Education across the Circumpolar North is inseparable from the lands, cultures, and communities that sustain us.
By Sylvia Moore, UArctic Chair in Indigenous and Northern Education, Vice-Lead of the UArctic Verdde Indigenous Education Thematic Network, Associate Professor and Founding Faculty, School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland
My own path as an educator has been guided by Labrador’s landscapes and peoples, and by a commitment to learning that reflects the strengths and priorities of Indigenous and northern communities. Through my work at the Memorial University’s Labrador Campus and within UArctic, I have witnessed how place-based and Indigenous-led approaches are reshaping circumpolar education and reflecting UArctic’s mission to strengthen northern education through collaboration, respect for diversity, and Indigenous leadership.
Learning on the Land
Through the UArctic Chair in Indigenous and Northern Education and the Verdde Indigenous Education Thematic Network, we are co-creating opportunities for shared learning that emphasize relationships and reciprocity. Verdde – a Sámi word meaning mutually beneficial exchange – embodies the spirit of this collaboration. Hosted by Marikaisa Laiti, Verdde Thematic Network Lead at Sámi University of Applied Sciences, activities have focused on sharing and strengthening Indigenous knowledge on the land through the searvelatnja principle, emphasizing learning “with” the land and on the land through activities that employ local knowledge and skills.
In addition to online events, educators gathered in Guovdageaidnu, Norway to participate in activities such as fishing, cooking with locally harvested foods, and reindeer herding, led by local knowledge holders and Sámi University hosts. These land-based experiences were followed by discussion and writing that explored the sharing and strengthening of Indigenous and local knowledges as integral to teaching and learning and highlighted the importance of such experiences in teacher education programs.
Learning with Community
Working closely with Indigenous and northern community members is a vital part of transforming education at all levels. The School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies has Indigenous representation on its governing council, and graduate programs (diploma, Master’s, PhD) require student research to be conducted in collaboration with community partners. This ensures that research is in community, for community, and by community.
UArctic Fellow Heather Angnatok, based at the Labrador Campus, plays a pivotal role in advancing community engagement by co-coordinating community members’ involvement in courses and organizing frequent events that bring community members onto campus. This work ensures that university–community relationships continue to grow.
The importance of local knowledge is also evident in the weekly craft sessions that Heather leads, where participants share crafting techniques and position the campus as a site of learning for all. Crafting as a pedagogical pathway for bringing Indigenous knowledge, history, and languages into education is the focus of the research project Duodji and Ilusivut (Arts and Crafts) as Pedagogy in the Circumpolar North. Led by the UArctic Chair in Indigenous and Northern Education in cooperation with the Verdde network, the project works with crafters and educators across the Circumpolar North to examine the many ways crafting serves as an avenue for teaching through a cultural lens.
A Shared Path Forward
Teaching on the land and with community members is reshaping circumpolar education. By grounding learning in place, culture, and community, northern institutions are preparing students for the future while honoring knowledge systems that have sustained Indigenous peoples for generations. The collaborative work of the Labrador Campus, the Verdde network, and UArctic partners demonstrates how circumpolar cooperation enriches local initiatives and advances a shared vision for transformative education and resilient communities across the North.
Photos: Sylvia Moore, Heather Angnatok
UArctic Chairs are highly qualified academics who serve as academic drivers in a broad area of relevance to the Arctic. They implement and drive collaborative actions in research and education among UArctic members and Thematic Networks and build partnerships with the broader Arctic community.
