Practices and Processes of Placemaking in Inuit Nunangat (The Canadian Arctic)

In this chapter, we introduce the concept of ‘placemaking’ to the Canadian Arctic
context, a term frequently used in urban planning and architectural settings to
describe and characterise how spaces are formed by organic and systematic
activities, particularly in contemporary times. Our interpretations of placemaking in relation to the Arctic are made as non-Inuit researchers, who have lived, studied, travelled and worked alongside our Inuit friends and experts for over fifteen years in the Eastern Canadian Arctic region. Working in separate regions of the Arctic as ethnographers (Heyes in Nunavik, Arctic Quebec and Dowsley in Nunavut), we offer here our combined insights and observations on how Inuit generate, connect and derive meaning from the land and the sea. Our reflections provide critical perspectives on Inuit senses of place, and by extension, how tangible and intangible spaces on the tundra, water and sea ice are regarded by Inuit.