Pitseolak, the famed Inuit artist, writes in her autobiography, “I know I have had an unusual life, being born in a skin tent and living to hear on the radio that two men have landed on the moon.” Inuit women of Pitseolak’s generation, born during the early part of the 20^th century, lived through a time of dramatic change.The majority of Inuit people moved from living semi-nomadically on the land to settling in permanent towns. One of the social and economic aspects of this transition was the development of co-operatives in almost every community. Women like Pitseolak played an important part in the development of these co-operatives, but their contribution has gone virtually unrecorded. This year, BCICS researcher Julia Smith started to rectify this by writing her undergrad history honours paper on the Involvement of Inuit Women in the Formation of Arctic Co-operatives.

The paper focused on the history of co-operative development in the Canadian Arctic, the gender context of co-operative development, and life histories of Inuit women who were involved in the formative phases of co-operatives. Women played a role in all aspects of co-operative development, but most particularly in the development of the Inuit art industry. Many women’s craft programs were the first step to formal co-operative organisation and numerous female artists, such as Pitseolak in Cape Dorset and Jessie Oonark in Baker Lake, contributed to the fame of their community and co-operative. In a transitory social and economic context, Inuit women applied the co-operative model to support themselves and their families, and to enhance their role in their communities.

Cambridge Bay Store, circa 1970s

Julia Smith’s complete paper is available on the BCICS website at:
web.uvic.ca/bcics/research/students/arctic_co-ops.htm