Inuit challenges explored at Northern Colloquium (from Trent website)

Keynote address features national Inuit representative Udloriak Hanson

Ms. Udloriak Hanson, special advisor to the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization in Canada representing four Inuit regions

“Happy Seal Day”, said Ms. Udloriak Hanson, a representative from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), a Canadian national Inuit organization. Ms. Hanson greeted the crowd gathered at the Peterborough Public Library on Thursday, February 2, 2012, as she capped off Trent’s day-long Northern Studies Colloquium with her keynote address. 

“The seal is very important to Inuit culture and to our daily lives,” observed Ms. Hanson in her opening remarks, “but like many of the topics I will touch on tonight, it has definitely been given a political twist.”                                             

Beginning with what she referred to as “Inuit 101”, including a brief description of the territory and demographics of Canada’s Inuit population, Ms. Hanson then went on to look at the challenges facing this population today. “We have a very youthful population,” explained Ms. Hanson, “and are dealing with a number of challenging social problems including housing shortages, under-employment, violence and suicide. For all these challenges, education is key.”

Ms. Hanson highlighted the role of education in addressing these challenges and in moving towards greater autonomy, referring to retired Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court Thomas R. Berger’s 2006 report on Nunavut Land Claims agreement implementation. “The spirit of the land claims agreements was to have all stakeholders work together towards the goal of having Inuit govern their own land. We can’t get there without an educated workforce.”

“Seventy-five per cent of our Inuit are not graduating,” explained Ms. Hanson. One of the challenges, she maintained, is overcoming the reluctance of some Inuit parents to send their children to school, given their own negative experiences in the residential school system. An even greater problem, however, is the curriculum itself. 

“The education system in the north was adopted and adapted from the south, so the curriculum that I grew up on was Alberta’s. I remember in grade five learning about the different types of trees,” said Ms. Hanson against a slide-show backdrop of a treeless northern landscape. “It was very frustrating as a child. We need an Inuit-centered curriculum, one that isn’t written in English and translated into Inuktitut, but one that is written in our language and based on our culture,” she maintained, citing evidence from Thomas Berger’s report. “If it’s in your language and it’s culturally relevant you are much more likely to be successful.”

Ms. Hanson pointed to the success of the Nunavut Sivuniksavut (NS) college program in Ottawa as an example, attributing the success of that program to its curriculum. “At NS, students learn about themselves - their culture, their language, their leaders, and their past. It’s all about Inuit. There’s this huge sense of pride that these students get from NS and that’s why they’re so successful.

Ms. Hanson went on to describe the National Strategy on Inuit Education that was announced in 2011, calling its launch a “momentous” occasion. The objective of the strategy is to graduate children confident in the Inuit language and culture and capable of contributing with pride to the emerging opportunities in Canada’s Arctic. “The Strategy is a blueprint for the education system we want. It is a 21st century vision for our children’s future.”

Udloriak Hanson is the special advisor to Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national organization representing Inuit from Nunavut, Nunavik in Northern Quebec, Nunatsiavut in Labrador and the Inuvialuit region of the Northwest Territories.

Trent students bring the North to Peterborough (from Trent website)

Student organizers Kaitlin Wilson and Meghan Buckham at the annual Northern Studies Colloquium

Graduate and undergraduate students involved in northern research came together to host the Trent University Northern Studies Colloquium on February 2, 2012 at the Benedict Gathering Place on Symons Campus as well as the downtown Peterborough Public Library.

The daylong event featured a series of student-led presentations and panel discussions and wrapped up with a special keynote address at the Library by Ms. Udloriak Hanson, special advisor to the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization representing four Inuit regions.

“This colloquium builds on a longstanding tradition of Northern Studies collaboration at Trent,” said Dr. Julia Harrison, director of the Frost Centre for Canadian and Indigenous Studies at Trent University. “Previous series have brought together such a diverse group of speakers and individuals who exemplify the interdisciplinary mandate and philosophy of the Frost Centre and other departments and programs at Trent.”

This year’s event was no exception as northern scholars from a wide variety of disciplines shared their research, stories, and enthusiasm.

“On one panel alone, we have people from Cultural Studies, Political Science, Anthropology, and Environmental Life Sciences Departments, all discussing their research on bowhead whale ecology,” said Dr. Christopher Furgal, faculty advisor for the colloquium. “What this does is take students from the sharp focus of their very in-depth area of study and introduce them to the people and research that is happening in the same region, in similar subjects, but in different programs. It widens their field of view. It encourages students to step out of the box – and to see that they are not isolated in their studies. It reaffirms that their research is part of a much larger picture of the North.”

