As a boy in Aklavik, George Koe got in a lot of trouble.

He moved to Yellowknife and got in more trouble.

He slept on the street, ate at the Salvation Army, and panhandled to support his addiction.

A chance meeting led Koe to the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation, a non-profit organization that runs Indigenous healing camps and cultural programming in the North.

Friday marked 90 days since Koe discovered the foundation, and 90 days of sobriety.

SA国际影视传媒淚 went to a lot of treatment programs, done a lot of counselling, but they open the door and they closed the door on me,SA国际影视传媒� Koe told a room of businesspeople and bureaucrats during the Arctic Indigenous Investment Conference on Friday.

SA国际影视传媒淚 had the chance to go and get a coffee every day at that camp, and that's where I've been since then,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淎nd I love it today.SA国际影视传媒�

The Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation was last year's recipient of the $1-million Arctic Inspiration Prize, an award granted each year to an organization that gathers Arctic knowledge and uses it to benefit Arctic peoples in Canada.

At the conference on Friday, representatives from the wellness foundation and the Arctic Inspiration Prize encouraged Northern and Indigenous businesses and governments to support the prize.

SA国际影视传媒淧eople in the North have the ability to take care of the North, but we need help to do that, and the Arctic Inspiration Prize has really helped us move forward with what we're doing,SA国际影视传媒� said Donald Prince, executive director of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation.

SA国际影视传媒淚 really want to stress too that if there are people out there with lots of money, and if they want to give it away, this is a good cause,SA国际影视传媒� Prince added, to chuckles from the crowd.

Speaking about last year's prizewinner, Glen Abernethy, territorial minister of Health and Social Services, said the Government of Northwest Territories recognizes SA国际影视传媒渢he importance of Indigenous culture in the delivery of care.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淲e see a large disparity in health and social outcomes of Indigenous people and other Canadians as a result of colonization and mainstream institutions that have often not served Indigenous people well,SA国际影视传媒� said Abernethy. SA国际影视传媒淭here is no question that the GNWT has a role to play in reconciliation.SA国际影视传媒�

Abernethy said supporting the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation is one way the government is supporting the delivery of culturally appropriate services.

He said GNWT contributes $50,000 a year to the Arctic Inspiration Prize.

The next Arctic Inspiration Prize award ceremony will take place in Whitehorse in February 2019 at an event co-hosted by the Arctic Indigenous Investment Conference.

The second annual Arctic Indigenous Investment Conference took place at the Chateau Nova Hotel in Yellowknife this week and about 200 people, including speakers and sponsors, attended.

The three-day networking event hosted by the Yukon First Nation Chamber of Commerce and Denendeh Development Corporation brought together Indigenous businesspeople and industry and government representatives from the NWT and the Yukon.