SERNNoCa NWT Newsletter 2011

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Northwest Territories Newsletter 2011

SOcial Economy Research NEWSThe social economy refers to the grassroots voluntary or non-profit sector outside both the government (public) and privatefor-profit sectors. In addition to non-governmental organizations, informal collectives, societies, associations, cooperatives, andcharitable foundations, the social economy of the North also embraces many of the traditional economic activities of Aboriginalsocieties given its focus on democratic values that enhance community life.

ABOUT SERNNoCA

The Social Economy Re-search Network of NorthernCanada (SERNNoCa) is a

network of university and college-based researchers and representativesof community-based organizations isconducting research relevant to thesocial economy in Canada’s North.

e network involves a number of University partners who provide

research expertise and direction for the 4 main research themes of the program. Each northern territory and region forms a sub-nodeof the network which stretches from the Yukon to Labrador. ecentral oce is located at Yukon College in Whitehorse with theNWT subnode housed at the Institute for Circumpolar HealthResearch in Old Town Yellowknife.

In addition to research seeking to conceptualize and inventory the social economy in the North, the network is investigating therelationships that exist between social economy and indigenouscultures, resource regimes, and the state. Much of the work is beingconducted by graduate students whose research eorts in variousareas of the social economy are highlighted in this newsletter.

is network is part of the Canadian Social Economy Suite funded

by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) from 2007-2011.

A NEWSLETTER OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMYRESEARCH NETWORK OF NORTHERN CANADA

Introduction to SERNNoCa 01

Research Project Briefs 02

Announcements 04

is newsletter highlights the Northwest Territories activities of the SocialEconomy Research Network of Northern Canada (SERNNoCa), a ve-yearpan-Northern initiative dedicated to interdisciplinary research in the socialeconomy. For more information and news updates, please visit our website at:

www.social-economy.net

Correspondence can be sent to:

SERNNoCA NWT Secretariatc/o Institute for Circumpolar Health ResearchP.O. Box 11050 • Yellowknife, NT X1A 3X7

Tel: 867-873-9337 • Fax: 867-873-9338



OVEr the past four years, SERNNOCA HASFUNDED STudents conducting research inthe NWT on various topics related to thelocal social economy

GRADUATE STUDENT

PRoject BRIEFS

The Meaning of Education for Inuvialuit inTuktoyaktuk, NT, CanadaRaila Maarit Salokangas, MSc StudentUniversity of Alberta

2008-2009

R aila investigated how the meaning of education haschanged for the Inuvialuit in Tuktoyaktuk, NT, Canada,over a century. is was done by situating Inuvialuit educa-

tional experiences in the context of government policies, socioeco-nomic and cultural changes, and Inuvialuit self-determination. estudy found that the meaning of education for the Inuvialuit hasbeen and continues to be centred on acquiring the means to sup-port a family. A change has occurred from learning “the Inuvialuk

way” in the 1930s to “striving for the best of both worlds” in the1970s to the dream of “becoming whatever I want” in the 2000s.Unfortunately, the dreams that youth have are often cut short.Among other things, the level of engagement in formal educationby youth and their families is inuenced by the family’s past experi-ences and perceptions of the education system. e study identiesfamily, community, school, and policy factors that increased studentengagement.

Food Security in Paulatuk, NT – Opportuni-ties and Challenges of a Changing Commu-nity EconomyZoe Sarah Croucher Todd, MSc StudentUniversity of Alberta

2009-2010

Zoe’s thesis aimed to answer the question: “how does the

wage economy aect the ability of individuals to get foodfrom the land and the store in Paulatuk, NT?” Speci-cally, she looked at a) how individuals are participating in the wageeconomy and traditional economy in Paulatuk, and in turn, how this inuences their ability to get food from the land and b) theimpact of income on the ability of residents to get food from thestore and through the Food Mail program.

She concluded that the inuence of the wage economy on the tra-ditional economy must be considered holistically, and store-boughtand country foods must be considered as two equal parts of thefood security equation in Paulatuk.

