Inuit Nunangat University

Canada is the only Arctic State without a university within its Arctic territory. While this naturally creates geographical challenges for Inuit looking to pursue university degrees, it also means that there are no Inuit‐led degree‐granting institutions that include Inuit knowledge, language, and experience as part of higher education. This new university will play a role in addressing these gaps, including for Inuit seeking degrees relevant to their lives, while championing inclusivity in higher education on a broader scale.

The Inuit Nunangat University will help remove barriers that prevent Inuit accessing post‐secondary education. Even for those who can relocate themselves, and sometimes their families, to study at southern universities, many Inuit graduates find them selves inadequately prepared for post‐secondary school and often require significant upgrading or extra years of study. This puts them at a disadvantage relative to most of their peers. This reality stems from both low investments in educational infrastructure in Inuit regions, and a lack of national education standards in Canada. It has become commonplace within Inuit Nunangat for there to be discrepancies in education quality and variances in student outcomes, sometimes even between communities in the same region.

An Inuit Nunangat University will address these barriers by fostering deep community ties and connections to elders and local experts, as well as to Inuit K‐12 education, while promoting research and education suited to student and community needs. Faculty and staff will be trained in regional languages, and curriculum will be designed and delivered by Inuit and experts in their fields. Childcare and residence will be provided, as well as affordable transportation and additional wrap‐around services that support student success, including computer and literacy centers, and health and wellness services. The university will feature a central campus in our homeland, and satellite arms to ensure a presence in each of the four regions of Inuit Nunangat.

The university has the potential to improve the overall well‐being of Inuit in Canada, and to ensure autonomy for Inuit over higher education and fields of research where Inuit participation is critical. The university will in fact be pivotal as a research institution, as well as helping to revitalize, maintain and promote our language and culture.

I’m pleased to say our board of directors approved a frame work for the university in December 2023, and a planning team is preparing to develop areas such as learning, research, and student services. An interim governance body has been tasked with finalizing the university charter, developing bylaws and operational policies, and pursuing other legislated requirements for establishing a university. Already, an Inuit Nunangat University Task Force has been engaging communities to ensure the model is viable and sustainable, considering aspects like programming, infrastructure, legal requirements, and finances.

An additional consideration in the creation of Inuit Nunangat University is Article 14 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms the right of Indigenous peoples to establish and control our own education systems. Establishing a university in Inuit Nunangat would increase the number of Inuit with a post‐secondary degree and provide a modern and innovative home base where we can come together as thinkers and policy makers. Together we can address the many complex challenges we as Inuit are collectively working to resolve, and lay the foundation for a future we build together.