“We had an incredible turn-out,” reported student and colloquium co-chair, Ms. Kaitlin Wilson, “and not just from Trent students and faculty, but from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Peterborough community. There were great presentations, some really good questions raised, and some lively dialogue. I’m really impressed with what my fellow students pulled together – particularly when so many of them are as busy as they are. They should be proud.”

Having Udloriak Hanson provide a keynote address was particularly exciting for participants.  Ms. Hanson speaks nationally and internationally on the realities and concerns of Inuit peoples in Canada. Ms. Hanson is an Inuit advisor working with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), which is the national organization that represents Inuit peoples living in Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut, and the Inuvialuit region of the Northwest Territories. She is an expert with a distinguished track record negotiating land claims and the devolution of powers from the federal government to Nunavut. Hanson is also involved in representing Inuit views on Arctic governance, including working with those involved in the Arctic Council. Most recently, Ms. Hanson has co-chaired the Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program, which works to improve public policy in the circumpolar Arctic.

Originally published here. 

A big thank-you to our sponsors

The Trent Northern Studies Colloquium would like to thank the following sponsors for our event:

	Anthropology Graduate Program
	Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies
	History Graduate Program
	Sustainability Studies Graduate Program
	Environmental and Resource Studies Program
	Indigenous and Environmental Studies Program
	Canadian Studies Undergraduate Program
	Department of Political Studies
	Northern and Polar Studies Committee
	Office of Graduate Studies
	Traill College
	T.E.W. Nind Endowment Fund
	Ministry of Natural Resources - Wildlife Research and Development Section

Trent goes Northern on February 2nd

Students to present cross-disciplinary, northern research (from Trent website)

Trent University’s Northern Studies Student Colloquium will take place on Thursday, February 2, 2012 with student presentations in the Benedict Gathering Place on Symons Campus from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Peterborough Public Library will host the keynote address at 7:15 p.m., by Ms. Udloriak Hanson, special advisor to the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national Inuit organization in Canada representing four Inuit regions.

Students involved in northern research at Trent University are organizing the Northern Studies Student Colloquium for graduate students, undergraduate students and faculty. The Peterborough community is also invited to encourage networking and to showcase some of the innovative and inspiring projects taking place across disciplines in Northern research at Trent. Students across the arts and sciences are on the organizing committee; a large and diverse group of graduate students and presenters will be attending.

For a complete schedule and list of presenters, please visit the website at: http://trentnorthern.blogspot.com/

The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

“This colloquium builds on a longstanding tradition of Northern Studies collaboration at Trent,” said Dr. Julia Harrison, director of the Frost Centre for Canadian and Indigenous Studies at Trent University. “Previous series have brought together such a diverse group of speakers and individuals who exemplify the interdisciplinary mandate and philosophy of the Frost Centre and other departments and programs at Trent.”

