Elders, Inuinnait Knowledge Keepers, and Community Sharing: A Dog’s Tale - Roxanne Blanchard-Gagné & Pamela Gross

In the mid-20th century, the dog’s relationship with Inuit radically changed in the Canadian Arctic and was shaped by contact with non-Inuit - especially since the settlement of non-indigenous people - and the impact of the new Inuit lifestyle in permanent villages. The imposition of euro-centric dog management policies by the federal, territorial and local governments, has also participated in the redefinition of dogs’ status. Consequently, dogs’ roles and social positions have change. Nowadays, the different expectations regarding the human dog bond and dog care may lead to social tension in Cambridge Bay. This talk presents an Inuk and an non-Inuk points of view about the forms of governance and the way to manage dogs in Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktutiak, Nunavut); moreover, it discusses how to improve dog management practices and keep the Inuinnait knowledge alive and readily available for future generations.