The Nunavummiut: Politically Engaged Citizens

On April 1, 1999, the political territory of Nunavut came into being: formerly the eastern Arctic portion of the Northwest Territories, it comprised one fifth of the Canadian landmass, 26 settlements unconnected by roads and a total population of 30,000, 85 percent of whom are Inuit. This marked the culmination of two lengthy parallel processes: a land claim dating from 1976 and a linked demand for eastern Arctic autonomy.

On the surface, this might have appeared as a triumph: an indigenous people winning not only a territory and resources by skillful negotiation, but its own government as well. But Nunavut is poor, demoralized and dependent. It receives 90 percent of its revenue from the federal government. The population is afflicted with major health and social problems. As many as half of the children are deaf due to chronic ear infections, requiring the use of classroom microphones by schoolteachers. An epidemic of suicide continues, mostly...