Author Archive

A small Inuit community in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut is reviving its eiderdown business, something it hopes provides jobs and opportunity for the isolated settlement.

Artists often say they create art for themselves and don’t care what other people think. But when Eye on the Arctic tracked down Jutai Toonoo working in studio, we got the sense that he really, really meant it. Toonoo uses human imagery to explore identity issues and cultural conflict in the North. Many experts say he’s producing some of the most provocative contemporary artwork […]

Ever wondered what goes on in one of Nunavut’s Arctic college learning centres? While many people are aware that Nunavut’s Arctic College was set up to provide education and vocational opportunities for those living in Canada’s eastern Arctic, many are unaware that outside the major campuses, in places like Iqaluit, there’s Arctic College learning centres in many of Nunavut’s smaller communities. There, programs can […]

Mark Igloliorte is an Inuk artist from Nunatsiavut, the Inuit self-governing region in the Atlantic Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. He grew up in the Labrador town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Igloliorte draws heavily from both Labrador Inuit culture and urban culture in his work. Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture is a Canadian exhibition featuring everything from painting and drawings to […]

Arviat, a predominantly Inuit community of 2800 people in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut, has long been plagued by the increasing number of rogue polar bears in the community. Nobody is quite sure why the problem is becoming more common, but the worries it has created are shared by all residents. Sled dogs and property have been attacked. And parents and locals have […]

Caribou is central to Inuit and First Nations cultural life in northern Canada. But the decrease in the numbers of certain herds is causing concern in many aboriginal nations. In northern Quebec and the neighbouring province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the George River herd has declined to alarming numbers, from 800, 000 animals 30 years ago to some 27,000 animals today. There are also […]

A new narwhal management is in place in Canada’s eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut.(Kristin Laidre / NOAA / AP) Narwhal is an important species in Canada’s North. To local Inuit communities it’s a source of food and sustenance and can provide a small source of income. Issues around the conservation and preservation of the animal are the subject of ongoing discussions. What’s the […]

Name: Walter Bayha Occupation: Director of Implementation, Deline Land Corporaration Hometown: Deline, Northwest Territories, Canada Quote: “We can’t develop one area and neglect another, destroy one area and build another. I think we need to teach our young people why that’s so important.” Listen: Walter Bayha on how government policies negatively affected the Dene transition into the wage economy: {play}/media/jukebox/Walter. Intro: The transition from […]

Across the Canadian Arctic, local nurses are in great demand. The majority of the nursing force is still made up of recruits from the South who rotate in and out of Canada’s remote Arctic regions. Many feel this revolving door can only be stopped by increasing the number of Aboriginal and Inuit health care workers who understand northern culture and languages, and who also […]