August 2012 Report


Dear Friends & Colleagues,
Dan and I wish to extend a special thank you to the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States for a 2012-13 Fund for the Arts Grant. The grant will support Foodland Security, a photography exhibition by Inuk photographer, Barry Pottle. We are also very pleased to report that two graduates from the Arctic Governance Task Force, 2011, are now working professionally on policy issues in the Arctic. UW International Studies major, Dominic Maltais, and Task Force participant from Nunavik, Québec, Lisa Koperqualuk, are working with the Government of Québec and Inuit of Nunavik, respectively, to foster Québec-Inuit relations. This is a wonderful outcome of our UW-Makivik Corporation (Inuit of Nunavik) joint Task Force. We hope you enjoy all of our stories this month. - Nadine

Center Receives Fund for the Arts Grant for Foodland Security Exhibition

Barry Pottle celebrating Inuit Day at the Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre, Ottawa, Spring 2012. 

The Canadian Studies Center was just awarded an Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) Fund for the Arts Grant to host an exhibit on food sovereignty by Inuk photographer, Barry Pottle. The Fund for the Arts Grant will enable the Center to host the exhibit Foodland Security in Spring Quarter 2013. The exhibit reflects various kinds of country foods including implements used in its preparation.

Barry is an Inuk photographer, originally from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut. He lives in Ottawa and identifies as an Ottawamuit (Inuit from Ottawa). Given that the Inuit culture is closely tied to food, acquiring country food for personal consumption has been a challenge for Inuit and urban Inuit living in major Canadian cities. Foodland Security is a photo-based project stemming from this idea of access to and the securing of country food.

In Spring 2012 Barry was the keynote speaker for the all-day forum, Canada and the United States in the Arctic: Past Successes, Future Challenges where he presented slides of Foodland Security. Barry wrote about his visit to the UW in the Summer 2002 edition of Nunatsiavut Silatâni. Find the article on page 5 here.

Foodland Security received financial support from a grant from the Ontario Arts Council and will be co-sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Canadian Studies Consortium, also the recipient of a 2012-13 Fund for the Arts grant from ACSUS.

The ACSUS Fund for the Arts grant program is designed to stimulate U.S. academic institutions to organize symposia, roundtables, conferences, public lectures and authors’ appearances in literature, the performing and visual arts, with the aim of promoting Canada through cultural events. For more information, visit http://www.acsus.org/display.cfm?id=311.

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Task Force on Arctic Governance Students Team up in Nunavik, Québec
by Dominic Maltais, Task Force on Arctic Sovereignty Graduate, 2011

Dominic (left) with Lisa Koperqualuk with the Koksoak River in the background in Nunavik, northern Québec. 

I was awarded the 2012 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council masters scholarship (Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canadian Graduate Scholarship) to support my research on Québec-Inuit relations at McGill University. This research is a continuation of the work I did for the 2011 International Studies-Canadian Studies Task Force course I took at the University of Washington entitled, Arctic Governance. This program enabled me to reorient my research towards current Québécois political affairs. The knowledge I built and the resources I acquired through this Task Force provided me with the needed tools to start a career with the Québec Government.

Lisa (right) and Dominic (second to the right) with Saturviit's Board of Directors in the Kativil Regional Government building in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik. 

Through the Secrétariat aux Affaires Autochtones (SAA), I have been working closely on maintaining good relations between the Québec government and the Inuit of Nunavik. I recently had a chance to travel to Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, thanks to fellow Task Force student Lisa Koperqualuk. Mme Koperqualuk, now president of the Nunavik Women Association (Saturviit), invited me to the association's Board of Directors meeting, held in the Kativik Regional Government's building, as a SAA representent. This provided me with the opportunity to exchange with the board and present to its members various provincial programs and resources which are made available to organizations like Saturviit.

The Winter 2011 Task Force was entitled, "Melting Boundaries: Rethinking Arctic Governance." Lisa's chapter was enttitled, "Maqaittiit as a Profession" and Dominic's chapter was entitled, "Québec and Nunavik: A Governance Model." The Task Force was co-led by Nadine Fabbi, Canadian Studies, and Vincent Gallucci, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. Julie Gourley, Senior Arctic Official, U.S. State Department, served as the expert evaluator. The Task Force will be offered again in Winter Quarter 2013 focused on Arctic Québec.

View Task Force 2011 Website
View Task Force 2011 Report 

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National Science Foundation Travel Stipend Awarded to Center for Inuit Conference

Laimikie Palluq field tests a new Inuktitut interface for a GPS/fieldcomputer. Photo: Shari Gearheard from the conference website

The National Science Foundation awarded the Canadian Studies Center a travel grant to participate in the 18th Inuit Studies Conference: Learning from the Top of the World. The conference, hosted by the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian Museum, will "cover a broad spectrum of topics, including climate change and indigenous people; international cooperation in the Arctic; roles of Museums and museum collections in preserving Inuit languages, heritage, and culture; governmental programs in the northern regions and their interactions with local communities and Inuit cultural/political institutions" (from the conference website). Nadine Fabbi, Canadian Studies Center, was invited to serve as chair of the panel, “Inuit Land Claims, Governance and Sovereignty.” She will also present her paper on Inuit diplomacies and international relations in the Arctic. UW's Canada-US 2011-12 Fulbright Chair, Claudio Aporta, Carleton University, will also present his research on "Space, Place & Identity in the North." Participation in the conference will enable the Center to further build on its Arctic Initiative.

