Nunavut Sivuniksavut to provide second year of training

SARA ARNATSIAQ

Students enrolled in the Nunavut Sivuniksavut training program will have greater educational support, after program organizers announced their decision to offer a second year of studies last week.

The NS board of directors decided to proceed with a second year during a meeting in Iqaluit in March.

The training program was created by the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut in 1985 to prepare young Inuit for the implementation of the Nunavut land claims agreement.

The program teaches Inuit history, the roles of Inuit organizations, the government, current events and how they affect Inuit, as well as a cultural component where students learn ajaaja, throat-singing, and drum-dancing.

Depending on how much money they’re able to raise, students travel overseas, acting as ambassadors for Nunavut. They perform, sing, demonstrate, and educate people about who the Inuit of Nunavut are.

Morley Hansen, the coordinator of the program, said the idea of providing the second year has been around for six or seven years, even before the alumni conference of May 2001, where it received more discussion and direction.

“It will be more focused in helping people develop their academic skills, but also helping them decide what they might like to do in their future,” Hansen said from his office in Ottawa.

A combination of students’ comments, comments from the alumni conference, and the instructors’ own observations all played a role in the decision to extend the program to include a second year.

Hansen said that some students feel they’re not confident enough to go off on their own and enter college or university. But he added that in any given year, there are at least two or three students who are really ready.

“What we’ve built into the second year is a choice component, where they [students] would sample some courses from Algonquin College in different fields. So through the course of the second year they could take three different courses from Algonquin. They would have our support here, they’d learn what those areas are about, and so they would be ready to make a more informed choice.”

The NS classes and the university course will be standard for all students. The Algonquin courses will be choice courses. As a result, students will be operating more as post-secondary students on their own time schedules.

The NS program grew and developed over the years. How it operates today is completely different from the first year. “We’ve been reviewing it from day one.” Hansen said.

Becky Kilabuk, who graduated from the program in 2001, said she’s very happy about the news. “I’m seriously considering it [applying for the second year] right now. It’s beginning to sound like something that I could do, especially where I am in my life right now.”

Kilabuk began a successful performing career during her stint at NS. “I’ve been travelling quite a bit, and I’ve been taking what I learned in the program and applying it to my life.”

Anita Ootoova, originally from Pond Inlet, graduated in 2000. She’s really excited about the prospect of a second year. She called the instructors after she heard the news to find out more about what they’ll be offering.

“I thought about it. I’m not sure at the moment [whether I’ll apply], considering my personal situation, but it would definitely be an option for me.”

Ootoova said that the training program helped her on many levels. Because she had already studied at a university, she was told NS would be a step down for her. But she found that wasn’t the case. “I went there after attending a university, and it’s what you put into it. I would recommend it to anyone who’s willing to explore Inuit culture and to get a feel for where they came from. It’s a great liberating experience.”

Annie Joannie of Iqaluit took a one-year education leave from her job with the Government of Nunavut to attend the program. Also a graduate from the 2001-02 year, she praises the program for its good qualities.

Joannie said it’s a stepping stone for her political aspirations. “It opened doors for me. I am now a board member for the Iqaluit Housing Authority, so it opened doors in the political field for me.”

She said that if she were to consider going for a second year, she would want to study the land claims document and its different articles in more detail.

Krista Zawadski, who went on to further her education at the University of Manitoba, admits that if she didn’t know what she wanted to study, she’d apply for a second year.

She said that NS taught her how to live on her own and gave her more direction in life. She remembers that she and her fellow students always had homework and always had something to do.

Zawadski is encouraged by the news because it will help others reach their goals.

Jimi Onalik, an NS board member, is also a 1992 graduate. He said adding a second year took a long time to pull together because the board did not want to ruin the positive experience the students enjoy in the first year. He said that it took a lot of caution and careful planning.

The second year, after its pilot year, will receive an evaluation and review. Onalik expects it will go through some adjustments and changes the same way the original NS program evolved over the years.

He said it’s a “proud moment,” because students have wanted it for so long.

Hansen agrees.

“I think that one of the reasons NS has lasted this long is that it has slowly evolved by staying attuned to what the students are saying, what our own staff have observed by watching what has worked and what doesn’t work,” he said.