5. EDUCATION, RECREATION AND FAMILY
Hans-Jørgen Wallin Weihe
The family unit
A family is a unit of people who can be understood both as a close unit of people responsible
for the care and welfare of those closest (like mother, father and children) and as group of
people related through blood relations or through the acceptance of having a similar
relationship. The family defined by law is not necessary the same as the family accepted by
the people in the family. Historically speaking many communities have had a tradition for the
use of informal adoption of children and of males and females living in relationships not
registered as marriages. Similarly many children have been born outside of marriage. Unlike
many other parts of the world it carries, in many parts of the Arctic, little stigma to have
children outside of marriage. Among the well-known examples is the Norwegian Crownprincess
who prior to her marriage to the Norwegian Crown-prince had a son born outside of
marriage. Another example is the high acceptance of divorce. The most illustrating example
probably being Vigdis Finbogadottir who despite being a divorced single mother served as the
president of Iceland in four consecutive periods (1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992).
Even if the acceptance is high for relationship outside of marriage, single mothers and
children born outside of marriage it is important to realize that there are differences also
within Arctic countries. For example there are areas, some of them in the Nordic countries,
where there are large minorities and historically majorities of fundamental Christians with
moral objections to relationships outside of marriage.
In many Arctic communities each family was an integrated part of a larger community. One
example was the Sámi villages or kin-groups called siidas, which functioned as a unit
deciding how to share nature resources. In many ways it can be claimed that the siidas
functioned as a kind of extended family. Due to a number of factors, among them the
influence of national law and change in economical structures, the siida is no longer
functioning as in earlier time ( Bjorklund and Eidheim 1997). However some of the traditions
of the siida remain and have consequences for the function of the extended family. The
mother, father and children unit is much more part of the larger community than in the ethnic
Norwegian tradition. Among the Inuit people traditions of marriage and family structure far
different from the European norm has been described (Kjellström 1973). One of the traditions
have included the sharing children and informal adoptions. Those traditions still, to some
extent, seem top exist.
Regardless of how it is defined the family has always been important as the backbone of
Arctic communities. Children have been raised by their parents and have received their first
education into social norms, in ways to behave and sometimes historically also the skills of
surviving and living within the family and their local communities.
For indigenous populations, like the Inuit and Indians in the Canadian and US Arctic, the
colonialism of outsiders have brought important changes to the fabric of local communities
and families. The harsh policies of the past of removing children from their families,
educating them in “national” languages and forcing them not to use their own language and
interference with traditional religious practices have both brought a loss of language and
cultural identity and pride. Part of the process being that children through the loss of their own
language lost the possibility to communicate with their own parents and elders. The two
Canadian researchers Frank James Tester and Paule McNicoll (2004) argue that the extremely
high suicide rate of Inuit suicide (six times those of country’s southern provinces) in the
newly created Nunavut territory of Canada’s eastern Arctic has its roots in a history of
colonialism, paternalism and historical events resulting in low self-esteem (inuusittiaqarniq).
Similar situations have existed among the Sámi of northern Europe, indigenous populations in
the Russian Arctic and among Inuit’s in Greenland. Even if practices of governments,
missionaries and social agencies have had similarities all over the Arctic it seems like the
policy of the US and Canadian government have been particularly harsh towards indigenous
populations (Millroy 1999). The Soviet Union having an authoritarian policy directed
towards an ideal state moulding the whole population into one kind of citizens, but not
particularly targeting indigenous populations.
Demographic changes and the family
Many parts of the Arctic have experienced changes in the demographics in their populations.
It has been fairly typical with changes like the population growing older, young people
migrating to urban centres and often deficits of young women ad subsequently fewer children
being born. Such changes have far-reaching consequences for families. In some areas, like the
Faeroe Islands, the changes have been particularly rapid due to depletion of fishery resources
(Hamilton, Colocousis and Johansen 2004). Similar situations have earlier occurred in New
Found land in Canada and in other parts of the Arctic due to depletion of other kinds of
natural resources like in mining operations.
In the case of the Faeroe Islands the reason for the population changes is fairly obvious. In
other areas the reason for leaving local communities might be a different one. However the
resulting movement from small local communities to larger towns and settlements have been
fairly typical all over the Arctic. The result of such movement of population has often been a
break in local traditions and an adaptation to those of the larger society.
