Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2003. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-135). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ86312

Thesis (M.A.) -- Memorial University of Newfoundland. / Typescript. Bibliography : leaves 139-147. Also available online.

ABSTRACT Although the Inuit of Nunavut, Canada gained control of their educational institutions when the territory of Nunavut was formed on April 1, 1999 (Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, 1993), the high school graduation rates of Inuit students remain very low. Academic deficiencies exist in Nunavut, where from 1999 to 2006 only twentyfive percent of Inuit youths graduated from high school (Nunavut Department of Education, 2006). Inuit who do not remain in school have difficulty obtaining leadership positions in this new territory (Berger, 2006). This research was designed to answer the question: “What modern guideposts (nutaaq inuksuit) do Inuit perceive are needed to help more Inuit students complete high school in Nunavut, Canada?” Qualitative case study methods were used that incorporated Inuit Traditional Knowledge (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit). Traditionally, Inuit relied on guideposts (inuksuit) to help them navigate their way through unfamiliar territory. Conceptually, this study will suggest guideposts which encourage Inuit students to complete school by combining traditional and modern (nutaaq) knowledge. Living in the Arctic for fourteen years has made the researcher more aware of the importance of using a culturally sensitive methodology. In the fall of 2007, sixty-six interviews of Inuit youth, adults, and elders in the communities of Pangnirtung and Sanikiluaq were conducted. Interviewees identified what they perceived would help more Inuit students to gain the academic and cultural knowledge they need to graduate from high school. The findings from the interviews are grouped into four themes that individuals viewed as significant to this research: Home, School, Community, and Inuit Culture. Interviewees expressed a belief that these findings are no longer acknowledged in the educational system. However, they are still present in everyday Inuit child-rearing practices as cultural norms. The findings and the cultural norms that are associated with them, were organized into a cultural framework using the four identified themes. It is hoped that each community will develop their own unique guidepost using the cultural framework. A summary of the findings as they relate to each the four themes of Home, School, Community and Inuit Culture are presented below, along with the Inuit phrases indicative of the cultural norms. Interviewees expressed that: 1. In the home, they desired a greater readiness for high school, more parent involvement, and closer home-school partnerships than the rudimentary levels that exist now. The Inuktitut phrase is: “Are we prepared and ready to go? (Atii?)” 2. In the school, they desired more funded learning opportunities that value relationships and mentoring with elders and other individuals than the rudimentary levels that exist now. The Inuktitut phrase is: “Remember I care about you and our relationship? (Ain?)” 3. In the community, they desired better communications and networking among government departments, businesses, and local organizations than the rudimentary levels that exist now. The Inuktitut phrase is: “Are we in agreement? (Ii?)” 4. In relation to the Inuit traditions, they desire more traditional skills to be taught. They also desire that Inuit youths learn from the elders and other individuals how to apply cultural values, like Inuit Traditional Knowledge in the modern world. The Inuktitut phrase is: “Can we go outdoors together? (Ittaarlu?)”

Thèse (M.Sc.)--Université Laval, 2008. / Bibliogr.: f. 106-116. Publié aussi en version électronique dans la Collection Mémoires et thèses électroniques.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 126-139.

Long before the introduction of a western-style formal education for the Inuit of Canada’s north, the people learned everything they needed to know from their immediate and extended family units. The goal of education for Inuit at that time was simple: learn the skills needed to survive. The current goal of education in Canada is similar, though ‘survival’ has a new context where governments and educators focus more on how to prosper and succeed (in addition to being able to survive). There have been many fundamental shifts in the methodology behind educating Inuit students but each paradigm has intended to better prepare children how to survive in the modern world. In 2012, for example, there is more of a focus on Calculus than on skinning caribou and students learn how to read sheet music instead of watching elders beat a sealskin drum and mimicking the rhythm. Curriculum focuses on scientific or historical facts rather than myths or legends to explain how the world works. This thesis examines the latest two paradigms in educational curricula in the territory now known as Nunavut. In 1999, the territory of Nunavut came into effect when the Nunavut Act was proclaimed. Before this, the area now known as Nunavut was part of a much larger and more culturally diverse Northwest Territories. In the years leading up to 1999, plans began to take shape that would lead to the separation of Inuit inhabited lands. Inuit desired a system of government that reflected their own distinct culture, and enabled them to make decisions and policies for those living within their boundaries. The Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (more easily remembered as IQ), a set of principles that refer to traditional Inuit knowledge and knowledge gathering, is a key example. The new government of Nunavut introduced IQ principles to guide decisions, policies and set values that would create a government that was truly representative of the people it served. Prior to this, the Northwest Territories used a system of education and pedagogy that was adopted primarily from the Province of Alberta. Though some curriculum focused on the Inuit as a people, it was not a system designed to incorporate traditional Inuit knowledge. The educational experiences of former Inuit students before Nunavut was established can be compared to those educational experiences of Inuit after the formation of Nunavut (and after IQ was incorporated into the education of Inuit). This thesis evaluates and compares those differences, documenting shifts in attitude, experiences and stories from the time before Nunavut appeared on maps to the time after the territory of Nunavut was created.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Daniel Green, Dept. Political Science & International Relations. Includes bibliographical references.

This study examines long-term Inuit-European and -Euroamerican intersocietal interaction in the central Canadian Arctic. This geographical area encompasses the traditional ranges of the contiguous Copper, Netsilik and Iglulik Inuit societies. Specifically, the study analyzes and discusses changes in intra- and intergroup material trade networks and social relations resulting from indirect and direct contact with the developing capitalist world-system. Through the application of world-system theory and methodology, it is shown that indirect contact in the form of the acquisition of material trade items was a gradual, though constant, process that had a considerable impact on the cultural development of these societies. Both indirect and direct contact were greatly accelerated during the 19th century, increasing the rate of cultural change, and, by the early 20th century, ultimately culminating in the articulation of the Copper, Netsilik and Iglulik Inuit societies within the modern capitalist world-system.

This thesis investigates, through primary research, the role of traditional knowledge in regional, national, and international political activities of Canadian Inuit. The links between an increasingly postmodern West, global environmental discourse, and the role of traditional knowledge in Inuit self-identity and self-government issues are outlined and set in relation to anthropological theory on globalization. The research indicates that Inuit engagement in competition over resources and power is complemented by a competitive cultural imagery, which draws on and contributes to a discourse on global cultural exchange. Subordinate groups' uses of such imageries have been discussed in anthropology, and are discussed further in the thesis. It is argued that deconstructive critiques of these imageries are problematic, but the need for research about cultural imageries is acknowledged as well. It is suggested that analyses of the politicization of cultural imageries should include political and philosophical contexts in order to lessen their potentially harmful consequences.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-244). Also available via World Wide Web.