Inuit estimates of polar bear characteristics from tracks could complement ongoing capture-mark-recapture methods to frequently monitor polar bear populations in response to climate-induced habitat changes. Before the inclusion of these Inuit track estimates, they need to be evaluated for reliability and accuracy. Building on previous work, which showed increased reliability among active Inuit hunters, this thesis research reports i) reliability in estimates of sex, age, size, and age of track of a larger number of tracks by a larger number of Inuit hunters; ii) preliminary accuracy assessments of sex and size estimates; iii) semi-structured interviews with Inuit hunters regarding their polar bear tracking experience and techniques; and iv) potential relations between Inuit hunting experience and reliability and accuracy in diagnosing tracks. The Inuit hunters were reliable and consistent as a group in making estimates of sex (α=0.74 and mean corrected item-total correlation=0.45), age (α=0.81 and mean corrected item-total correlation=0.63), and size (α=0.91 and mean corrected item-total correlation=0.73), as well as age of track estimates with the exclusion of a single participant (α=0.85 and mean corrected item-total correlation=0.63). Preliminary accuracy assessments suggest Inuit hunters are generally accurate in their estimates of sex (mean 65.28% agreement with genetic sex estimates) and potentially size from tracks, warranting further efforts to determine accuracy in these estimates as well as age and age of track. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews with each hunter revealed they use similar tracking techniques, which may explain their high agreement in making estimates. In addition, Inuit tracking experience and the use of particular tracking methods may correlate with individual reliability and accuracy in track diagnoses. These results suggest the information that Inuit hunters provide may inform any tracking-based polar bear survey. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-15 13:06:07.948

Western aesthetic convention represents an accrual of inherited societal perspectives on the artist, the artifact and its consumer. A review of its history and the etymology of its terminology discloses a twofold problem. The first aspect concerns the separation of the manufacture of aesthetic objects from their economic raison d'etre. The second involves the categorization of these artifacts into art or craft. This problem is compounded when considering Western judgements on non-Western aesthetics. Inuit handicraft provides an appropriate model to illustrate the fact that present convention and nomenclature prove inadequate in addressing both intra and especially extra-cultural concerns. A broader and more inclusive orientation is needed.

No description available.

This thesis explores the relationship between Inuit art making, knowledge, and the process of cultural continuity or resilience, beginning with a review of relevant theory and literature focusing on concepts of voice, location and representation, and ending with an analysis based on interviews with art makers in Pangnirtung. I argue that through their creative practices, Panniqtuumiut and other Inuit artists are actively involved in the production and transmission of Inuit knowledge, an action that supports the process of cultural resilience. Specifically, this occurs as knowledge is materialized in works of art, circulated, and transmitted/interpreted. This project explores a critical approach to the interpretation of works of Inuit art, and the place of Inuit voice in that process.

Historically, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) have expressed strong opposition to uranium mining in their territory, in part due to concerns that it would be detrimental to their harvesting practices. During these struggles, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq had the support of various Inuit Organizations. The first decade of the 2000s saw the relevant Inuit Organizations change their policies from ones which opposed uranium mining to ones which support it. This thesis is an attempt to understand if Inuit at the community level have changed their opinions about uranium mining and, if so, why. During my time in Qamani’tuaq, it became apparent that the shift in policy has been followed by a gradual change in perspective among some members of the community. While opposition to uranium mining is by no means dead, the seemingly united stance the community previously held has become fragmented. This change is due to a number of factors, including an increased astuteness on the part of the mining industry, certain aspects of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and ongoing economic dependency upon the market economy.

No description available.

This thesis explores the relationship between Inuit art making, knowledge, and the process of cultural continuity or resilience, beginning with a review of relevant theory and literature focusing on concepts of voice, location and representation, and ending with an analysis based on interviews with art makers in Pangnirtung. I argue that through their creative practices, Panniqtuumiut and other Inuit artists are actively involved in the production and transmission of Inuit knowledge, an action that supports the process of cultural resilience. Specifically, this occurs as knowledge is materialized in works of art, circulated, and transmitted/interpreted. This project explores a critical approach to the interpretation of works of Inuit art, and the place of Inuit voice in that process.

Historically, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) have expressed strong opposition to uranium mining in their territory, in part due to concerns that it would be detrimental to their harvesting practices. During these struggles, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq had the support of various Inuit Organizations. The first decade of the 2000s saw the relevant Inuit Organizations change their policies from ones which opposed uranium mining to ones which support it. This thesis is an attempt to understand if Inuit at the community level have changed their opinions about uranium mining and, if so, why. During my time in Qamani’tuaq, it became apparent that the shift in policy has been followed by a gradual change in perspective among some members of the community. While opposition to uranium mining is by no means dead, the seemingly united stance the community previously held has become fragmented. This change is due to a number of factors, including an increased astuteness on the part of the mining industry, certain aspects of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and ongoing economic dependency upon the market economy.

This dissertation explores Inuit gender relations in a post-colonial setting in Greenland. Explicitly avoiding Western theories as support, a pan-Inuit framework was constructed in order to more appropriately study gender equity among the kalaallit, the Greenland Inuit. This framework materialized the linkages of Inuit thinking to that of the West, making sense of the Inuit worldview, and arguably justifies the development of other analytical tools. Inuit terms and notions are used in teasing out the emic aspects that reveal the cultural foundations specific to the target group to enable more accurate perception. Concurrently, culturally appropriate protocols in soliciting partnership for research in the field were established to test feasibility that such a relationship could create new knowledge. The combination of the established research modes caused the emergence of a more culturally enriched social construction, which made it possible to go beyond the regular scholarly treatises and standards of analytical structure. The epistemological understanding allowed for more critical analyses of what is presently known of relations between Inuit men and women in the Arctic.

The purpose of this study was to investigate Inuit values and needs in Inuit Adult Education. These can only originate from the Inuit themselves: those attending and employed in Adult Education Centres in Nunavik, graduates of both vocational and academic adult education programs, Elders, local education committee members, directors of Northern educational institutions and community leaders. This study examined values in Inuit adult education of one Inuit community's educational and community representatives and students, and how these educational needs may be met so as to respect Inuit traditions. In this qualitative study, research methods included: filmed interviews, surveys and open-ended questionnaires, field notes, and participant observation. It was found that the Inuit are in effect finding themselves between two cultures and two education systems. There is a gap in knowledge between the Inuit vision of education and the non-Inuit vision of education. It was concluded that there is a perceived need to integrate the teaching of traditional Inuit skills and knowledge with contemporary curricula: to unite both into a curriculum that embraces the advantages of both traditions and cultures.