Parental attitudes and expectations
In November 2003 I travelled to Greenland. In one of the many places I visited there was a
picture of happy children jumping from one ice floe to another. They were smiling and
laughing and it looked like they had great fun. It struck me that such a picture would never
have been shown in my own home country of Norway. It is dangerous to jump from one ice
floe to another and they had no visible safety equipment like a swimming belt.
Three researchers in the Sámi part of Norway made a cross-cultural comparison of parental
attitudes and expectations between Sámi mothers and fathers and Norwegian mothers and
fathers. They found that parental permissiveness was higher in the Sámi group. Among other
differences were self-regulation of food and sleep, co-sleeping and less toleration of child
aggression from Sámi parents. Similar patterns are found among other indigenous cultures in
the circumpolar region (Javo, Ronning and Heyerdahl 2004 and Javo, Ronning, Heyerdahl
and Rudmin 2004). Similarly Kvernmo (2001) and Kvernmo and Heyerdahl (1998) discuss
the importance of cultural factors for the development of a person’s behaviour.
From the point of view of traditional Inuit culture mastering ice and be able to move in the
Arctic environment must have been of crucial importance. The authors concludes that both
individual autonomy would be important and the ability to live as part of the group. They
emphasize that individual autonomy should not be confounded with the individualism of
European liberalism.
Even if life-styles of the past, like hunting gathering, is no longer the backbone of the
economy of many indigenous populations the child-rearing patterns and traditions might
remain. Differences in attitudes in child rearing might have far reaching consequences.
Even to the extent that what is thought of as irresponsible in one culture might be thought of
as responsible in another.
Such differences will have obvious consequences for the educational system. Both children
and parents will be influenced. What is right and wrong pedagogy will depend upon the
traditions of each individual family.
The educational system
Historically speaking the school systems have been important tools in order to create national
identities as opposed to local. Most often creating national identities has included the thought
of all people in a nation sharing one common language and culture. Thus minority languages,
like that of the Saami in Norway, has been consciously ignored and quite often fought, while
the national language has been promoted. In Norway this process had its heydays from the
last part of 1800 century until the late 1960s.
Today’s educational system has changed from that of yesterday in all the Arctic countries.
However, some part of the old structures and way of thinking will of course remain. In the
same way some of the old attitudes towards the educational system are likely to remain. Thus
groups of people regarding the educational system to be part of colonialism and repressive
policy decided by outsiders are likely to at least be somewhat sceptical towards that system
even long after it is changed.
The increased expression willingness to support an indigenous Arctic language resulted in
Norway in the Sámi language act enacted in 1992. The act established the principle of
bilingual education Even if it might be claimed, like the Canadian researcher D. Corson
(1995) does, that the act had emancipatory implications it also made visible the severe unjustice
and discrimination made towards the Sámi as part of Norwegian nationalism.
Arctic educational systems operate under several national authorities. Those national
authorities all have their own standards and it varies how flexible they are to meet local
demands. Still, basic skills in order to function in society is always taught in the schools such
as reading, writing, arithmetic and basic social skills and values. Historically both Christian
religious values and national ones have been taught in the schools. In the Soviet Union the
focus was upon the political values of that society. In countries like Norway, Sweden and
Finland the focus of education was upon National unity and Christian values. In the case of
Greenland upon teaching Danish, Christian values and communicating the values of Denmark
In Iceland since independence the focus after the Second World War have been of teaching
the values, language and Christian values of the state. In Alaska and Canada similarly, though
Canada have had both French and English as major languages for the provincial school
system.
One characteristic of educational facilities in the north has been the dependency upon outside
teachers and often administrators. Alice Eriks Brophy of the University of Toronto and
Martha Crago of McGill University (2003) has focused upon the variation in instructional
discourse between Inuit and non-Inuit teachers in northern Québec. Their findings suggests
“that the cultural variability of discourse features that have significant ramifications for
teachers judgment regarding students´ academic and communicative competence” (page 396).
Even if such differences are particularly large when teachers have a different language and
ethnic background it would be logical to assume that the same would be true with teachers
coming from a far different background like that of a large town compared to a small fishing
or farming community.
