U Arctic holds circumpolar symposium in Old Chimo

KUUJJUAQ — The former community of Old Chimo recently welcomed some new residents: young researchers who participated in a two-week trial run for the University of the Arctic.

Since 1996, university graduate students in northern studies have met every summer in a different circumpolar nation.

But this year, their symposium took on a slightly new form. It became a pilot project for U Arctic, to demonstrate what this fledgling circumpolar institution could do when it becomes fully functional.

From September 6-24, the “Circumpolar Arctic Social Sciences PhD Network” brought students and instructors from 12 countries to Quebec City, and then on to Nunavik.

“We were welcomed beyond our expectations,” said Gérard Duhaime, a professor from the Université de Laval who coordinated the trip.

The symposium’s theme was “self-government and political autonomy,” but in Old Chimo participants discussed their own research, on topics as varied as Greenland home rule, to tourism and reindeer herding.

In Kuujjuaq students looked into the Internet, language and development, and markets for country foods.

They also met with representatives from DIAND, Quebec’s native affairs secretariat, the Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Hydro-Québec, the Makivik Corporation and the Kativik Regional Government.

For most, it was their first visit to Nunavik. One participant from Denmark said he was reminded of pre-home rule Greenland, but Kuujjuaq struck the Americans as being totally different from Alaska, with its new buildings, strong Inuit culture and relatively flat terrain.

This symposium cost about $100,000 to mount, with most of the money coming from the federal government. A visit to Nunavut had also been planned, but was cancelled due to its high cost and a lack of accommodations in Iqaluit.

Although the symposium never made it to Nunavut, last week in Iqaluit, the three territorial colleges and education departments were briefed on the progress of the U Arctic.

Nunavut Arctic College and the NWT’s Aurora College agreed to support Yukon College in applying to Canada’s Milennium Partnership fund for money to develop a U Arctic undergraduate degree in circumpolar studies.

The four-year degree, called the “BCS” or Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies, will focus on issues common to circumpolar peoples, such as the physical and natural environment, sustainability, and cultures of the circumpolar world.

Students must study for at least two years at a circumpolar educational institution, such as Nunavut Arctic College, but courses will also be designed for delivery in other academic situations as intensive semesters, or via the Internet.

“People were quite enthused about the potential of the undergraduate degree to meet the needs of the North,” said Yukon College President Sally Ross, who chaired the meeting. “It’s a university degree that allows for the flexibility the North will need.”