Land-use planning and participation: The case of inuit public housing (Nunavik, Canada)

This article examines the role of participation in land-use planning. It discusses a concrete example of planning, related to the construction of social housing in Nunavik, the most northerly region of Québec, Canada, inhabited mainly by Inuit. It looks at how the responsibilities of the various parties involved in the planning process have changed over the past 30 years and strives to understand the exact nature of their responsibilities at the present time. In so doing, it focuses on the role of citizens. This study shows that citizen participation plays a relatively limited role in planning, even though existing legislation makes it an integral part of the process. It helps to fulfil basic land-use planning functions, namely, an economic rationalization function and a political legitimization function. From this perspective, discourse on the democratic virtues of participatory planning is misleading.     

北极原住民自治研究——以加拿大因纽特人为例

结合政治学的有关理论和社会学的实证方法,围绕加拿大因纽特人的自治省——努纳武特省的建立过程、自治模式、自治实践三个方面展开,可以探讨北极原住民的自治运动。努纳武特自治政府是以非暴力的、谈判协商、团结合作、通过民主投票的方式而建立的;其权限是有完全的行政权,部分的司法权以及在联邦政府议院规范下的部分的立法权,这是加拿大多元文化政策的重大成就。但在运作过程中,问题依然严峻：政治架构上的水土不服,经济发展的先天不足,社会生活的分崩离析,传统文化的传承江河日下,这些影响了因纽特人自治运动的健康发展。     

First Nations,Métis and Inuit presence in the Newfoundland and Labrador curriculum

This article responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Canada’s 2015 call for the education of Canadians about ‘residential schools, treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada.’ It is an analysis of the Canadian and world studies curricula and texts in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1 of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada. The analysis is based on academic research and consultations with First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples (FNMI) educators, educational administrators and knowledge holders. Although there is evidence of reform, as a whole the curriculum suffers from silences and lack of context, problematic placement and associations, the intrusion of settler perspectives, contradiction over judgement about issues related to FNMI peoples and inconsistency that undermine efforts at reform. This article provides guidance to curriculum designers, textbook writers, teachers and administrators participating in the decolonization of education in Canada.     

Collective Memory and Social Restructuring in the Case of Traditional Inuit Shamanism

This article explores the sociological processes of collective memory manipulation in unsettled times by analyzing a case study of the Church's displacement of traditional shamanism in Arviat, Nunavut. Collective memory studies, which examine regime transitions, focus on tracing the path of collective memory, rather than examining the mechanisms used to gain and keep control over collective memory. I argue that three elements are necessary for this kind of control: (1) shifting the “historical horizon” to temporally locate the competing institution firmly in the past within community memory, (2) manipulating the reputation of the competing, soon‐to‐be‐previous institution, and (3) establishing a new moral framework. I center my argument primarily on the accomplishment of these elements using narrative and rhetoric, which emerged through inductive analysis.     

Mobility and Nunavut Inuit youth: lessons from Northern Youth Abroad

In this paper we examine the impacts of the mobility that Nunavut Inuit youth experience with Northern Youth Abroad (NYA), a Canadian volunteer travel program that sends northern youth to southern Canada and Botswana. Using a case study approach and drawing from archival research and interviews with 10 former participants, a staff member, and a member of the board of directors, we argue that NYA illustrates how volunteer travel programs for Indigenous youth can yield distinct benefits for its participants in comparison to mainstream volunteer travel programs, particularly with regard to participants' sense of cultural identity and pride. By enabling participants to foster career goals and a deeper sense of cultural pride, NYA presents a counter-example to some of the common critiques of volunteer tourism programs, and illustrates the complex interconnections between cultural pride, well-being, and career advancement for Nunavut Inuit youth.     

Language rights in Indigenous communities: The case of the Inuit of Arctic Québec1

Despite the rise of language rights, it is not clear whether the granting of rights to Indigenous and minority groups has any direct effect on the ability of these groups to revitalize and maintain their languages. This paper offers an analysis of macro‐level rights discourse in Canada, drawing on certain Supreme Court of Canada decisions regarding Francophone‐minority and Aboriginal peoples. It then traces certain consequences of the granting of Indigenous language rights for Indigenous language instruction and maintenance, focusing on the Inuit in the Arctic Québec region of Nunavik.     

Network sampling of social divisions in a rural Inuit community

This paper describes results from a network survey of Nain – a predominantly Inuit community of ~1200 people located on the northern coast of Labrador. As part of a larger social network research project, we used peer-referral sampling to recruit 330 residents for interviews about food sharing, housing, public health and community traditions. The peer-referral chains were analysed statistically to determine the presence and absence of social divisions in the community. The results of these analyses show that ethnic identification, relocation status and household income were the most significant social divisions in the community, while gender, education level and employment status show little or no effect on patterns of between-group interconnection. We argue that statistical patterns in the presence (and absence) of intergroup links offer novel ways to examine the interrelationship between recent economic development and the historical disruptions caused by Inuit community relocations in the 1950s.     

How much culture is enough? Inuit teachers’ perceptions on the state of Inuit culture in Nunavik classrooms

This paper highlights findings of a survey conducted with the Kativik School Board, Canada, to gain insight into the perceptions of Inuit teachers concerning how Inuit culture is taught in the classroom. While findings indicate that teachers are integrating Inuit culture to varying degrees, roughly half of respondents suggest that not enough Inuit culture is being taught. Responses additionally suggest that attempts to articulate culture in schools should consider teachers’ access to cultural knowledge, the creation of effective learning spaces, and the inclusion of community Elders.     

The Impact of Dietary Changes Among the Inuit of Nunavik (Canada): A Socioeconomic Assessment of Possible Public Health Recommendations Dealing with Food Contamination

Inuit populations meet a large portion of their food needs by eating country food in which pollutants are concentrated. Despite the fact that they contain pollutants, the consumption of country food has many health, social, economic, and cultural benefits. A risk determination process was set up in order to help regional health authorities of Nunavik to deal with this particular issue. Based on Nunavik health authorities' objectives to encourage the region's inhabitants to change their dietary habits, and on both the risks and the benefits of eating country food, several management options were developed. The options aimed at reducing exposure to contaminants by either substituting certain foods with others that have a lower contaminant content or by store-bought foods. This article aims at assessing the potential economic impact of these risk management options before being implemented. Relevant economic data (aggregate income and monetary outlays for the purchase of food and equipment required for food production by households) were collected and identified to serve as a backdrop for the various replacement scenarios. Results show that household budgets, and the regional economy, are not significantly affected by the replacement of contaminated foods with the purchase of store-bought meat, and even less so if the solution involves replacing contaminated foods with other types of game hunted in the region. When financial support is provided by the state, the households can even gain some monetary benefits. Results show that public health authorities' recommended changes to dietary habits among the Inuit of Nunavik would not necessarily involve economic constraints for Inuit households.     

The Contradiction of Helping: Inuit Oppression(s) and Social Work in Nunavut

Significant differences in privilege, material resources, and decision-making power exist between Inuit and Qallunaat (or non-Inuit) in Canada’s Nunavut Territory. Holding serious implications, the disproportionate advantages afforded Qallunaat require an examination of the relationship between social work and the State (as employer). The role of credentialism and professionalism in the maintenance of neocolonial relations reveals a professional paradox and a barrier to pursing the objective of social justice within the profession. The transition experienced by Inuit—from a predominantly hunting culture to the logic of industrial capitalism—necessitates an examination of the role Qallunaat social workers have played and continue to practice within this transition and in the institutional structures that protect their interests.