Visiting Nenet, Nganasan and Dolgan families in Taimyr in Siberia I was told of the
complexity of problems facing nomadic families with the residential school system. One of
the most important being that the children in long periods had to spend time away from the
family and due to that not acquiring the skills necessary in order to live the nomadic life.
Those skills were closely related to the cycle of nature, adaptation to the changing conditions,
hunting, fishing, reindeer herding and the use and production of tools and equipment
connected to that life style.
The same kind of comments I have heard among fishermen, farmers and Saami reindeer
herders of the north of Norway. The school system gives certain kind of knowledge like
reading, writing, arithmetic and languages. That kind of knowledge is important in order to
function in the greater society, gain access to further education and a certain part of the work
market, but most often not to participate in traditional local activities.
However, education has been important in order to put those local activities into a greater
perspective both of a national and a cross-national scene. Thus one result has been to some
extent to create a shared kind of identity among the indigenous populations of the north. In
other cases to create other kind of shared values.
In the Nordic societies one of the seemingly shared values seem to be to follow an extreme
policy of equity (Nordkvelle 1999 and Grauphard 1986). In the Norwegian school system an
“extreme policy of equity – geographical, social class- wise, and in the last 30 years – gender
and multiculturalism” has been pursued (Nordkvelle: 1999:1). Such a policy might both have
benefited adaptation to local cultural variations and resulted in just the opposite. Equity
according to national norms might have resulted in discrimination of local culture.
The complexity and challenges of modern society
Most people, even in the Arctic, live their life in ways, which are closely related to modern
economy. Many are employed in public or private administration and enterprises. Others are
employed in health- and social services, teaching and research. Some are within transportation
and trade. A few have their main income from farming, fishing, hunting and reindeer herding.
They all depend upon modern technology and need to relate to modern society.
It is easy to have a romantic idea about the qualities of the past. Without doubt they exist and
it is important to acknowledge them. Still it is important to acknowledge the challenges of
modern society and the need for updated education.
Grauphard (1986) emphasize that one of the characteristics of the Nordic society is “the
passion for equality” or as he emphasize their unquestioned commitment to a minimum social
support for every citizen. The practice of teachers will most likely reflect prevalent attitudes
of their societies. Thus the Nordic “passion for equality” do not give priority to elite thinking.
Both basic and advanced education is provided for free in the Nordic countries, Russia and
Canada. In the USA higher education requires payment of tuition. In addition there are
differences in how centralized or decentralized both the ground level school system and
advanced education is organized. For instance while Sweden has given priority to
centralization Norway has given priority to trying to provide up to college level education in a
decentralized manner (Rust 1989).
Distances in the Arctic are great. Obviously quite some people will have to travel long
distances in order to take higher education. In some cases they will even have to go outside
their own region. One example is the population in Greenland who in many cases will have to
take higher education in Denmark.
The recreational aspect of life
Today we experience recreation as time off from activities connected with earning money or
time for chores necessarily performed in order to maintain living and taking care of others
close to us. Often activities connected with surviving in the past have changed to be
important recreational activities of modern day. For example the hunting and fishing
necessary to get food and to avoid starving of yesterday have in may instances changed to be
the recreational activities of today.
Still it is important to realize that such activities might keep their cultural importance even if
people are not dependent upon them for survival. From that point of view they will also be
important arenas for socializing children into the cultural heritage of their own culture.
Today recreational activities are often developed into commercial activities targeting both
tourists moving into the region and locals who buy various kinds of recreational activities
(Smith 1989, Hall and Johnston 1995). Thus activities that remain important for the local
culture might have an entirely different role for outsiders.
Many of such recreational activities are focused upon hunting and fishing. Both of which
represent limited local resources. In the Sámi areas of the Arctic such harvesting have
traditionally been done according to kin-group or in Sámi “siida” agreements (Viken in Price
and Smith 1996). Other activities do not have to do with harvesting, but rather use of nature
for recreation al purposes like skiing, snowmobiles and so on. Quite often those moving into
the areas traditionally used by indigenous populations, like the Sámi, have been people with
another background living in the Arctic. In the northernmost part of Norway (Finnmark)
many of them came from the Norwegian population along the coast.
It is also important to realize that what for some people has changed to be recreational
activities for others remain activities traditional activities connected with survival and work.
