Why attending university closer to home could be a game changer for Inuit

Months before graduating from university Inuujaq Leslie Fredlund almost gave up.

"Did I do a misidentify? the like, what am I doing hither?" Fredlund said in May from her pupil home in Halifax. 

Fredlund, a 41-year-old Inuk artist from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, relocated with her four children thousands of kilometres from the Arctic to the East Coast to study art.

She's months away from completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University.

"I just had this yearning to learn more," Fredlund said.

But at times it's been difficult. She said she has experienced racism, ignorance about Inuit culture and microaggressions toward the art she created.

Those frustrations brought Fredlund to the brink of quitting.

"I miss being around Inuit. I miss being around our people."

WATCH | Inuit-led Arctic university aims to transform northern education:

Like Inuit across Inuit Nunangat — the Inuit homeland in Canada — Fredlund had to leave her community to attend university. 

There are no universities in Canada's Arctic. For students in Inuit Nunangat, that means leaving their communities — most of them are fly-in  — and relocating hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres away.

But that is about to change.

Inuit Nunangat University is slated to open in 2030, with its main campus in Arviat, Nunavut. Inuit leaders have long called for a university in their homeland, designed by Inuit for Inuit.

The gap between Inuit and non-Indigenous post-secondary graduates is wide. A Statistics Canada study found nearly 34 per cent of Inuit had completed a post-secondary certificate, degree or diploma, according to the 2021 Census.

For non-Indigenous Canadians, the rate was 68 per cent.

"Our society is very different, from our language and our culture, the foods that we eat, the way that we express ourselves," said Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), Canada's national Inuit organization.

ITK is leading the charge for Inuit Nunangat University.

While there are success stories, Obed says, the transition from remote communities to universities in the South can be "daunting."

"It has been largely a one-way street of us having to conform to Southern-based education standards," he said.

"This is going to be an Inuit university that is founded in Inuit society and culture."

Arviat is a traditional Inuit community. Inuktitut is spoken on the streets, in homes and in schools.

"Culture is the number one factor that runs this school," said Principal Chi Chi Arinze, while walking the halls checking on students. 

Arinze says she sees the connection between promoting culture at school and helping students thrive.

"We do have higher rates of graduation from high school," she said. Arinze points to dedicated teachers and the school's Grade 12 mentorship program for getting students across the finish line.

But for students who leave, she said, "there is a culture shock." 

Some overcome it, but for others it's not easy. There are also financial barriers. Even with assistance from Inuit organizations, not all students can afford to leave because of family commitments. 

Arinze hopes Inuit Nunangat University will lessen those barriers.

"We are very excited here. My students are extremely excited," she said.

"A new way to inspire children to go to school."

At her home in Arviat, Kukik Baker fries up caribou and onions while her twin sons bounce into the kitchen, cheeks pink from snowmobiling. Baker is hopeful they will attend university in Arviat.

"If we had Inuit Nunungat university when I graduated [high-school], I most definitely would have applied," she said. 

In her 20's, Baker took one year of social sciences at the University of Winnipeg. She never went back.

"Just me and my husband living in Winnipeg. No other Inuit at the university that I knew of and classes of like a hundred or more students," she said. 

Now, Baker runs community programs in Arviat based on Inuit culture. 

"I think in a way that was a better education than what I would have gotten in the South, even though I would have gotten a degree," she said.

But not all Inuit want to stay close to home.

For Aislyn Kuksuk, 16, she dreams of leaving Arviat to become a pilot.

"No, I don't think of going to the university here. I always thought of going down south to attend university," said Kuksuk. "Travelling, I love travelling."

For Samuel Curley attending an Inuit-led university is within reach. The Grade 9 student could join the first cohort of Inuit Nunangat University.

"I'm happy that it's gonna be here in my hometown," said Curley. He says he doesn't want to give up hunting and fishing to attend university.

"I keep doing our tradition and speaking Inuktitut," he said. 

"I just don't want to leave home."

It's that hope that keeps Fredlund motivated. Despite the challenges, she's determined to complete her degree and move back to Nunavut.

Even though she has no plans to attend Inuit Nunangat University, she is grateful.

"Saying it's amazing or wonderful, I think it's such an understatement because it's such an important step to have education available closer to home," said Fredlund, with tears in her eyes.

"It just made me so happy to know that our fellow Inuit will have that option."

Kate Kyle is a producer based in Yellowknife.

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