s life, but he lives by another rule as well: “Embrace your struggles,” he suggests. “Otherwise, you meet resistance. Don’t say ‘why me?’ to yourself, instead embrace the struggle”. 

 

 

 

As an Inuit living in Ottawa, there are real struggles. 

“Being Inuit, everybody thought I was drunk. They’ve had bad experiences with Inuit, so they saw me as the same. It was pretty hard.” 

“I was born into this skin,” he says, while trying to understand racism. His parents did their best to prepare him for the racism he would face, especially his mother. 

“I was a Momma’s boy,” he says, smiling. 

His mother had seven children, with Noah in the middle. Suicide took the lives of two of his siblings, leaving a hole in Noah’s heart. 

When his mother, Ovilloo Tunnillie, passed away in 2014, Noah went home to Nunavut but hasn’t been back since. 

A New Home – A New Beginning 

Noah’s new room at Richcraft Hope Centre is on the northeast corner of the building. Spectacular sunrises and sunsets flood his room, as he looks out over the shelter he once called home. 

“Whoever said, ‘what you see is what you become’, is correct,” Noah says, describing the plight of many people experiencing homelessness and referring to the daily grind of shelter life. 

A typical day in the shelter would see Noah leaving in the morning, going for food, visiting different drop-in centres, and using free wi-fi where he could before getting back to the shelter in time to get a bed for the night. 

“It’s exhausting,” he says. 

Alcohol Free for Almost Ten Years 

Embracing his struggles explains Noah’s resilience which gives him the strength to move forward. 

“I’ve been alcohol free since Halloween, 2016,” he says. “After my mother’s burial (in 2014), and I got back to Ottawa, I wanted to beat alcoholism.” 

Noah’s attitude and inner strength was noticed by the staff at Shepherds’ shelter, who advocated for Noah to move into his own place at Richcraft Hope Centre, where he’s been living since late May. 

“Every day is an opportunity. I’m still breathing. I’m not in hospital. I don’t have to go to a treatment centre every day.” 

Having a clean, air-conditioned room, his own bed, a walk-in shower, and views that go on for miles has opened a new chapter in Noah’s life. 

Holding up one of his pieces of art, he explains how it represents the three compartments in his life. 

“This is nomadic life, this is my settlement life, and this is my city life,” he explains. Then, pointing to a circle he added to each of his life’s compartments, Noah continues. “That’s me getting acclimated to each life.” 

Noah continues to grow. He continues to struggle. The difference now is thathe’s doing it in his new home. 

“My plan is to stay here for a year, then maybe find a job, continue my art. I feel special. I feel spoiled. This is a new chapter,” before adding a final thought, “I love this place.”