Which means that fishing which for one person is his main income might be recreational for
his neighbour.
Recreational activities have also opened up the world for quite some Arctic people. Both in
the way that outsiders travel to the Arctic and in the way that Arctic people travel to other
parts of the world. In quite some areas of the Arctic, like the Nordic countries, Greenland and
North America, the local population increasingly travel to other parts of the world. As the two
Norwegian researchers Kirsti Pedersen and Arvid Viken points out; “The people….switch
between local and global roles, identities, and cultures” (in Price and Smith 1996:86)
The changing world of the Arctic
Some years ago I was introduced to the music of the British pop star Samantha Fox. It
happened after several days of travel by boat in a small community in Taimyr in Siberia.
A few years later I visited a mixed Norwegian Sámi family in Karasjok in northern Norway.
It was sort of a family gathering one of the boys in the family had just arrived back from
Spain and his sister was home from Mexico. In both the village in Siberia and in Norway we
discussed about local traditions of handcrafts, reindeer and traditional life.
The Arctic is no longer isolated from the rest of the world. It is very much part of it. Still
certain part of local cultures has their own characteristics. Family-structures, child rearing and
quite some traditions are distinct to local cultures. Particularly this is true for the indigenous
cultures of the Arctic.
Then the environment is important like the darkness in winter, the cold weather and low
temperatures of winter and the light in summer and in the inland abundance of mosquitoes.
Dr. Stenton of the University of Alberta (1991) concluded in an article of culture adaptation
on Southern-Baffin-Islands that terrestrial environment played an important role in the
development of Arctic hunter-gather adaptations. Those conclusions are not surprising. Living
in the Arctic the environment will always play a crucial role. Both family structures, patterns
of education and recreation will be influenced.
One of the problems of today is the standardization of modern societies, which do not take the
particular needs of local people into consideration. The educational system is one good
example of that. Admitting the need of adaptation to local culture it is still important to
acknowledge that the Arctic cultures are flexible and changing.
Glossary of Terms
Dolgan: A Turkic-speaking people, numbering around 6000 people, inhabiting the Taimyr
Peninsula west of the Yenisey River. Formerly the Dolgans were reindeer herding people;
nowadays they are mostly reindeer hunting and economical activity centred on small villages
and the towns in Taimyr.
Education: The word education is mostly used about methods of teaching and learning in
schools or institutional environments. Still it is important to acknowledge that important parts
of socialization is done outside of educational facilities and that important skills are taught
outside of schools. Thus it is possible to separate between formal education done in schools
and by professionals called teachers and informal education done by others often by doing
things together. The latter have very much been the case for some of the most important skills
necessary for survival and living in many Arctic cultures.
Formal teaching is often divided in elementary or primary education giving the most basic
education (age 5/7 to about 11/13), secondary education lasting until about 12 years of
teaching have been completed and higher education giving further training like in universities.
Family: While kindred through bloodlines are related and can be called an extended family,
the family unit is thought of as a household unit with mother, father and children. However
there are differences in how separate such households might be from others. In some cultures
the mother, father and child unit represents a more flexible unit than in other cultures. Many
indigenous Arctic cultures do have more flexible family units than those of the urbanized
western societies. The family unit is an important unit of socialization and I many cases of
learning skills necessary for survival and living. The latter has very much been the case for
many cultures centred on activities like fishing, hunting, farming and herding.
Inuit: The word Inuit means “the people”. They are widely called “Eskimos”. The Inuit’s
populate the Arctic from Greenland in the east, across northern Canada and Alaska to the
eastern part of Siberia. There are about 110.000 Inuit living in the Arctic. The language of the
Inuit is called Inuktitut.
Nenets: Ethnoliguistic group living in northwestern Russia. The northernmost part of the
Nenets are the tundra Nenets consisting of about 25.000 people. They inhabit Russian arctic
from the Taimy peninsula and the Yenisey River in the east to the White Sea in the west.
The word nenets means “man”. The Nenet culture has been centred on reindeer herding, some
fishing and hunting.
(In Russian singular Nenets, in plural nenetsy, formerly Samoyed or Yurak – in older
literature the later forms might be used).
