Indigenous Peoples and Education in the Arctic Region
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Indigenous peoples and education in the Arctic region Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson and Yvonne Vizina Photo: Liv Inger Somby Photo: ARCTIC REGION Chapter II Indigenous peoples and education in the Arctic region Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson and Yvonne Vizina Introduction Indigenous peoples of the Arctic region, such as the Aleut, Arctic Athabaskan, Gwich’in, Inuit and Sami, face significant challenges in protecting their traditional cultures and languages in the face of contemporary environmental, social and eco- nomic pressures. While the role of traditional cultures in education has improved in the past few decades, assessment of any achievements remains difficult. The present chapter provides an overview of Arctic indigenous peoples’ education issues, chal- lenges and successes. This chapter is guided by Arctic indigenous peoples’ principles regarding autonomy and self-determination. Each Arctic indigenous group possesses a worldview unique to its community, which is the foundation for materializing unique cultures and languages. The intergenerational transmission of indigenous knowledge, through culture and language, is a critical part of Arctic education processes, future successes and cultural security. Historical experiences, contemporary relationships and future goals are relevant to understanding and redefining educational contexts for Arctic indigenous peoples. 41 STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: EDUCATION 3RD Volume The Arctic region FIGURE II.1 Demography of indigenous peoples of the Arctic based on linguistic groups It is important to note that the circumpolar Arctic may be defined in many ways. The Arctic has been identified geographically by its location above the Arctic Circle at 66°30’ N latitude; as the global area north of the treeline; or as encompassing areas where average temperatures in July do not rise above 10ºC (Dubreuil, 2011). This chap- ter focuses on Arctic indigenous peoples and their territories that are now associated with the national jurisdictions of the State of Alaska in the United States of America, Canada, Denmark (Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Norway and Sweden. The map below (figure II.1), originally developed for theArctic Human Development Report 2004, illustrates the demography of some of the Arctic peoples described in this chapter based on linguistic groups and provides some useful reference points with respect to indigenous territorial locations. The Arctic is, indeed, the homeland (Nuttall, 1992) that has sustained indigenous peoples for thousands of years prior to encroachments from the south (Kawagley, 1999; Keskitalo, Uusiautti and Määttä, 2012; McGregor, 2013). Arctic indigenous peoples The Arctic region is the homeland of many tribal groups. In the Na’Dene family, lat 60 N is home to the Eyak Tlingit and several Athabaskan tribal groups such as the Ahtna, Deg Hit’an, Dena’ina, Dene, Dogrib, Gwich’in, Hän, Holikachuk, Kaska, Koyukon, Northern Slavey, Southern Slavey, Tagish, Tanana, Tanacross, Tutchone, Upper Kuskokwim, Upper Tanana and Yellowknife. Lat 60° S, Athabaskan tribal groups near the Arctic Circle include the Babine, Beaver, Carrier, Dene, Sarsi, Sekani, Tahltan and Tsetsaut. Other indigenous peoples near the Arctic region include the Eyak, Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian. There are approximately 9,000 Gwich’in, more than half of whom live in Alaska (Dubreuil, 2011). The Aleut, according to Veltre (1996), have occupied all of the Aleutian Islands west to Attu Island, part of the Alaskan Peninsula and the Shumagin Islands since at least 1741. Later, the Aleut were settled in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. Today, there are 13 Aleut villages remaining, mostly in the Pribilof Islands and the eastern Aleutians. In 1971, following the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, a total of 3,249 Unangax registered as shareholders of the Aleut corporation. Although some Unangax no longer live in the villages of their traditional territory, having opted to move else- where, most still reside in Alaska or on Bering Island, Russian Federation (Veltre, 1996; n.d). The Eskimo-Aleut family includes Aleut; Inuit; Iñupiat; Kalaallit; Sugpiaq/Alutiiq, including Chugach Sugpiaq and Koniag Alutiiq; Yupik, including Siberian Yupik; and Yup‘ik, including Cup‘ik. Source: GRID Arendal (Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpill). Available from http://www.arcticcentre. org/EN/communications/arcticregion/Arctic-Indigenous-Peoples/Demography. 