Researchers from Nunavut who conducted graduate studies in southern Canada, who gathered in Iqaluit during the 19th ArcticNet Scientific Meeting, believe more efforts should be made to encourage and support Inuit in the research community.
They believe that Inuit self-determination in this sector requires the establishment of a university in the Inuit region of the Canadian Arctic.
The scientific meeting, which continues until Thursday, is the first for the Inuit Nunangat Research Network, which brings together the four Inuit regions in the north of the country. Monday opened with a roundtable that focused on the experience of four Inuit researchers in academia.
Underrepresentation of Inuit
Several panelists said they were not destined for a scientific career, especially since that path was not actually available to them.
This is the case of Jessica Binney, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto who is interested in the links between the environment and Inuit health.
It took me many years to understand what research is
the researcher is calling from Nunatsiavut, in northern Labrador.
Jessica Penny does not regret following this career path, although she stresses that the underrepresentation of Inuit in the research community remains a problem.
“No matter the field, it can be difficult to be the only Inuk in the room,” she says. It’s a challenge to represent your character [peuple].
Jessica Penny is a postdoctoral fellow at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mathiis Harvey
During the roundtable, many participants also emphasized that it was sometimes difficult to navigate a historically colonial environment that valued Western science.
It’s something we have to deal with
,” explains Joshua Kumanjabek, a master’s student in ecology at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, who specializes in protected areas at the Canadian Wildlife Service.
I really try to draw on indigenous scholars and postcolonial literature in my work.
However, Joshua Kumanjabek points out that there have been major breakthroughs in reconciliation in the university sector: Through my Master’s degree, I see that there is a significant shift in the way courses provide space for Indigenous voices.
“I try to include Inuit or Indigenous perspectives as much as possible,” says Joshua Kumanjabik, a master’s student in Nunavut at Royal Roads University in Victoria.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mathiis Harvey
Making scientific research accessible to everyone
With the exception of the University of Yukon, all Canadian universities are located in the south of the country. Most of the time, leaving the North to pursue a career in academic research is unavoidable, says Jessica Penny; This is a reality that was imposed on him several years ago.
For this reason, she believes that establishing the first university in Inuit Nunangat would make this field accessible to Inuit.
This is where real change and self-determination in the research sector will come.
Jessica Penny also believes more needs to be done to encourage young people to consider a career in science. She cites the example of workshops in high schools or teaching basic research principles.
Expose young people more […] It can really help them learn about themselves in research
And she confirms.
These words particularly resonate with Tessa Armstrong, a 10-year-old student.H year at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit who attended a science assembly with his class.
Science has always interested me, but now that I attend [cette rencontre] I’m more interested
“The 15-year-old student explains. It motivated me to do my best with the resources I had.
Tessa Armstrong, 15, attended science assembly with other students in her class on Monday. Among the speakers was her aunt, researcher Sepora Mearns, whom she considers a role model.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Mathiis Harvey
The student would like researchers to occasionally come and give presentations at his school to disseminate their work.
Tessa Armstrong still doesn’t know what academic field she will pursue her studies in, but she is already full of ambition: As an Inuk youth, I want to be an inspiration to my people.
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