Anti-racism survey seeks input from each Nunavut community

The Nunavut Black History Society is set to launch a territory-wide, anti-racism survey.

All Nunavummiut aged 16 and up are encouraged to complete it, as well as Black Canadians who are in the south but have lived in Nunavut at some point over the past three years, said society president Stephanie Bernard.

Before drafting the survey, organizers held four public consultations. What they learned was enlightening, she said.

“As we did engagement and got out into the community, we started hearing from a lot of younger Nunavummiut that they’re experiencing some challenges across the community in schools.” 

The survey features three lines of questioning based on how respondents identify.

It seeks to measure how racism in Nunavut is experienced by Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour.

It also seeks to record responses from people who do not identify as a person of colour. Those respondents will be asked to share incidents of racism they may have witnessed and how they reacted. 

Black Canadians who don’t currently live in Nunavut but lived in the territory within the past three years can also answer the questions.

According to the latest published Census, which reflects data gathered in 2021, there were 565 Black residents in Nunavut, representing 1.5 per cent of the territory’s total population.

That estimate is low, Bernard said, adding she believes the 2026 census will show that Black Nunavummiut are closer to five per cent of the territory’s population, with more than 600 Black residents in Iqaluit alone.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation, a Crown corporation mandated to raise public awareness of racism, is funding the survey, while the Nunavut Employees Union and Public Service Alliance of Canada North helped put it together. Laurentian University history professor Amadou Ba came up with the research methodology.

“It’s important for us to know what a true representation of what the lived experience is right now — what are some of the struggles that people are experiencing and what are some solutions?” said NEU vice-president Tristan Howell.

On Friday evening, the society plans to host an in-person launch at Iqaluit’s Astro Theatre, where participants can fill out the surveys.

Beginning Friday, respondents can access the survey — which will be available in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, French and English — through the society’s Facebook page. It takes between 15 and 35 minutes to complete.

A second phase of the research project aimed at youth under age 16 will take place in September, Bernard said.