Nunavut Arts and Culture

Nunavut

Nunavut was officially established on April 1, 1999. The territory covers the eastern and northern portions of what used to be the Northwest Territories, some two million square kilometers. More than 85% of the people living there are of Inuit origin.

The history of the Northwest Territories, and consequently of Nunavut, is rooted in the history of Canada. In 1869, two years after the advent of Confederation, the Hudson's Bay Company ceded its territories - referred to as Rupert's Land - to the new government for a few million dollars and 20% of the arable land. Larger parts emerged shortly thereafter to form Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Yukon, or to expand Quebec and Ontario. The year 1999 and the birth of Nunavut marked the culmination of the most important land claim process undertaken by Inuit in the Canadian Arctic.

The French language is present in the region. Already the crews of whalers or merchants consisted of a good proportion of Francophones coming from the European migratory waves towards the American states adjoining Quebec or Acadia. In addition, educational institutions were often run by religious communities with strong French components eager for proselytism. Oblate missionaries founded several parishes between 1910 and 1950. Captain Joseph-Elzéar Bernier and his crew criss-crossed the waters of the Arctic Ocean on behalf of the Canadian government between 1904 and 1920, Canadian sovereignty. In the 1970s, Frobisher Bay was increasingly becoming the capital city with the arrival of many regional offices of the federal government.

The vast majority of the population of Nunavut is neither Anglophone nor Francophone. Of the 31,152 persons residing in Nunavut as of December 31, 2008, some 85% have Inuktitut as their mother tongue and about 15,000 speak it at home. According to the 2006 Census, the first official language spoken by most residents of the territory is English (26,575); French, for its part, is the first official language of some 465 inhabitants of Nunavut.

The population of Nunavut is by far the youngest in the country, with a median age of 23 years. The Francophone community, however, is much older at 39 years. The Francophone population of Nunavut is largely adult. The under-20s account for 19% of the Francophone workforce. In fact, the majority of Francophones (58%) are between the ages of 20 and 49, a figure that reflects Nunavut's particular economy, largely dominated by resource development. In the francophone communities of the territories, families are few and young people are scarce. The consolidation of French-language institutions in the field of education could help the Francophone community in Nunavut to renew its base.

Eight out of ten Nunavut Francophones were born outside the territory. Almost all are from other Canadian provinces, with immigrants accounting for only 6.5% of the Francophone population. Francophone residents of Nunavut come mainly from Quebec, but also from other parts of the country. The Francophone community thus draws on a diversity that is predominantly native to Canada, which has an effect on belonging and identity.

Education is the key to the vitality of the Francophone community in Nunavut. In fact, there are significant proportions of Francophones with post-secondary education: 95 of them have a university education, to which are added more than 100 Francophones from Nunavut who have studied at college or other level. The level of education of Francophones is far above the territorial average, and the percentage of French-language college or university graduates significantly exceeds the national average for Francophones.

Cultural Dynamism in Nunavut

The Francophone Association of Nunavut is the spokesperson for the francophone community in Nunavut, the prime contractor for its development. In addition to the AFN, the components of a dynamic associative network include the Odyssée limited tourism cooperative (Odyssée Nunavut), the Nunavut Cooperation Council, Nunafranc Inc., and the Société immobilière Franco-Nunavut. The latter owns three buildings and is responsible for a major construction project in downtown Iqaluit, that of a Carrefour de la francophonie.

The Community Center is the gathering place for the francophone community of Nunavut. It is the place where people have access to the Resource Center (movies, newspapers, computers, the Internet) and where social and cultural activities take place. It is also at this location that the AFN and Nunafranc Inc. offices are located, as well as the community radio studio.

Francophones in Nunavut are sometimes represented at multicultural festivals and events in the territory, but they also benefit from cultural activities of their own, such as music and song shows, one-time or annual events (such as Saint-Jean- Baptiste) and cinema in French.

The Francophone Association of Nunavut (AFN) creates opportunities for expression and gathering of a cultural nature for Franco-Nunavoises and Franco-Nunavois with, for example, the Book and Music Fair. Usually held as part of the Toonik Tyme, which is a spring festival in Iqaluit, the Family Rally is an event bringing together francophone families who come to exercise their sense of direction and observation. The Oyster Party is a traditional activity over 18 years old for Francophones in Iqaluit and usually takes place in October. Finally, the research, documentation and dissemination of the history and culture of Nunavut and its people are quite active, particularly on the Web. The Nunavut Francophone Association portal is a resource to learn more about Nunavut's francophone culture.

Translated from: