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This thesis presents a qualitative case study based on interviews I conducted with contemporary Inuit artist and art educator Andrew Qappik. I traveled to Pangnirtung, Nunavut Territory, Canada in order to ask the 45-year-old "master printmaker" about the art education he received as a child and adult while living in a mostly Inuit town of approximately 1,300 in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Additionally, I interviewed Qappik about the art-teaching activities he has been providing to children and adults, in Pangnirtung and beyond, for the past fifteen years. My research sheds light not only on Qappik's personal experiences, but, by extension, on the nature of the art education models recently and currently operating in his local and regional communities. In this thesis, I present information about the "arctic-adapted" nature of art education within a unique borderland society--a location in which the traditions, values and contemporary practices of the indigenous Inuit culture are intertwined with those of the dominant, mainstream, Canadian culture. / text

Coastal fishermen and whalers on the island of Qeqertarsuaq in Disko Bay, west Greenland, rely on the harvest of marine resources for the continuation of subsistence livelihoods. Over the years, however, Qeqertarsuarmiut have witnessed increasingly stringent whaling quotas and, more recently, a global crisis-narrative about climate change which ignores the reality of coastal livelihoods in the Arctic. In popular debates about whaling, aboriginal subsistence whalers (ASWs) are generally portrayed as 'uncivilised' while the climate crisis-narrative features arctic coastal dwellers as somehow more 'exposed' or 'vulnerable' to environmental fluctuations than the rest of the world. Qeqertarsuarmiut tell a different story about their relationship and ways of engaging with non-human persons (such as winds, sea ice and marine mammals) as these are encountered in the course of seasonal harvesting efforts along the coast and wider bay waters. So while ecological fluctuations have certainly been observed, interactions with a familiar coastal environment continue to foster a relationship that presupposes a sense of patience and flexibility towards shifting sea ice conditions, local weather vagaries and the moods of non- human persons and forces. Coastal dwellers attentiveness towards the liveliness of fiords, mulls and inlets is anchored in stories about both previous encounters, and contemporary experiences, with wilful environmental agents, which reflect an enduring ontology of openness towards the sea. The chapter argues that coastal - as opposed to crisis - narratives about Qeqertarsuarmiut seascape making reflect the complexities of arctic livelihoods in ways that conflict with imposed whaling regulations and the otherwise dominant vocabulary of risk associated with climate change in the Arctic today.

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This thesis examines the use and promotion of shamanic themes in contemporary Canadian Inuit art, being the principle venue in which Inuit identity is presented to non-Inuit in Canada and internationally. The image of Inuit identity promoted through the arts since the mid-twentieth century is arguably the product of non-Inuit state authorities, but Inuit artists themselves are increasingly asserting their voice in their arts and crafts, thereby challenging the image of Inuit identity to non-Inuit. This project first problematizes the history of contemporary Inuit art, where the construction of Inuit identity was heavily prescribed, and then turns to the shifts occurring in Inuit art to highlight the process of identity construction and the agency of Inuit within it. In the process, this project challenges the static conceptualization of minority identities in diverse societies by both state authorities and majority populations. This dissertation contends that Inuit art and identity are fluid concepts and there must be an emphasis made to permit for their fluidity, to avoid affirming a static minority identity in a diverse society, whether in the public or state forums. Consequently, the effort to assert the authenticity of these intangible concepts is contrary to the ideals of diversity and equality promoted in Canada.

This thesis examined three different research questions to help build a knowledge base for future intervention strategies by better understanding the reasons behind smoking among pregnant women in Nunavut. The first study focused more at the individual level and investigates clinical and socioeconomic factors and their relationship to readiness to quit smoking. The second manuscript moved beyond the individual level to the broader social and structural environment to identify a broader range of barriers and facilitators to smoking and smoking cessation among Inuit women. This second manuscript draws upon in-depth interviews focusing on perceptions of smoking, and perceived barriers and facilitators of smoking behaviours. Finally, the third manuscript investigated the perspectives of health care providers regarding the barriers and facilitators of smoking cessation for pregnant women in the Baffin Region of Nunavut and describes perceptions of smoking cessation resources available to health care providers in the Baffin Region.

This thesis examines the portrayal of Aboriginal Peoples in two Saskatchewan daily newspapers. This research is based on the question: "How is the notion of Aboriginal Peoples socially constructed in the print media?" Previous research indicates that media portrayals of minority groups are often partial and stereotypical. Such portrayals are partly responsible for linking the unacceptable behavior of minority groups to phenotypic traits, and thereby contributing to the social significance of "race." Discourse analysis is used to analyze 437 newspaper articles that were collected using a full-text keyword search of the EBSCO Host database, which indexes articles from the Leader Post and the Star Phoenix. In general, the results reveal that Aboriginal peoples are regularly portrayed as problematic; either as having problems themselves, or as causing problems for non-Aboriginal peoples. The results support the view that race is socially constructed and demonstrate that "race," through media discourse, can become a socially acceptable explanation for social problems.

This thesis examines the use and promotion of shamanic themes in contemporary Canadian Inuit art, being the principle venue in which Inuit identity is presented to non-Inuit in Canada and internationally. The image of Inuit identity promoted through the arts since the mid-twentieth century is arguably the product of non-Inuit state authorities, but Inuit artists themselves are increasingly asserting their voice in their arts and crafts, thereby challenging the image of Inuit identity to non-Inuit. This project first problematizes the history of contemporary Inuit art, where the construction of Inuit identity was heavily prescribed, and then turns to the shifts occurring in Inuit art to highlight the process of identity construction and the agency of Inuit within it. In the process, this project challenges the static conceptualization of minority identities in diverse societies by both state authorities and majority populations. This dissertation contends that Inuit art and identity are fluid concepts and there must be an emphasis made to permit for their fluidity, to avoid affirming a static minority identity in a diverse society, whether in the public or state forums. Consequently, the effort to assert the authenticity of these intangible concepts is contrary to the ideals of diversity and equality promoted in Canada.

This thesis examines the portrayal of Aboriginal Peoples in two Saskatchewan daily newspapers. This research is based on the question: "How is the notion of Aboriginal Peoples socially constructed in the print media?" Previous research indicates that media portrayals of minority groups are often partial and stereotypical. Such portrayals are partly responsible for linking the unacceptable behavior of minority groups to phenotypic traits, and thereby contributing to the social significance of "race." Discourse analysis is used to analyze 437 newspaper articles that were collected using a full-text keyword search of the EBSCO Host database, which indexes articles from the Leader Post and the Star Phoenix. In general, the results reveal that Aboriginal peoples are regularly portrayed as problematic; either as having problems themselves, or as causing problems for non-Aboriginal peoples. The results support the view that race is socially constructed and demonstrate that "race," through media discourse, can become a socially acceptable explanation for social problems.

No description available.