And the survey says: ITK seeks opinions to shape new university’s curriculum
Inuit from Inuit Nunangat can share their thoughts on direction the planned university should take
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami wants to hear opinions on which direction it should take in planning the Inuit Nunangat University. (Image courtesy of ITK)
Inuit across Inuit Nunangat are being asked to help shape the future of Inuit Nunangat University through a national survey aimed at building the school’s first academic programs.
The survey, organized by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and available on its website, runs until Aug. 15. It invites Inuit to rank the importance of six proposed faculties and identify the academic programs and services most needed in their communities.
ITK representatives were not available to provide further comment on the university’s proposed faculties.
The proposed faculties are:
- The faculty of silatursarniq, to include major and minor degrees in education, social work and administration, the ITK website said;
- The faculty of Inuktut, dedicated to revitalizing the Inuit language as well as teaching translation and interpretation skills;
- The faculty of sovereignty, training students in governance, land claims, Inuit-self determination and policy development;
- Other faculties include resourcefulness and sustainability, which covers hunting, engineering, climate studies and environmental detection; surroundings and relationality, focused on health-related professions such as midwifery, nursing and medicine, as well as nutrition and the culinary arts; and the faculty of expression, emphasizing degrees in sculpture, Inuit art history, visual arts and digital media.
The survey also asks Inuit to share their preferences on how and where courses should be delivered — whether at a single main campus, through regional satellite campuses, online, or through a hybrid model.
Respondents can also indicate what level of certification they are most interested in attaining, from diplomas and bachelor’s degrees to graduate-level programs.
One section of the survey asks which research field should be prioritized in the university’s first five years. Options include Inuit self-determination, protection of Inuit knowledge and data, community consent; and research approval.
Other options include research done in Inuktut; research led by Inuit with respect for elders’ knowledge; and oral histories.
On its website, ITK said all responses will be kept confidential and participation is voluntary. Youths under 18 can take part by identifying which Inuit treaty organization they intend to register with.
The university is being designed to operate across Inuit Nunangat, serving students in Inuvialuit, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut.
Planning for Inuit Nunangat University has gained momentum in recent months.
In 2024, the Mastercard Foundation committed $50 million to its development. In July, the Rideau Hall Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to support the creation of the faculty of silatursarniq.
While sites haven’t yet been selected to house the university, ITK opened a competitive process this year inviting communities to apply to host its main campus. The organization has not said when a final decision will be made, but it’s expected to release the list of applicants later this year.
It is perplexing that ITK is proposing to teach community consultations, how to be a wise person and other marginally useful degrees while not doing that themselves. An online survey that runs 2 weeks is not a serious effort and if the feds or the GN were to do that, ITK would be the first to denounce how superficial the effort is.
Both Nunavik and Nunavut’s institutions already fund programs to certify teachers, all of them in the North. Will their funding be redirected to this venture? Or was consulting them too annoying and it was easier to go ask for funding to white ladies running charities instead of dealing with institutions where Inuit have elected representatives?
The faculty of sovereignty, cool. Is this where you learn self sufficiency, or strategies to pan-handle more cash from Ottawa?
Maybe Mr Obed should be responsible for the curriculum since he wants another term
How “bout a curriculum where Nunavut “students ” catch up to where the big dogs play and work? Get some real Reading, ‘riting, ‘rythmetic.
It’s 2025.
Tuktoyaktok is the place, seriously. They are the closest to Utkiagvik, Alaska which offers meaningful research and education. They offer the best of the best when in comes to whaling, better than Greenland, better than Canada. Tuktoyaktok offers geographical advantage.
Definitely candidate Obed need to be seen touring in the North, very much so. The guilded halls cloud the brain, curriculum for the soon to be University I believe can be found from a teacher at the Jannimarik Kuujjuaq School, an Inutituut teacher who has done extensive research in her career.
A degree in *hunting*? Really? Clearly traditional southern institutions have missed out on offering things like a Bachelor of Deer Hunting with a minor in Bass Fishing.
And what, exactly, will be the benefit of such a degree?
“If I were founding a university I would begin with a smoking room; next a dormitory; and then a decent reading room and a library. After that, if I still had more money that I couldn’t use, I would hire a professor and get some text books.” Stephen Leacock