Nunavut came up trumps at the first-annual Arctic Inspiration Prize at the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting in Vancouver, B.C. Dec. 13. The prize is awarded to four research projects that “address pressing issues facing Canada’s Arctic and its Peoples.” All four get a selected chunk of a $1-million prize given by the S. and A. Inspiration Foundation.
The winning Nunavut projects include:
- The Arctic Food Network — $360,000: The Arctic Food Network won its money by creating a scheme to build regional food cabins along a network of “food highways” or snowmobile trails across the territory.
- The Nunavut Literacy Council — $300,000: The Nunavut Literacy Council won its $300,000 with its three-year research project about embedding literacy skills into traditional programs.
- Inuit elders writing a book on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit — $240,000: Ten elders from across Nunavut, along with a subset of many other elders, are writing a book about traditional knowledge and culture, What Inuit Have Always Known to be True.