Competing to build schools
Nunavik Inuit had to wait until the mid-20th century to live their first school experiences in day schools built for them by the Federal government and, from 1963, by the Québec government. In this paper, the authors trace the history of the establishment of schools in Nunavik to highlight the paradigm shift that affected public policy with respect to Nunavik Inuit between Re Eskimo in 1939 and the signing of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement in 1976. It also illustrates how educational models imposed by Ottawa and Québec differ. First, the authors present the political context in which the implementation of education in Nunavik is articulated, and then the history of the establishment of educational models imposed in Nunavik between 1939 and 1976. A brief discussion about the differences between the federal and the provincial educational models concludes this study.