Decolonizing Nunavut's Art Market

An Indigenous methodological framework of decolonization and Indigenization must support an Inuit-led revitalization of the declining arts and crafts sector in Nunavut. Arts and crafts express oral tradition, personal narratives, and Inuit worldviews and transfer those values intergenerationally. As Inuit Elder Shirley Tagalik argues, the transmission of Inuit traditional knowledge (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit) through artistic expression plays a vital role in communities by promoting a culturally healthy society that is key to Inuit survival. By fusing Indigenous cultural heritage and new media technologies to centralize artwork, storytelling, and worldviews, the Inuit futurisms movement is contesting the digital divide that sustains a persistent colonial narrative of Arctic history. Decolonizing and Indigenizing information and communication technologies (ICT) strengthens Inuit engagement in rewriting the past, controlling the dissemination of stories and traditional knowledge, and creating a unified vision of their future.

Inuit leaders and representative organizations have been calling for federally supported Inuit-developed frameworks for advanced ICT innovation to meet the needs of communities. At issue is the question, How can community-first ICT policies and infrastructure disrupt the status quo of the declining colonial Inuit art market in Nunavut? First-mile infrastructure development and equitable high-speed broadband, which do not currently exist in the territory, are required to promote and support Inuit culture. By placing ownership and control of broadband infrastructure within Inuit communities and thus the arts economy decolonization, self-determination, cultural sovereignty, and Inuit-led economic advancement will occur in Nunavut.

This dissertation explores how equitable, affordable, and accessible ICT innovation reinforced by community-first strategic development policies supports expansion in the Inuit art market. Only by positioning Nunavut at the forefront of ICT access will Indigenous Nunavummiut artists be able to leverage digital tools to create works, organize for collective action, and engage in global markets. Creative solutions designed by and for Inuit communities living in remote and isolated locations are ultimately essential for achieving growth in the Inuit arts and crafts sector in Nunavut.