Northern Co-operative GalleriaDr. Ian MacPherson, University of Victoria

Jen Alsop, SERNNoCA researcher (Carleton University)

2010

In the late 1950s to early 1970s, then-titled Department of Indian Aairs and Northern Development (DIAND) pursued

a policy of co-operative development in the newly settled,predominantly Inuit and First Nation communities of the North-

west Territories. Today, the majority of these community-basedco-operatives are thriving. is is due to the continued supportof Arctic Co-operatives Limited (ACL), the main umbrella co-operative that provides a number of nancial services, and supportto all community-based co-operatives in the system. Northerncommunity co-operatives continue to supply much-needed goodsand services to communities, ensuring that prots remain in thecommunities, all the while providing a venue for local people tobecome involved in the economic development planning of theircommunities. Across NWT and Nunavut, over 800 people areemployed in community-based co-operatives. ey remain one

of the largest private-sector employers in the north. e history,development and continued sustainability of the northern co-oper-ative system, is a fascinating example of the resiliency of the peopleresiding the Canada’s northern territories, and their ability to makeends meet in an isolated, and demanding environmental climate.Most would live their lives no other way, feeling an inextricableconnection to the beauty and harshness of the windswept tundrathat they call home.

Field-work was undertaken at the headquarters for Arctic Co-operatives Ltd, January 2010, in Winnipeg. Interviews with currenand former ACL sta were made, and an extensive document/literature search was conducted of ACL’s les. In addition, a rel-evant literature search was undertaken at the Indian and Northern

Aairs library, as well as at the headquarters of the Canadian Co-operative Association, in Ottawa.

Information gathered through interview and literature/documentreviews pertains to individual community co-operatives in the Arc-tic. In particular, information with regards to both the history of the co-op and the community; biographies of key individuals andthe nature of their contributions to the co-op in question; a time-line of key historical events in the community and a bibliography of literature on each community are included.

For more information on this project please visit:

www.learningcentre.coop/content/northern-co-ops-galleria

e Coop in Délįnę (courtesy Arctic Coops)



Conservation, CommunityBenefit, Capacity Buildingand the Social Economy: ACase Study of Łutsel K’e, NT

and the Proposed NationalParkNathan Bennett, MSc StudentLakehead University

2008-2009

The primarily Dene First Nationcommunity of of Łutsel K’e, North-

west Territories, located on the EastArm of Great Slave Lake, is questioningthe implications of the creation of a na-tional park in their traditional territory andin the local community, as well as how to

community members could maximize localbenets from the park. is collaboratıveresearch project of Lakehead University and the aidene Nene Parks WorkingGroup of the Łutsel K’e Dene First Nationfocused on:

1. perceived and desired community development outcomes related tothe creation of a national park;

2. capacity-building for the maximiza-tion of local benet; and

3. the role of the social economy in

facilitating social and economic development related to park creation.

is research project is complete and aknowledge dissemination website has beenprepared to document the research process:

lutselkeandthaidenenene.wordpress.com

Since his master’s research in Łutsel K’e,Nathan Bennett has gone to pursue hisPhD at the University of Victoria as a

Trudeau Scholar. He intends to con-tinue exploring issues such as biodiversity,livelihoods, and climate change in MarineProtected Areas.

Housing and Being Home-less in Yellowknife, NTNicholas Falvo, PhD StudentCarleton University

2009-2011

This three-year study is looking ataordable housing in the NWTand visible homelessness in Yel-

lowknife. e project is supervised by Dr.Frances Abele (School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University),and in collaboration with Arlene Haché

(Yellowknife Women’s Society, Centre forNorthern Families).

From February 2009, this project hasdocumented the history of government-assisted housing in the NWT, present-day issues around housing in the NWT, andhomelessness in Yellowknife. e project’sfocus has been on the policies, programs,laws and regulations, well as the economicfactors, that concern both precarious hous-ing and homelessness.

In November 2010, a short article writtenby the research team appeared in Parity,an Australian publication. e article isentitled “Homeless in the Homeland: AGrowing Problem For Indigenous Peoplein Canada’s North.” It can be accessedonline at the following URL:

www.chp.org.au/parity/articles/results.chtml?lename_num=00418

Later this year, an article on present-day housing in the NWT will be featured inHow Ottawa Spends, published by McGill-Queen’s University press.

Flyover of the East Arm

Colville Lake

Paulatuk

SachsHarbour

Ulukhaktok

TsiigehtchicFor t McPherson

For t Good Hope

Inuvik

Tuk to yaktukAklavik

Nahanni Bu tte

For tLiard

Trou tLake

Jean Marie River

Fort Simpson

For tPro vidence

Kakisa

Enterprise

Ha y Ri verFort Resolu tion

De tah

Wha tì

Wrigley Game tì Wekweèt ì

Fort Smith

Tuli ta

GREA T SLA VELAKE

Norman Wells

M a c k

e n z i e

R i v

e r

Yellowknife

GREAT BEARLAKE

BEAUFOR T SEA

Stories, Harvesting, andSocial Economy in DélĮnę,NT

This project has evolved considerably since its rst conception to en-compass exploration of stories and

caribou harvesting as aspects of the socialeconomy in the small Dene community of Délįnę on Great Bear Lake.

