Inuit Knowledge Centre

For too many years Inuit watched scientific research in Arctic regions give little credence to the value of Inuit knowledge. In the early 1990’s this situation slowly began to change. The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) issued a directional document in 1991 on scientific research affecting the Arctic which laid out ICC’s key positions on Arctic research policy.

In the last decade, some of the principles laid out in the 1991 ICC document began to be reflected in Canadian Arctic research programs. This new interest on Arctic research and engaging Inuit in Arctic research has generated an unprecedented level of demand on Inuit organizations, communities and individuals to provide knowledge, advice and services to research initiatives, yet the capacity to respond to these demands has not developed at the same pace.

Similarly, many gaps remain in achieving a validation of the legitimacy and value of Inuit knowledge in research initiatives. Where Inuit knowledge has been a requirement of research projects, in some regions it can still be collected in the absence of Inuit approved research guidelines, methodologies, or consultation protocols.

The 2006 Partnership Accord signed between Canada and the Inuit of Canada represented by ITK, recognized the unorganized nature of Inuit research referring to the “ad hoc, fragmented nature of Inuit specific data collection, storage and use”. The Inuit Action Plan noted the ‘minimal’ level of “Inuit data that can be used for evidenced based policy making” along with varying levels of capacity at the regional level none of which can produce data at a ‘satisfactory’ level.

Elsewhere in the world this research gap on indigenous peoples has been addressed through the establishment of Indigenous Knowledge Centres for which there are various models, including the National Institute of Research Excellence for Maori Development and Advancement, the Alaska Native Knowledge Network at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Sami Research Centre at the University of Lapland. Currently there is not a national research apparatus for Inuit research in Canada.

To begin closing these gaps, and shifting toward a more Inuit centred, Inuit directed research agenda, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) Board of Directors at their the February 2008 meeting, approved a three year Strategic Plan that envisioned the creation of an Inuit Centre for Knowledge and Change.