'I miss our land a lot': Inuit students studying south on what a university could mean in the North

Inuit students studying in the south say the possibility of a university built on their homelands is reason for hope. 

On Wednesday, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national organization representing Inuit in Canada, unveiled its plans to build a university, called Inuit Nunangat University, on traditional Inuit lands.

Aggiu Dimitruk is from Cambridge Bay, in western Nunavut. She moved to Ottawa last year to attend Algonquin College and now attends Nunavut Sivuniksavut, a southern post-secondary program for Inuit. 

"As we all know there's not a lot of opportunities to further our post-secondary education back home," Dimitruk said. "They didn't have the programs I was interested in at the time, so I left to further my education in the south."

Dimitruk said she misses having a sense of community and culture around her, like she had back in Nunavut. 

"Having my family around me and just having our culture, you know, around is a really big thing. I miss our land a lot, so it's a big change."

She said being at Nunavut Sivuniksavut helps because she's surrounded by other Inuit. 

She said a university on Inuit homelands would mean people like her who had to leave could stay instead. 

"I know for my younger siblings, it'll be an opportunity for them to further their education back home and not have to leave like I did," she said. 

For Dimitruk and others who have left Nunavut, having a university at home is not only important for education, but also for preserving what is slowly being lost. 

"I think this is important just because we have a lot of youth who are growing up without having Inuktitut as their first languages," she said. 

She said ultimately, it's a step toward decolonization and cultural revitalization. 

"I think it's a good process of unlearning the things that are hurting our people, and I think it's a good way to start learning the things that we lost," she said. 

Lutie Kaviok  from Arviat, also moved to Ottawa for school during the pandemic and took his first year of courses over Zoom. 

Kaviok, who also attends Nunavut Sivuniksavut, said he's accustomed to living in Ottawa now, but still misses home. 

"I miss hunting and seeing like, the local people and just feeling very home," Kaviok said. 

He said having a university at home would give Inuit the option to stay in the North. 

"And it's good for the future, good for our future children," he said. 

Both students said they would apply to an Inuit university, if it were open today. 

"It's really empowering for me just to have hope for a future, to know that we are working towards a better territory for our people and a better place where we can offer so much more to our people who deserve so much," Dimitruk said. 

Inuit Nunangat University's goal is to welcome its first students in 2030.