Nunavik: Inuit-Controlled Education in Arctic Quebec

Kerry Abel is a professor of history at Carleton University. She is the author of Drum Songs: Glimpses of Dene History, co-editor of Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada: Historical and Legal Aspects, and co-editor of Northern Visions: New Perspectives on the North in Canadian History.

Although the issue of cultural retention through education has been at
the forefront of the North American Aboriginal-rights movement since the
1960s, most Canadians have very little idea about the practical
experiments with schooling that have been taking place in First Nations
communities. In this book, a teacher and activist/consultant provides an
overview of one such experiment.

Following the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in
1975, the Inuit of northern Quebec launched the Kativik School Board
with the hope that under local control, they could change the school
system to better meet the needs of the young people and the community.
After 10 years, dissatisfaction with the outcome led to the creation of
a task force and a wide-ranging public discussion about the purposes,
methods, and content of an Inuit education system. This book is a
summary of the process and the debate. It is nicely produced, with maps
and photographs (both archival and contemporary).

There is so little public awareness of the situation of Canadian Inuit
outside of Nunavut that any contribution about Nunavik is welcome. And
the questions raised by the community about the purpose of education are
questions that are being raised widely throughout North America today.
In the end, however, this book is limited by its emphasis on the process
of making change rather than on providing insight into the content of
the debates or describing the practical application of ideas in the
classroom. Only in the final chapter does the author provide us with any
sort of commentary and analysis. Ultimately, like the people of Nunavik,
we are left with more questions than answers.