Feeling an absence of Indigenous stories shared with the world, Clifford Sammurtok is looking forward to being part of the change he wants to see in the world. As part of his educational journey, he has already completed the Indigenous Enrich Support Program at Carleton University, and is continuing on towards a certificate in Indigenous Journalism, working towards a future in politics. He has worked at the University as an Inuit support worker, acted on North of North, and received a scholarship for the 2026 Students on Ice expedition traveling from Greenland to Iqaluit.

Born in Winnipeg, his family comes from Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut. Growing up, Sammurtok moved around a lot, having lived in Iqaluit, Winnipeg, Rankin, Chesterfield Inlet, and Yellowknife. Now going to school in Ottawa, he found the transition easy after having familiarized himself with Carleton when he attended Shad Canada, a summer enrichment program for high school students.

He had the chance to go to Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax through Shad where he got to hold human brains and a spinal cord as part of his experience. He was encouraged to apply for and received a scholarship to attend Shad Carleton through the Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation. As part of Shad, he worked with a group to answer the question “How do we integrate green energy into the everyday lives of Canadians?” and they came up with a mushroom battery.

When Sammurtok was in the Indigenous Enrich Support Program, Journalism professor Duncan McCue was a guest speaker he got to speak with and he became very interested in journalism. He’s excited by the chance to get to understand people’s stories as a journalist. “As Indigenous people, I feel like we don't really have our stories really heard and people like Duncan McCue are working to change that with the certificate in Indigenous journalism,” he reflects. So far his learning about journalism has been informal, consisting mainly of talking to people but he’s eager to dive into formal learning once his program starts and to meet the two other Inuit students coming from Nunavut.

His advice for students who are considering leaving their community for post-secondary education or other opportunities would be “Just do it if you can get funding from your organization… Do your research first, but if you’ve done your research and you feel good about it, or even if you don’t feel good about it, still do it.” Sammurtok was fortunately able to get funding to pursue his education.

When it comes to obstacles, Sammurtok struggled with making friends, especially during his first few moves. “Making new friends, making friends that will last, especially in such a foreign environment, it can be a little scary,” he reflects. Finding housing was also a challenge, given the first year he had an apartment which was challenging but ultimately worked out. Missing family has been hard, even though he can fly to see his family in Winnipeg so they aren’t that far away.

To balance mental health and emotional well-being while facing challenges, Sammurtok recommends finding a hobby. Cycling has kept him active and allowed him to access new places around town. Being hyperfocused on being the best or doing his best is something he’s found can take a physical toll, so having an active hobby is helpful.

Finding like-minded people was something Sammurtok was lucky to do in his first month through his program, and he recommends checking out the Indigenous Student centre to connect with Inuit, Métis and First Nations students, to access mental health and funding supports, and regularly scheduled programming. The Centre encourages connection through wellness, crafting, baking and country food. Ordering country food was part of his role as Inuit Support Worker and he did his best to keep freezers stocked with it.

These days, he’s working on an open house for Inuit people living in Ottawa to come to Carleton and he’s hoping for an opportunity to work with incoming Inuit students through Shad Canada. He’s also hoping to do more acting after the amazing experience he had acting on North of North where he fell in love with the process.

While Sammurtok wanted to work on the first season of North of North, personal issues got in the way of sending his demo reel in on time. When casting for the second season got started, one of his professors sent word out to his whole cohort and he was one of two people in his program who were selected for roles, but the only one who ultimately participated. He didn’t feel confident in his demo reel given he was sick when getting it ready but he got a call back for a final casting call. He had an anxiety-inducing but exciting wait for final confirmation he landed the role. Later, being on set for his first acting experience was great because everyone was understanding and caring even when he had to reshoot his scenes a couple of times.

As far as inspiration goes, Sammurtok looks to his mother, a lawyer for the federal government and his late grandfather who helped with the founding of Nunavut. He is also inspired by his aunt who he was able to meet up with during the recent Liberal convention.

For those interested in pursuing journalism, Sammurtok recommends staying connected with local politics to learn about people’s concerns. He also suggests listening to independent journalists. Before he found his passion for journalism he was hoping to go into neuroscience, but it turned out not to be a fit for him.

If he could share a message with his younger self, Sammurtok would say, “Just do what you want to do. Just do it.” He missed out on opportunities when he was younger out of fear. To other Indigenous youth away from home he says, “Call your parents every week and make sure they’re doing okay.”

Wanting to share more Indigenous stories with the world and later give back through politics, North of North actor Clifford Sammurtok is pursuing a certificate in Indigenous Journalism. After moving around a lot growing up and first dreaming of neuroscience, he’s found a place he belongs at Carleton University and interests in journalism and acting. Now finished with the Indigenous Enrich Support Program, he has inspiration for new dreams to go with his motivation to succeed.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.