Sewing in Arviat: Inuit Women’s Work Through Stories and Parkas

Abstract

Sewing has long been a core part of Inuit women's land-based labour in Arviat, Nunavut. The objects that Inuit women produce by sewing, such as parkas, embody their responses to and perspectives of colonialism and the entrenchment of the capitalist economy in their communities. This dissertation takes an interdisciplinary approach using archival records and photographs, museums objects, interviews with seamstresses and experiential learning. In this project, gendered work is inherently connected to gendered knowledge. The amauti, a women's parka with a pouch to carry small children is useful for understanding both work and knowledge because it is a tool for women's work, while also serving as a conceptual lens through which to discuss Inuit women's knowledge transmission. I use methodologies developed in material culture studies to carefully develop three case studies to trace Inuit women's labour through three sewing mediums.iii Classification: Protected A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I want to thank all seamstresses who participated in this project. This project would not exist without their generosity in sharing their skills, time and knowledge. In Arviat, I especially want to thank Nuatie Aggark, Joy Suluk, Eric Anoee Jr., Gord Billiard and Shelton Nipisar. I am also grateful for the support of the Arviat Film Society, which provided me with filming equipment and excellent advice.This project owes its existence to thanks to the support of many individuals and institutions. I want to acknowledge my exceptional thesis committee: Michel Hogue, Ruth Phillips, Carol Payne and Donna Patrick, whose patience, support, critique and careful engagement with the project, its ideas and its words were instrumental to this project. In addition, I received generous financial support from SSHRC through the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship, which funded the first three years of this project; two years of financial support through the Ontario Government Scholarship; and continued support through Carleton University's generous funding package.My academic community has extended past my committee. I am incredibly grateful to Frank Tough (University of Alberta) for his mentorship during the last years of writing. His support, both personal and through MAP Lab was central to the success of this project. I also want to thank the editorial team of Atiqput, Deborah Kigjugalik Webster, along with Beth (LAC) and Carol (Carleton), for their laughter, inclusion, and wise words. Finally, thank you to Jill Oakes' whose research was foundational for my own and kindly supportive of my project.