The Role of Educational Spaces in Supporting Inuit Youth Resilience

Abstract

ABSTRACT Indigenous youth in Canada grow up in communities shaped by the enduring political and economic legacies of settler colonialism. These legacies continue through systemic marginalisation, manifesting in strained sociocultural resources, intergenerational trauma, and poorer psychosocial outcomes for youth. To redress these outcomes, communities are drawing on traditional culture, together with life philosophies and frameworks, to identify relevant resources that better support young people and their development. Research findings support these approaches, demonstrating the importance of cultural continuity and related enculturation, in promoting improved psychosocial outcomes. The emerging question however, is how to foster increased engagement by children and youth. Spaces & Places, a participatory action study positioned within a resilience framework, responds to this question. In this article, we draw on findings from one of the three participating communities to highlight the complexities in understanding youth cultural engagement. We also explore ways in which communities can better support such engagement. In particular, findings highlight that youth perceptions of, and engagement with, resources is complex. Despite this complexity, socially embedded relationships and engagement with land-based, cultural activities are valued. While youth reflect a predominantly ambivalent attitude towards school, their narratives simultaneously suggest school as being a potential site within which to powerfully support their social and cultural engagement. Drawing on these findings, we recommend that schools and related educational systems adopt policies and service delivery practices that will facilitate the integration of external, community-based resources into the delivery of curriculum via more land-based and cultural activities.