Inuit Self-Determination and Postsecondary Education: the Case of Nunavut and Greenland
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Inuit self-determination and postsecondary education: The case of Nunavut and Greenland by Olga Patricia Gaviria A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Higher Education Department of Leadership Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Olga Patricia Gaviria 2013 Inuit self-determination and postsecondary education: The case of Nunavut and Greenland Olga Patricia Gaviria Doctor of Philosophy, Higher Education Department of Leadership Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2013 Abstract With Inuit identifying as a people beyond nation-state boundaries, and Nunavummiut and Greenlanders as citizens of Canada and Denmark, the right to self-determination has followed distinct trajectories in the jurisdictions examined in my thesis. Nunavut has a constitutional mandate to be responsive to the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, paradoxically intensifying the relationships with the federal government towards further devolution and maintaining an ethnic divide trespassing territorial lines. Envisioning statehood, Greenland has chosen to gradually break economic ties with Denmark and in mainstreaming its governance capacity it appears to be branching off ethnocentric policies. In what seem opposing pathways, autonomous postsecondary education institutions are positioned to mitigate the notional extremes the right to self-determination calls upon. By comparing institutions steering through conflicting missions, this thesis illustrates the ways in which the right to self-determination operates against the backdrop of regained geopolitical prominence of the Arctic Region. Applying a legal theoretical framework to the scholarship of indigenous education this thesis raises a number of issues in carrying forward the right to self-determination once indigenous peoples regain control over their destinies. Issues regarding social stratification challenging the politics of representation indicate that achieving some form of autonomy does not necessarily result in social justice as the indigenous rights advocacy scholarship suggests. Considering the Inuit right to self-determination as a process right rather than an outcome, this finding highlights internal pluralities challenging the reification of Inuit identity on the basis of cultural, political, and socioeconomic difference. This thesis advocates for examining the contingencies that shape Inuit multiple allegiances accounting for peoples vantage geopolitical positioning. As Inuit redefine their position in the local, national, and global spheres, important knowledge is produced overcoming the single overriding of identity politics. Recognizing that Inuit knowledge is knowledge in context, the author contends, may lead to new ways for postsecondary education to uphold the Inuit right to self-determination. ii In memory of Uriel Gaviria 1924-2011 iii Acknowledgements I remember the day I decided to focus on contemporary indigenous knowledge without a precise question in mind. I was excited with emerging indigenous scholarship and most of all inspired by the artwork and films coming from indigenous people around the world. My first attempt to put together a research question was imprecise and perhaps overloaded with a personal resentment towards colonialism past and present and a nostalgia for a knowledge lost leaving only few threads to move forward. I was invested in using my research to contribute to this idea of “moving forward” and implicating postsecondary education in it. Thankfully, my thesis was not meant to be “mine”. It had to build on the scholarship that preceded me, it had to be responsible to the people it involved and most of all, it had to be true to the context that produces colonial and postcolonial history with all its interpretations and misinterpretations. In the process of unpacking each term of my research question, reframing it, and ultimately creating a workable framework, I received the insight of professors, colleagues, friends, and family who questioned my assumptions helping me let go of “the expert” in me. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor Creso Sá, for bringing to light my research question after being buried in the same generalizations I was aiming to call into question. As many other graduate students, in many instances I felt my “brilliant” ideas were being dismissed. Over time however, I got to realize that ideas are not fully formed from the get go. From the moment I put together a proposal to the time I wrote this acknowledgement, my relationship with Professor Sá taught me how to get out of my head and humbly engage in the production of knowledge. This is perhaps the most important lesson this thesis has taught me. Over the past years, a number of Professors have accompanied me in producing this piece of work. Professor Ruth Hayhoe generously opened spaces for me to envision how my thesis would carve an academic path. I have been particularly inspired by her devotion to history as the means to contextualize higher education and create avenues for conducting comparative research that responsibly acknowledges difference. Her candid interest on my research process encouraged me to continue, especially during moments where the process got really lonely. Professor Jamie-Lynn Magnusson introduced me to iv new bodies of literature that called into question postcolonial meta-narratives. Her trust in this research gave me the necessary confidence to embark into unknown territory. Professor Linda Muzzin, without whom I would have never thought of undertaking the PhD program, presented me with epistemological avenues to think about the politics of higher education. Her critical approach to knowledge inspired me to pursue research pertaining to indigenous peoples. Professor J'net AyAy Qwa Yak Sheelth Cavanagh was extremely generous in offering me her insights on indigenous knowledge and community-based education. Her lived experience made me continuously reflect on the responsibility of dealing with knowledge systems that are only partially accessible to academic thought. Professor Monica Heller validated for me the role of the researcher and presented me with methodological literature to look at the construction of social difference and inequality in emerging polities. I thank them immensely for their encouragement and trust in my work. Many other professors were inspiring to me through their lectures, seminars and publications. My experience at OISE has been very rich and I could have never wished for such an abundance of resources so readily available for me to conduct my research. Furthermore, the access I had to attend courses, and lectures at other University of Toronto faculties really contributed to pursuing an interdisciplinary approach. Of particular relevance were the Arctic Lecture Series at the Munk School for Global Affairs. This space proved invaluable to gain direct access to the opinion of politicians, indigenous leaders, and academics with respect to Arctic Sovereignty and Security issues. This thesis was made possible by the Doctoral Fellowship grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the travel grants from the School of Graduate Studies. It would have been impossible to move from lecture rooms in Toronto to Nunavut Arctic College and Ilisimatusarfik in Nunavut and Greenland, without this important financial support. When I first put together the ethics protocol to get my fieldwork started, I was made aware of the political sensitivities of conducting research in indigenous territory. I was indeed overly cautious not to impose myself to enable a relationship that would unleash dialog. Contrary to my fears as an outsider, I found welcoming environments where conversations happened even before consent forms were presented. Many people v facilitated my fieldwork. Former President of Nunavut Arctic College, Daniel Vandermeulen introduced me to the college and the territory itself. Current President Michael Shouldice made it easy for me to participate in many of the college’s activities during the Katinniq Professional Development Conference held in Iqaluit on August 2011. Mary Ellen Thomas and Mosha Cote from the Nunavut Research Institute assisted me in making the “Haunted Old Residence” my Iqaluit home. Instructors and administrators whom I shared accommodations with, made me participant of their extensive conversations that ranged from the mundane to the sublime. It is the spirit of all of these off-record conversations and observations that threaded this thesis from beginning to end. In Greenland people were equally welcoming. I was fortunate to participate on the 8th seminar held by The International PhD School for Studies of Arctic Societies (IPSSAS) hosted by Ilisimatusarfik. Here, I met scholars from around the circumpolar region looking at different issues regarding heritage and modernity. Exposing my thoughts in such a multidisciplinary venue was perhaps the most challenging experience during my fieldwork. The intensity of the seminar in the never-ending spring daylight of Greenland brought me to a level of discussion every aspiring scholar wants to be part of. When I returned to Greenland, this time for the almost never-ending nightdays, I felt at ease talking to faculty and administrators at Ilisimatusarfik who, knowing what my research was about, were prepared to challenge my theoretical and methodological assumptions.