Nunavut & The Canadian Inuit

This is part of a long term project documenting the lives of the Canadian Inuit. Nunavut became an official territory of Canada in 1999. I first went there in 2006 in search of something good. The progress reports on the first six years of this once promising Territory were dismal and whatever press there was, only helped to solidify the perception that Nunavut was a basket case of social and economic ills. Eighty-five percent of Nunavut's 33,000 residents are Inuit and almost a third are under the age of 15. It is a fact that there is extreme poverty, alcohol and substance abuse, high rates of suicide and a high school drop out rate of close to 75%. Add to this the effects of global warming on day-to-day life, the gradual disappearance of traditional languages among Inuit youth and a rapidly shrinking population of elders with traditional knowledge and you have the ingredients for an obliteration of a culture that has been extant for thousands of years. And yet, to spend time with the Inuit is to appreciate their immense capacity for survival, based on a simple traditional value system. They are deeply proud of their heritage and traditions and it is rare to find anyone that would voluntarily leave the community in which they were born. Family and community are a vital source of life for the Inuit and these values are characterized by the gentleness and generosity which is hard to find in modern society. You don't have to look too hard to find examples of traditional values that continue to bind Inuit culture and society today.

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Tags: arctic, canada, inuit, nunavut
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