Nganasan: A high small group of people (less than thousand) inhabiting the northernmost part
of the Taimyr Peninsula. The Ngansans are related to the Nenets. Formerly reindeer herding
people, nowadays mostly reindeer hunting
Recreation: The word recreation comes from Latin recreation – recreation which means
restoration to health and from recreare which means create anew or refresh. In daily language
it has come to mean time off from work and chores – or to put it like time for pleasurable
challenges, experiences and “playing”.
Sámi: Traditional population of the northern part of Finland, Norway and Sweden and the
Kola peninsula of Russia. In the late 20th
century the official numbers of Sámi were 6000 in
Finland, 40.000 in Norway, 20.000 in Sweden and 2000 in Russia. Traditionally reindeer
herding and nature based activities like fishing, hunting and small-scale agriculture has been
the most important part of the economy. Today the Sámi is very much part of the modern
economy of their home countries, however nature based activities remain both culturally end
economically important.
(The name Sámi is also spelled Saami, Same, Sabme and sometimes called Lapp)
References
Bjorklund I. and Eidheim H. 1997. Reindeer brands – Cultural relations and Norwegian law
among the Laps. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning 38 (4): 562 –577 1997
Corson D. 1995. Norwegian Sami-language act – emancipatory implications for the worlds
aboriginal peoples. Language in Society 24(4): 493-514, December 1995.
Eriks-Bropy Alice and Crago Martha 2003. Variation in Instructional Discourse Features:
Cultural or Linguistic ? Evidence from Inuit and Non-Inuit Teachers at Nunavik.
Anthropology & Education Quarterly, Vol 34, 2003. no 4 page 396 –419.
Darnell Frank and Hoëm Anton 1996. Taken to extremes: education in the Far North. Oslo:
Scandinavian University Press
Graubard Stephen R. 1986. Norden the Passion for Equality. Oslo: Norwegian University
Press
Hamilton Lawrence C., Colocousis Chris R. and Johansen Sámal T. F. 2004. Migration from
Resource Depletion: The Case of the Faroe Islands. Society and Natural Resources, 17:443-
453, 2004.
Hall Colin Michael and Johnston Margaret E. 1995. Polar Tourism – Tourism in the Arctic
Region and Antarctic Regions. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons
Javo C., Ronning J. A. and Heyerdahl S. 2004. Child-rearing in an indigenous Sami
population in Norway: A cross-cultural comparison of parental attitudes and expectations.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 45(1):67-78, February 2004.
Javo C., Ronning J. A, Heyerdahl S. and Rudmin F.W. 2004. Parenting correlates of child
behavior problems in a multiethnic community sample of preschool children in northern
Norway. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 13(1): 8-18 February 2004
Kjellström Rolf 1973. Eskimo Marriage. Stockholm: Nordiska museets handlingar no 80.
Kvernmo S. 2001. Behavioral and emotional problems in indigenous Sami, ethnocultural
Kven and majority Norwegian adolescents in Northern Norway: The impact of ethnic and
cultural factors. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 55(3): 212-213 (2001).
Kvernmo S. and Heyerdahl S. 1998. Influence of ethnic factors on behaviour problems in
indigenous Sami and majority Norwegian adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 37(7): 743-751 July 1998
Millroy John 1999. A national crime- The Canadian Government and the Residential School
System 1879 –1986. Winnipeg: The University of Manitoba Press.
Nordkvelle Yngve 1999. Internationalising the school: critical perspectives on the
“globalisation” of the Nordic School. Lillehammer: Working paper 82/1999
http://www.hil.no/biblioteket/forskning/Arb82/82-02.htm#TopOfPage
Price Martin F. and Smith Valene L. 1996. People and Tourism in Fragile Environments.
Chichester: John Wiley & Sons
Rust Val D. 1989. The democratic tradition and the evolution of schooling in Norway. New
York: Greenwood Press
Smith Valene L.1989 Hosts and Guests - The Anthropology of Tourism. Phildaelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Stenton Dr. 1991. Caribou population-dynamics and the Thule Culture Adapations on
Southern-Baffin-Island, NWT. Arctic Anthropology 28 (2): 15:43 1991
Tester Frank James and McNicoll Paule 2004. Isumagijaksaq:mindful of the state: social
cohesions of Inuit suicide. Social Science & Medicine 58 (2004) 2625-2636