42 Indigenous peoples and education in the Arctic region 3RD Volume STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: EDUCATION The Arctic region FIGURE II.1 Demography of indigenous peoples of the Arctic based on linguistic groups It is important to note that the circumpolar Arctic may be defined in many ways. The Arctic has been identified geographically by its location above the Arctic Circle at 66°30’ N latitude; as the global area north of the treeline; or as encompassing areas where average temperatures in July do not rise above 10ºC (Dubreuil, 2011). This chap- ter focuses on Arctic indigenous peoples and their territories that are now associated with the national jurisdictions of the State of Alaska in the United States of America, Canada, Denmark (Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Norway and Sweden. The map below (figure II.1), originally developed for theArctic Human Development Report 2004, illustrates the demography of some of the Arctic peoples described in this chapter based on linguistic groups and provides some useful reference points with respect to indigenous territorial locations. The Arctic is, indeed, the homeland (Nuttall, 1992) that has sustained indigenous peoples for thousands of years prior to encroachments from the south (Kawagley, 1999; Keskitalo, Uusiautti and Määttä, 2012; McGregor, 2013). Arctic indigenous peoples The Arctic region is the homeland of many tribal groups. In the Na’Dene family, lat 60 N is home to the Eyak Tlingit and several Athabaskan tribal groups such as the Ahtna, Deg Hit’an, Dena’ina, Dene, Dogrib, Gwich’in, Hän, Holikachuk, Kaska, Koyukon, Northern Slavey, Southern Slavey, Tagish, Tanana, Tanacross, Tutchone, Upper Kuskokwim, Upper Tanana and Yellowknife. Lat 60° S, Athabaskan tribal groups near the Arctic Circle include the Babine, Beaver, Carrier, Dene, Sarsi, Sekani, Tahltan and Tsetsaut. Other indigenous peoples near the Arctic region include the Eyak, Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian. There are approximately 9,000 Gwich’in, more than half of whom live in Alaska (Dubreuil, 2011). The Aleut, according to Veltre (1996), have occupied all of the Aleutian Islands west to Attu Island, part of the Alaskan Peninsula and the Shumagin Islands since at least 1741. Later, the Aleut were settled in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. Today, there are 13 Aleut villages remaining, mostly in the Pribilof Islands and the eastern Aleutians. In 1971, following the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, a total of 3,249 Unangax registered as shareholders of the Aleut corporation. Although some Unangax no longer live in the villages of their traditional territory, having opted to move else- where, most still reside in Alaska or on Bering Island, Russian Federation (Veltre, 1996; n.d). The Eskimo-Aleut family includes Aleut; Inuit; Iñupiat; Kalaallit; Sugpiaq/Alutiiq, including Chugach Sugpiaq and Koniag Alutiiq; Yupik, including Siberian Yupik; and Yup‘ik, including Cup‘ik. Source: GRID Arendal (Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpill). Available from http://www.arcticcentre. org/EN/communications/arcticregion/Arctic-Indigenous-Peoples/Demography. Indigenous peoples and education in the Arctic region 43 STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: EDUCATION 3RD Volume The Inuit population is estimated at about 150,000, with 50,000 in Greenland, 50,000 in Canada, 45,000 in Alaska and about 2,000 in the Russian Federation. Since 1977, the Inuit Circumpolar Council has represented Inuit internationally; there are also several other important representative bodies that advance Inuit interests. The total population of Greenland is about 90 per cent Inuit, with those Inuit calling them- selves Kalaallit. This population has been actively asserting political independence from Denmark and its growing autonomy is expected to change future Arctic political dynamics (Dubreuil, 2011). The Dene, Gwich’in and Inuit are among the 14 per cent of indigenous peoples whose homeland lies within the State of Alaska, United States of America. The Inuit in Arctic regions of Canada have negotiated four major land claim agreements through which they secured, inter alia, access to land and financing, and resource revenue sharing. The four land claim areas include Nunavik, established in 1975 in northern Quebec; Inuvialuit, established in 1984 in the northern parts of the Northwest Territories; Yukon Nunavut, established in 1992 as a federal territory; and Nunatsiavut, established in 2005 in Labrador and Newfoundland (Dubreuil, 2011). Although they have yet to be named formally, the Inuvialuit call their lands Nunatoqaq, which means “the ancient lands”. There are estimated to be from 60,000 to 100,000 Sami in Sápmi on the northern Scandinavian Peninsula, with about 50,000 in the Norwegian counties of Finnmark, Nordland and Troms; about 20,000 in the Swedish counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten; about 8,000 in Lapland in Finland; and about 2,000 in the oblast of Murmansk in the Russian Federation (Dubreuil, 2011; Swedish Institute, 2014). Sami have negotiated the establishment of political institutions referred to as the Sami