Houses in the Community and Cabins in the Tundra
This article examines two types of housing used by Inuit in the Eastern Canadian Arctic: the house in the modern communities, a home that has emerged after World War II, and the cabin or shack built by Inuit in the tundra, a type of house that became very common when Inuit moved into permanent settlements. Using ethnographic materials from Nunavik and Nunavut, the authors show that Inuit only partially appropriate the modern-day habitat in which they live. On the other hand, even though the house in a community is now widely accepted, Inuit still associate the tundra with a healthier and regenerating space. It is there that they build their shacks, which they occupy more and which illustrate a nomadic habitus. The idea of a strictly individual property, however, worries the elders for whom nuna, the earth, cannot be appropriated by human beings. Thus, even if there is an appropriation that can be traced linguistically, the contemporary house and the shack still evoke in some respects the tent and the igloo. The nomadic habitus is however at a turning point.