Traditional harvesting and storytelling areboth recognized by the people of Délįnęas important aspects of community healthand well-being. Given their strong roots intraditional culture and practices before theexistence of the money economy, these twoaspects of community life are conceptual-ized as part of a way of life. is is quitedistinct from the standard conception of

volunteering that is dened by its opposite– wage labour.

e conditions sustaining these activi-ties have changed since the arrival of themoney economy. e two projects explorethe ways in which the culture and meaningof harvesting and stories are maintaineddespite their necessary and uneasy interface

with the money economy.

Research led by Walter Bayha (Sahtu Re-newable Resources Board), Frances Abele(Carleton University), Ken Caine (Uni-

versity of Alberta), and Deborah Simmons(University of Manitoba) is exploring therole of caribou stories in maintenance of responsible caribou harvesting practices inthe context of a reported caribou popula-tion decline. Doctoral researcher SarahGordon (Indiana University) is focusingon the role of stories and storytelling inshaping what it means to be a healthy com-munity in Délįnę.

For more information, contact DeborahSimmons, [email protected].

ProjectLocations

Caribou on the Edaįįla Peninsula(courtesy NWTPAS)



In 2008, over 400groups in theNWT were sent a

questionnaire via mail,email, and telephone,inviting them toparticipate in an inven-tory of Social Economy

groups in northern Canada. ese groupsincluded non-prot and voluntary orga-nizations, societies, informal associations,co-operatives, credit unions, and othersocial economy organizations. is survey aimed to determine the characteristics of these organizations, including locations,activities, size, employment, membership,and structure.

SERNNoCa formulated a follow-upquestionnaire in order to further exam-ine the impacts and importance of socialeconomy groups in the North. Although

the new questionnaire was sent to thesame list in 2009 and 2010, we are onceagain dispatching the questionnaire andcover letter to a corrected list of groupsand will be contacting you to complete thesurvey if not returned to us by late sum-mer 2011.

Participants will also have the option tocomplete the questionnaire using ouronline form on the SERNNoCa-NWT

Website.

So please if you have not already

done so, complete the form for your organization and return toSERNNoCa’s secretariat as soon aspossible.

Your information and feedback will im-measurably help us gain a greater under-standing of the complex issues confront-ing social economy groups in this periodof economic uncertainty and transition.

Thank You!

THE SOCIALECONOMYINVENTORY &

SURVEY

REPORTS RELEASED ON the

YELLOWKNIFE SOCIAL ECONOMYAND HOMELESSNESS in the City

The Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada in partnership

with the Carleton Centre for Com-munity Innovation at Carleton University,is pleased to announce the release of tworeports:

»» Yellowknie’s»Voluntary»and» Nonproft»Sector:»A»Portrait»o»a»Northern»Social»Economy.

»» Homelessness»in»Yellowknie:»An»Emerging»Social»Challenge.»(in collaboration with the Centre for Northern Families)

e participation of so many Northerners in these year-long projects is greatly appreciated. With your help, Jerry Sabin (Social Economy) and Nick Falvo (Homelessness) have pre-pared two comprehensive documents examining the current state of Yellowknife’s voluntary and nonprot sector and the growing problem of housing and homelessness in the city.

ese community-led and peer-reviewed initiatives are a resource for sector organizations,the public, policy makers, and for future research into the sector and its activities as well asbroader social issues in the community.

e reports can be found in the updates section of the SERNNoCa-NWT website:

www.social-ecconomy.net

In 2011, the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada will convening a nal Northern Summit on the Social Economy from November 2to 23 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Over the past ve years, these gatherings have provided participants from all over tNorth with a forum to share research information, engage in public discussions, anbroach a variety of topics relevant to the needs of local social economy organizationPast gatherings have been held in Inuvik, Iqaluit, Whitehorse, and Happy ValleGoose Bay.

is summit will also be the last opportunity for SERNNoCa to convene its paNorthern network as it winds down its activities in early 2012.

Further details about registration and the agenda will be published on the NWnodal website in the coming months.

If you are interested in being part of a panel discussion or meeting and strategizi with other groups, please contact us at:

Tel: 867.873.9337 | Email: [email protected]

Nick Falvo and Jerry Sabin together in Whitehorse

NORTHERN SUMMIT ONTHE SOCIAL ECONOMYNOVEMBER 22-23, 2011 • YELLOWKNIFE, NT

S o c i a l E

c o n o m y R

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SERNNoCa NWT Newsletter 2011

Documents

Transcript of SERNNoCa NWT Newsletter 2011