6 Northern Public Affairs, Special Issue 2014

F
ive years have passed since I stood in the House
of Commons with my fellow Aboriginal lead-
ers to receive the formal statement of apology on
residential schools. I looked directly into the Prime
Ministers eyes and said: I stand here, today, ready
to work with you as Inuit have always done to
craft new solutions and new arrangements based on
mutual respect and mutual responsibility.
The next day in the Senate I purposefully laid
down a marker:
The magnitude of yesterdays historic apology and
request for forgiveness will be measured in the future
actions of government. So much of our past relations
with governments have been oiminisheo by unlulnlleo
promises . Canada must commit to the development
and support of policies and long term programs that
are needed to restore our families and rebuild our
sense of community and our place in Canada.
In the company of fellow Inuit leaders and govern-
ments and Northern school boards, I launched a
national Inuit education initiative aimed at moving
beyond the damaging education policies of previous
eras, toward closing gaps and improving outcomes.
The result was the 2011 First Canadians, Canadians
First: National Strategy on Inuit Education.
One of the recommended actions was to estab-
lish a Northern university based on Inuit culture and
language. This was a recommendation built upon
serious thinking that had already taken place at the
Gordon Foundation to advance the discussion,
1
and
a proposal for a university in Inuit Nunangat from
the litturvik University Society.
2

In 2009, then Governor General Michalle Jean
in Macleans magazine noted that Canada is the
only Northern state that doesnt have a university
in the North. Canada is four decades behind Nor-
way, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. In
the September 2013 issue of Northern Public Affairs,
the Norwegian Ambassador to Canada writes of
her countrys pursuit of knowledge on the North
through research, and strengthening universities.
The Ambassador writes, Norway has systematical-
ly built a network of universities and university col-
leges in Northern Norway which has nlleo a crucial
role in developing the region. Norways University
GUEST EDITORIAL
A time for bold action
Mary Simon
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7 Northern Public Affairs, Special Issue 2014
of Troms was established in 1968 45 years ago!
The economic arguments are clear. If we want
Inuit to fully participate in the growing number of
economic and public
administration oppor-
tunities, we need more
Inuit with university
degrees. Throughout
the Arctic our commu-
nities are dealing with
economic, social and
environmental pres-
sures and at a pace that
no other generation has
experienced.
The social arguments are equally clear. If we
want to understand our changing world or whats
working or not working in civil society, and why, then
we need to do what Norway has done and make
knowledge one of the pillars of our Northern policy.
We need to make advanced education relevant to
the lives of our students integrating both Inuit and
Euro-Canadian knowledge in the delivery of cours-
es and in the focus of research.
We have already witnessed success stories in col-
laborative models of advanced education:
The teacher-training program developed be-
tween the Kativik School Board in Nunavik
and McGill University.
The Nunavut Master of Education program,
delivered in partnership with the University
of Prince Edward Island.
The Bachelor of Social Work Program of-
fered by the Nunatsiavut Government in co-
operation with Memorial University.
The Akitsiraq Law Program delivered in
partnership by Nunavut Arctic College and
the University of Victoria.
These courses, along with a number of others
ollereo throughout Inuit Nunangat represent the nrst
phase of university-based education in the Arctic. It is
now time to move into the second phase of establishing
a permanent university infrastructure in the Arctic.
This is a call to action that Inuit leaders through-
out the North need to embrace. Self-determination
is about putting in place the mechanisms that will
enable full participation of Inuit, and some of the
ways to achieve this are to increase the number of
Inuit in university, and to increase Inuit participation
in Northern research. For Inuit to be equal partners
and leaders in policy-making and decision-making
as the Circumpolar Declaration on Resource Development
states, we need Inuit university-educated policy spe-
cialists, analysts, and managers.
We have seen a lot of investment in training
programs provided by governments and by industry
as a result ol negotiations lor Inuit Impact Benent
Agreements. However training programs, while use-
lul in a specinc context, are typically responsive to
short-term labour-market needs, and do not foster
the broader and deeper intellectual development
needed to sustain our communities in the long-term.

Today, in 2014, we have an unprecedented oppor-

tunity for Inuit and governments to collaborate on
an investment that will pay timeless dividends a
university in the Arctic. It is a bold idea for Canada
to embrace while it chairs the Arctic Council and
shows leadership on the Kiruna Declaration. It is a
forward-thinking investment by Inuit leaders who
are at the helm of revenue sharing from resource
development and who are elected to promote the
participation of Inuit in the growth and develop-
ment of the Arctic.
Bold ideas often originate from visionaries who
look beyond the present-day issues to what is needed
over the horizon. Norway, Greenland, and Finland
have all established Indigenous-based post-second-
ary institutions. Our discussion papers and studies
in Canada have demonstrated that we agree on the
need for a university in the Arctic.
One decision alone may not change outcomes
overnight, but a decision to establish a university in
the Arctic will serve as an unmistakable beacon of
the possibilities that lie ahead for our young people,
and will demonstrate the commitment of our lead-
ers to the potential of our next generation.
Mary Simon is Chair of the National Committee for Inuit
Education.
Endnotes
1 Blair Stevenson. 2010. Dialogue Toward a University in Canadas Far
North: An Environmental Scan. Walter and Duncan Gordon Founda-
tion.
2 Inuit Nunanngani Silattusarvijjuaq: A University in the Inuit homeland, 2009.
Today, in 2014, we have an unprecedented opportunity for Inuit and
governments to collaborate on an investment that will pay timeless dividends
a university in the Arctic. It is a bold idea for Canada to embrace while
it chairs the Arctic Council and shows leadership on the Kiruna Declaration.
It is a forward-thinking investment by Inuit leaders who are at the helm of
revenue sharing from resource development and who are elected to promote the
participation of Inuit in the growth and development of the Arctic.
8 Northern Public Affairs, Special Issue 2014
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Education.