FAST FORWARD: GROWING UP IN NUNAVUT YV Introduction Perhaps the most remarkable success of Source: Noah Siakuluk, quoted in John Focus all in Nunavut is the Inuit mastery of Bennett and Susan Rowley, Uqalurait: This News in Re- their rugged, unforgiving land. These An Oral History of Nunavut, Montreal view story focuses and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University on the Inuit land of remarkable people have lived in the Press, 2004:63. Nunavut, the Canadian Arctic for thousands of years, challenges the passing along their knowledge about This example is a bit dramatic, per- people are facing surviving and flourishing on the land. haps, but it illustrates that the Inuit in 2005, and some These skills and knowledge of the land, of their successes. knowledge base had to be extensive in animals, and climate have been passed order to survive on the land. Virtually from person to person and generation to all Inuit knew how to handle an ulu (a YV generation. As you read the following traditional utility knife); how to hunt Sections quotation from Noah Siakuluk, an Inuit marked with this seal in the long, winter night; where to symbol indicate from Amitturmiut, identify where he look for mountain sorrel or ptarmigan content suitable for got the information he needed to bring eggs; how to make a caribou parka younger viewers. down a polar bear while armed with waterproof; how to render oil from nothing but a knife. whale blubber; and how to make wicks “I used the trace buckle to hit the with maniq (moss). The list goes on. bear, which was being kept at bay by And the Inuit had a social system that the dogs. So then I took a knife in my ensured a peaceful society. The best hand. My older brother had told me that hunters always provided meat for the I should not plunge my knife into the widows. People respected the advice of bear from my direction, but one should the elders. Children were beloved. Inuit reach over top of the bear and stab it society was perfect for survival in the from the other side and then get away Far North. from the bear immediately. It is all right The challenges and successes of to arch over the bear but one must stab today are of a different variety than in the bear from the other side. What the past. The successes now lie in happens is that the bear will face the reclaiming what was lost, and finding direction where it feels the stab so that new ways to live as Inuit in a modern it will turn away from you. That is how world. I stabbed the bear.” To Consider 1. Teenagers love to be cool, but this often means that the people on televi- sion and in movies become the role models for Inuit teens instead of their Inuit ancestors. What problems might this pose for Inuit culture? How might this situation be changed? 2. Financial difficulties face both individual Inuit, many of whom do not have jobs, and the Nunavut territorial government. In this tiny economy, gov- ernment jobs are the mainstay. Some would say it’s just the wrong place to start a business because the market for any products or services is either very small or far away. What do you think? Are there businesses you can think of that could operate far from big population centres? Are there businesses that would cater to people in the North? Brainstorm with your peers. CBC News in Review • May 2005 • Page 48 FAST FORWARD: GROWING UP IN NUNAVUT YV Video Review Complete all ques- Part I tions in Part I while 1. How many territories does Canada have? ______________________________ reviewing the video then complete Part 2. When was Nunavut recognized? _______________________________________ II. 3. What does the word Nunavut mean? __________________________________ 4. What does the word Inuit mean? ______________________________________ For more current information on 5. What big changes did the Inuit have to face? developments in Nunavut, visit CBC North at www.north.cbc.ca. 6. What inspires 24-year-old David Nivingaluk to hunt? 7. Why does Nivingaluk work as an apprentice learning building mainte- nance? 8. What three changes does Nivingaluk see in the environment? 9. How would a major oil spill affect Nivingaluk’s life? 10. What is the “mystery” the teens at Cape Dorset’s high school are trying to solve with the help of their elders? 