Schedule for Northern Studies Colloquium—Feb. 2nd

Thursday February 2, 2012

8:30-9:00am	Doors open at the Benedict Gathering Space on Symons Campus, participants to find seating, final preparations for speakers, morning refreshments
9:00-9:30am	Opening Remarks (Invited Speakers)
9:30-10:30am	Session I Theme: Meeting Needs Chair: Dr. Julia Harrison
	Véronique Gélinas, Understanding the ecology of the bowhead whale in the eastern Arctic using a mixed method approach combining analyses of stable isotope and trace metal and traditional ecological knowledge
	Kim Wilson, Aboriginal Communities, Industry & the State: Conflicting Narratives of Northeastern Alberta, 1969-1984
	Anne Corkery, Testing the mismatch hypothesis in Churchill, Manitoba: does food for a sub-Arctic breeding plover peak at hatch?
	Kaitlin Breton-Honeyman, Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) Feeding Ecology: Inuit Traditional Knowledge (IK) in Northern Quebec (Nunavik), Canada
10:30-10:45am	Question Period
10:45-10:50am	Poster Preview** for Véronique Gélinas and Valerie Miller
10:50-11:15am	Morning Refreshment Break
11:15-12:15pm	Session II Theme: (Re)Claiming Chair: Dr. Allice Legat
	Meghan Buckham, The Role of Inuit Knowledge in Environmental Policy Development in Nunatsiavut
	Kevin Middel, Use of Brownian bridges to identify areas of common space use of polar bears in Southern Hudson Bay
	Diana Kouril, The Role of Community-Based Monitoring in Adaptation and Sustainability in Nunatsiavut, Labrador
	Laurence Dunne, Writing as Apology. The Bowhead Whale Hunt at Kekerten (Nunavut), re-visited
12:15-12:25pm	Question Period
12:25-12:30pm	Poster Preview** for Scott Larkin, John Ringrose, and Kait Wilson
12:30-2:00pm	Lunch on own, lunch catered by Seasoned Spoon for speakers, session chairs, invited guests, and colloquium organizing committee
2:00-3:00pm	Session III Theme: Flourishing Chair: Dr. Chris Davies
	Agata Durkalec, Understanding sea ice as a place of health: Weaving together search and rescue data and perspectives from Inuit and Kablunângajuit in Nain, Nunatsiavut
	Devin Turner, Nest-site habitat and its effects on daily survival rate in Arctic-breeding American Robins
	Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Climate and predation: Interactions between two factors affecting caribou neonate survival in Newfoundland
	Janet Knight, Negotiating for Sustainability: Aboriginal Stakeholders and Natural Resource Development
3:15-3:20pm	Poster Preview** for Marco Raponi and Michael Peers
3:20-3:40pm	Afternoon Refreshment Break
3:40-4:40pm	Session IV Theme: Overlapping Spaces Chair: Dr. Chris Furgal
	Jennie Knopp, Inuvialuit Knowledge and Science to Understand the Effects of a Changing Environment on a Country Food Resource
	Joanna Zigouris, Genetic isolation and phylogeography of an elusive carnivore: the wolverine
	Lucy Poley, Woodland caribou, wolves, and moose in Ontario’s Far North
	Tim Querengesser, Caribou: A Love Story
4:40-4:50pm	Question Period
4:50-5:00pm	Poster Preview** for Allan Campeau Closing Remarks
5:00-6:30pm	Dinner on own
6:30pm	Doors open at Peterborough Public Library. Student Poster Session.
7:15-7:30pm	Introduction of Guest Speaker
7:30-8:30pm	Ms. Udloriak Hanson’s Keynote address and question period
8:30-9:00pm	Closing Reception with Student Poster Session and Refreshments

** Poster Previews: As an addition to this year’s Colloquium we are having poster presenters give a “poster preview” - a one powerpoint slide, 2-3 minute oral presentation overview of their research. The poster preview will be an excellent opportunity for poster presenters to formally introduce the audience at the event of their research and encourage them to come and speak to poster presenters further at the evening poster session.

Answers to all your Northern Colloquium questions

WHAT IS IT? 

Trent University has a distinguished and thriving interest in researching Canada's North. For anyone who has been to the North it's a given the magic of the place has forever connected them to it. For anyone who would like to taste this spell—as well as to celebrate the ongoing work of Trent students in the northern regions of the provinces and in the territorial North—the best opportunity is the upcoming Northern Studies Colloquium. This is an event where caribou, polar bears and aboriginal issues will be the centre of student discussions and thinking, not the periphery. 

WHEN IS IT? 

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012. Mark your iCal or Outlook calendars now.

WHERE IS IT?

Great question. From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., the colloquium will station itself in the striking Ernie and Florence Benedict Gathering Space on Trent University's Symons campus. Trent students will be offering insight into their research with presentations during this time. From 6:30 p.m. until 7:15 p.m., there will be a more social session at the Peterborough Public Library. At 7:15 p.m., the event's keynote speaker, Udloriak Hanson, will give an address. 

WHO IS UDLORIAK HANSON?

Udloriak Hanson speaks nationally and internationally to offer audiences an insight into the realities and concerns of Inuit peoples in Canada. Ms. Hanson is an Inuit advisor working with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which is the national organization that represents Inuit peoples living in Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut, and the Inuvialuit region of the Northwest Territories. She is an expert with a distinguished track record negotiating land claims and the devolution of powers from the federal government to Nunavut. Ms. Hanson is also involved in representing Inuit views on Arctic governance, including working with those involved in the Arctic Council. Most recently, Ms. Hanson has co-chaired the Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program, which works to improve public policy in the circumpolar Arctic. 

WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE NORTH?

Canada's interest in the North has ebbed and flowed for more than a century, but many argue the current flow may not be followed by an ebb. Indeed, for many years now, resource development has been intensifying in every corner of the North, leading to questions over sovereignty and ownership of resources like oil and natural gas in places like the Arctic Ocean, among others. This is coinciding with new pressures on some of the world's last great populations of iconic species, such as caribou and polar bears. As a result, political interest in the North is also becoming a bigger part of regular Canadian life. Most Canadians have never been to the North and know only the stereotypes and mythology surrounding the region, its people and its landscape. But in this new era it will become increasingly important for Canadians to learn more—to understand and contribute to decisions on issues such as resource development in the North, Arctic sovereignty, aboriginal self-government and land claims, and to understand the importance of the improvement of essential infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, housing and schools. 

Northern Studies Colloquium coming FEBRUARY 2nd