Housing Nunavut: Care and tutelage in the north

Housing Nunavut: Care and Tutelage in the North focuses on legacies of welfare colonialism, tutelage, and bureaucratic forms of care in Nunavut via housing from the 1950s to 2020s. I draw on federal archival documents and interviews with employees at housing and Inuit organizations to understand how Qallunaat (non-Inuit) and Inuit housing attitudes changed with the creation of Nunavut in 1999. I explore forms of care through housing, specifically the concept of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ). IQ was created to bring Inuit well-being to the forefront of territorial policies and programs. I argue that despite Nunavut's commitment to incorporate IQ into its structure, it fails to address Inuit housing needs. This thesis concludes Qallunaat are complicit in harmful forms of housing and care toward Inuit, and the housing crisis can only be addressed through greater control of housing decisions at local, community levels, coupled with an intentional application of IQ.