11. When photographers took pictures in the North, who did they identify by name? Who did they not identify by name? 12. What problems does Sam Matusi face when trying to find out information from his grandfather? CBC News in Review • May 2005 • Page 49 Part II: Extension Millie Kuluktana gives the prices of various items in Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Re- view the video to get the Nunavut prices. Later record the prices for the grocer- ies in the second column of this chart and complete the following exercise. Item for Sale Price in Nunavut Price in Southern Canada Bacon Ham Jar of Cheez Whiz Four litres of milk Twelve cups of yogurt Bunch of broccoli Kilogram of oranges Orange juice concentrate Powdered orange drink Find out the prices in southern Canada for the groceries listed in the chart. If you live in southern Canada, go with a partner to a local grocery store. If you live in northern Canada, find the prices at a southern Canada grocery delivery service such as Grocery Gateway (www.grocerygateway.com). a) What price difference did you find most surprising? b) What do you think are the main reasons for the price differences? CBC News in Review • May 2005 • Page 50 FAST FORWARD: GROWING UP IN NUNAVUT YV Nunavut: An Overview Nunavut is huge. It’s 1 925 460 square People do many jobs in Nunavut. Further Research kilometres—one-fifth the size of Some work in government, schools, or Visit the official Canada, and about as big as Quebec and health centres. Others work in construc- Nunavut Web site at www.gov.nu.ca. Newfoundland and Labrador combined. tion and building maintenance. Many in With all its islands and rugged coast- Cape Dorset and elsewhere make a lines, it has about two-thirds of living as artists, creating valuable Inuit Canada’s coastline. You might have a art. Some work in new resource indus- hard time following all this coastline— tries, such as the diamond mine that is so much of the territory is covered in to open near Kugluktuk. For many, snow and ice that it’s hard to tell where however, jobs are scarce, or they de- the land ends and the sea begins. mand skills not yet acquired. Some With all this space, you’d think there Inuit supplement their incomes through would be a lot of people. But Nunavut traditional activities on the land, espe- is home to only about 27 000 people. cially by hunting caribou and seal, and This is about the number of people who by fishing for Arctic char. live in a small city in southern Canada, Consider the following statistics, all such as Owen Sound, Ontario. Unlike of which come from Statistics Canada every other area in Canada, Nunavut is (www.statcan.ca). the only place where Aboriginal people are still in the majority. About 85 per Population Characteristics cent of the people who live in Nunavut • Population: 26 745 (2001): 24 730 are Inuit. In fact, the Inuit have outright (1996) title to 350 000 square kilometres of • 1996 to 2001 population change: 8.1% Nunavut’s lands, and title to mineral • Aboriginal identity population: 22 720 rights for 35 000 square kilometres. The government of Nunavut, however, is for • Median age of the population: 22.1 all citizens, both Inuit and non-Inuit. years All this was settled in the land agree- • Percent of the population aged 15 and ment that created Nunavut on April 1, over: 62.9 (2001) 1999. • Median total income of persons 15 The government’s main centre is the years of age and over: $17 270 capital, Iqaluit, but the representatives meet in several communities throughout Education the year. The Nunavut population lives Percentage of the population with a in 28 isolated communities scattered high school graduation certificate and/ over a vast area. By moving the govern- or some postsecondary education: ment around, citizens have better access • aged 20-34: 27% to their representatives. Government • aged 35-44: 20% jobs are spread out over the territory. With this decentralized system, govern- • aged 45-64: 13.6% ment jobs can be shared around the region. CBC News in Review • May 2005 • Page 51 Languages First Learned and Housing Still Understood in Nunavut • Number of rented dwellings: 5 440 • English only: 6 940 • Average gross monthly payments for • French only: 395 rented dwellings: $470 • Both English and French: 20 • Number of owner-occupied dwellings: • Other languages (especially Inuktitut): 1 735 19 310 • Average value of dwelling: $165 383 • Average number of persons in house- Language Used Most Often at hold: 3.7 Work • English: 8 130 Health Status • French: 40 • Percentage over the age of 12 who • Non-official language (especially report their health as very good: 57% Inuktitut): 4 190 • Percentage over the age of 18 experi- encing obesity: 20% Mode of Transportation to • Percentage over the age of 12 who Work smoke occasionally: 65% • Car, truck, or van, as the driver: 1 750 • Percentage over the age of 12 who • Car, truck, or van, as a passenger: 925 exercise at least moderately: 38% • Public transit: 40 • Percentage over the age of 12 who • Walking or bicycling: 4 670 have seen a medical doctor in the past year: 53% Activities 1.