Nunavik school’s first “cultural” year gets a passing grade

Students take part in a 2010 cultural outing in Kangiqsualujjuaq. Schools in four other Nunavik communities just completed their first year under a cultural calendar, which shortens the year and moves all cultural activities out on the land. (FILE PHOTO)

For students across the North, June’s warmer temperatures and long days of sunlight make it harder to sit still in a classroom.

But students and teachers in four Nunavik communities will pack up their books June 5, weeks earlier than schools in the region’s 10 other communities.

Those four villages — Kangiqsujuaq, Quaqtaq, Akulivik and Umiujaq — have just completed the first year of a pilot project led by the Kativik School Board, which shortened the school year and moved cultural programs out onto the land.

To do that, each of the schools in those communities had 45 minutes added to their school’s calendar each week in order to finish the year June 4, two weeks earlier than the KSB’s regular calendar which wraps up June 19.

The new calendar also integrated a three-week block of time reserved for cultural learning outdoors.

The project was well received in the communities, said the KSB’s executive director, Annie Popert, although the board said it needs a few more tweaks before it can be implemented in other villages.

“I think it had a very positive impact,” Popert said.

“However, it is a lot of additional planning. It’s new, it’s a change and will take time to figure it all out.”

A steering committee tasked with overseeing the project identified a few challenges schools faced in 2014-15, mostly to do with cultural outings.

The KSB said in future, it would work on refining the roles of who coordinates those cultural activities, as well as coming up with a plan B for when poor weather forces the school to cancel trips out on the land.

“We can’t do anything about the weather, but we can plan alternatives,” Popert said.

“We’ll also be clarifying which people are responsible for what, and we’re looking to involve the community more so they can take on some of the ownership.”

Already, in 2014-15, the KSB reported that community members, particularly elders, helped plan and accompany students on outings.

And the project has attracted interest in other Nunavik communities who are keen to implement the same calendar.

“There’s a lot of support for it,” Popert said. “But I’m really glad we started with just the four communities because it takes a lot of planning.”

This second year will show organizers what they need to focus on, she said, order to implement the program across the region.

The KSB is also currently in negotiations with Quebec to make sure there’s money for the project in years to come.

Popert said the cultural calendar responds to many of the concerns and wishes put forward during Parnasimautik consultations, which identified the protection and promotion of Inuit culture as a top priority for Nunavimmiut.

“When something isn’t working, we have to make changes,” Popert said. “Our culture program hasn’t been strong for many years, but if we work hard at this, this project could become an important part off our curriculum.

“For our own health, people should be out on the land.”