Nunavut Sivuniksavut Training Program

CONTACT INFO

Nunavut Sivuniksavut
450 Rideau Street
Ottawa, ON K1N-5Z4
Tel: (613) 244-4937
Fax: (613) 244-0058
ns@magma.ca

Year 1 Winter | Year 2 Fall | Year 2 Winter

COURSES: Year 1 Fall

Year 1 Fall Introduction | Land Claims | Inuit History | Contemporary Issues |
Inuktitut I | English I | Computers

INUIT HISTORY

What were our ancestors like? How did they live? How did they hunt? What do we know about them? How can we learn about them? These and other questions are the focus of Inuit History I. It is taught in the Fall term, and consists of three units:

Archaeology - In the first two units, students get a chance to think about what life was like before the coming of the Qallunaat . Bob McGhee, Canada's leading Arctic archaeologist, introduces students to the study of artifacts that earlier Inuit left behind, hundreds and thousands of years ago. He discusses how this study has led to theories of how people lived in the distant past. Students also have an opportunity to view the artifacts held in storage at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

This section also involves a study of the Archaeology provisions in the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement, which outlines the rights and responsibilities which Inuit have in the area of archaeology.

Jayne Omilgoitok of Cambridge Bay
examines ancient artifacts at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Each year, Canada's
top arctic archaeologist, Dr. Robert McGhee,
gives a presentation to NS students on arctic history.

Social History - Students study the social aspects of traditional Inuit society. Using such materials as Knud Rasmussen's "Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition" and the Arctic College "Interviewing Inuit Elders" series, students learn about traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs, shamanism, songs and stories, taboos, customs that people followed, games, and justice. This is one of the most popular areas of study as students start to think about many areas of life that aren't spoken about much anymore.

First Contacts - The coming of explorers and whalers was the beginning of many changes for the early Inuit way of life. Students examine the activities of these first groups of Qallunaat , how they interacted with Inuit, and how Inuit culture and lifestyles were changed by their arrival.

Contemporary Issues>>>