At 2014's International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, the Canadian pavilion, curated by the Toronto-based studio Lateral Office, celebrated the territory of Nunavut through Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15, a project that “surveys a recent architectural past, a current urbanizing present, and a projective near future of adaptive architecture in Nunavut.” Within the Biennale’s larger frame, which was set by curator Rem Koolhaas as Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014, the Canadian pavilion positioned Nunavut as a case study on the periphery, a place affected by modernity but in very particular ways due to the unique culture, climate, and (lack of) available resources in the territory.This paper analyzes the project through a lens of Indigenous self-determination, arguing that Arctic Adaptations constructs Inuit history through the lens of settlement, even if it highlights the resilience of the culture in the face of the massive challenges and cultural adaptations in the North. Questioning western understandings of modernity, the paper calls for the recognition of realities outside of western and southern frameworks and suggests alternative modes of Indigenous representation. While the Canadian Pavilion is an important step in incorporating Indigenous perspectives into the narratives Canada understands and exports about itself, it is only a beginning.