Nunavut Arctic College hopes to step up its publishing work

This is NAC Media’s new logo, the image of a snowy owl. Nunavut Arctic College hopes to focus more efforts on publishing Nunavut-based material. (IMAGE COURTESY OF NAC)

There’s no shortage of history and culture in a territory like Nunavut. The problem is often how to get that information out to the public.

In the tradition of many southern university and college campuses, Nunavut Arctic College has published books over the years — many written by scholars who work in the territory or by its own instructors.

The college recently published a dictionary, for example, detailing the Utkuhiksalik dialect.

But you might notice some new titles cropping up this year geared towards a wider audience, as the college works to broaden its offering.

“The college has been publishing for years,” said Sean Guistini, manager of resource development at NAC.

“It has a history of very strong publications, but there’s never really been a specific effort.”

In the past, publishing projects were often driven by staff, such as the late Susan Sammons, a linguist and language instructor at the college.

“So the college wanted to put more attention on its publication, to improve curriculum and learning resources for instructors and their students,” Guistini said, “but also to get the work out a little wider.”

Under a new division called NAC Media, two new titles will be released this spring — seal and caribou hunting guides, written by Solomon Awa and Evano Kablutsiak.

The college also has plans to produce works focused on different species and different regions of the territory, and to expand its northern leaders series.

Because the college doesn’t have in-house expertise, NAC often works with the more established Inhabit Media for its editing and design needs.

“There’s a real hunger for these publications down south,” Guistini said. “The college wants to play a larger role in educating not only Inuit, but also the rest of Canada.

“One of the things we’re trying to do is support a writing culture,” he added. “There’s a lot of great work here that just hasn’t been developed.”

The NAC is also hoping its efforts to document history will play into another goal: to help establish a permanent archive.

Through a federal grant, NAC staff are currently digitizing interviews done with former Hudson’s Bay Co. post managers who worked between 1920 and 1940.

And that’s just one of many potential projects.

“There’s a lot of material in this territory, but sometimes it’s sitting in closets,” Guistini said. “What we’re trying to do is collect, digitize it and create an archive that will be held at the college.”

For now, keep an eye out for NAC Media this spring. Guistini said the college will soon have a website and catalogue up for Nunavummiut to check out its publications.

For now, many of the college’s publication are available for purchase through Arctic Ventures Marketplace in Iqaluit or online at amazon.ca.