The 18th Inuit Studies Conference: Learning from the Top of the World is sponsored by the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The conference will be held in Washington, D.C., 24-28 October 2012. For more information visit their website at http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/ISC18/

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Canada's Northwest Passage a Source of Legal Controversy

Vincent Gallucci, Affiliated Faculty of Canadian Studies and Professor, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, was quoted by The Epoch Times in an article on the geopolitical tensions regarding Canada’s Northwest Passage. The article, "Northwest Passage opens new frontier, new challenges," discusses future issues that will result as the melting of the Arctic ice cap increases. Vince's current research includes the legal framework for the Arctic Ocean, China's interest in the region, and off-shore oil development in Russia.

Click here to read article.

Over 60 faculty and researchers representing 24 departments across 11 professional schools, as well as all three UW campuses, contribute to knowledge and expertise on Canada, its relationship to the United States, and its role in global affairs.

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FLAS Fellow in Arctic Policy Spends Summer at Université de Québec
by Tony Ramsey, Law School, FLAS Fellow, Summer 2012, French

Tony with two colleagues from the French program – Mona Poon, Montréal (left) and Andrea Matrasovs, Blue Mountains, Ontario. “We cooked a dinner with ingredients from Little Italy in Montréal and conducted the entire evening in French!”


A few short days after finishing finals, I was off to Montréal to participate in the Université de Québec à Montréal’s four-week Business French Immersion program. The program involved daily morning classes where we talked about a wide-range of topics in business, worked on vocabulary, and learned advanced level grammar. In the afternoons, we visited different Montréal-based businesses. The highlight of the program was our work on conversation, with assignments that included developing and administering a survey to strangers on campus and producing a news program with Radio Canada.

During the program, I had the oppocrtunity to spend four weeks in Montréal and experienced firsthand Montréal’s rich cultural offerings. From nightly forays into the yearly Francofolies music festival, which highlighted Francophone music the world over, to celebrating the “Fête Nationale” in the rain at Parc Maisonneuve, I relished the opportunity to explore Québécois culture.

My summer FLAS allowed me the opportunity to learn more about Québec culture and to develop my conversational abilities with other advanced speakers. I am grateful to the Canadian Studies Center for this opportunity as the experience has both strengthened my interest in working on cross-border legal issues and laid a firm foundation for my continuing studies in advanced French.

Tony's research regards the legal issues facing the Inuit of Nunavik, Québec's Arctic policy, and Canadian Arctic policy more broadly. Tony studied French at the Université de Québec à Montréal and at the Seattle Languages International during the summer and academic year.

Funding for FLAS Fellowships is provided by a Center allocation from International and Foreign Language Education, U.S. Department of Education. Visit our FLAS page: http://jsis.washington.edu/canada/flas/

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Center Welcomes New Affiliated Graduate Student in Arctic Legal Studies

Wes Kovarik, Law School and International Studies, is pursuing research on Canada’s Arctic claims. He plans to continue his prior research of international law, nuclear security, and energy development by examining Canadian Arctic policy. Wes will research the intersection of Canada's Arctic claims under international maritime law within the context of changing defense and energy priorities of other Arctic states.

The Canadian Studies Center, through its Graduate Student Professional Development program, works closely with schools and departments across campus to encourage and support graduate student study and research that includes Canada, the Canada-US relationship and Canada's role in the world contributing to the vibrancy of Canadian studies at the UW. For a list of current graduate affiliates see http://jsis.washington.edu/canada/graduate/.
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Center Welcomes New Affiliated Graduate Student in Educational Studies


Shane Pisani, Education (Curriculum & Instruction) 
is currently conducting his research on comparative philosophies in Canadian and U.S. curricula. “I am currently researching American and Canadian teacher understanding of cosmopolitan philosophies and how this manifests in their curriculums and teaching strategies. Secondary Social Studies teachers in both countries will be the focus of this study.”

The Canadian Studies Center, through its Graduate Student Professional Development program, works closely with schools and departments across campus to encourage and support graduate student study and research that includes Canada, the Canada-US relationship and Canada's role in the world contributing to the vibrancy of Canadian studies at the UW. For a list of current graduate affiliates see http://jsis.washington.edu/canada/graduate/.

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Jill Woelfer, Information School, Attends CONNECT Program

Jill with two of her friends in front of the Canadian Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

Jill Palzkill Woelfer, 2012 recipient of the University of Washington Graduate School Medal and 2011-2012 Fulbright Fellow to Canada attended the 2012 CONNECT seminar from July 23-26 in Ottawa, Ontario. Jill, a PhD candidate in Information Science who works with homeless young people, was one of 16 doctoral candidates and professors from across the US chosen to take part in the seminar.

The CONNECT program is a national initiative which engages new Canadianists for the American higher education community. CONNECT is a joint program of the Center for the Study of Canada, State University of New York College at Plattsburgh and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT). The seminar was hosted by CONNECT Executive Director and Co-founder, Prof. Christopher Kirkey, and CONNECT Co-founder, Prof. André Senecal.

The seminar was made up of academic lectures, briefings from government officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the U.S. Embassy, and guided visits to the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian War Museum, the Parliament of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the National Archives. Lectures covered Canadian politics and society and were given by faculty from Carleton University, Queen’s University and the University of Ottawa. Each day culminated with a dinner or reception, hosted one evening by Dr. Michael Hawes and staff at Fulbright Canada.

Jill was happy to have another opportunity to visit Ottawa after a wonderful experience in September 2012 when she took part in the Fulbright Canada orientation. Returning to Ottawa after having spent nine months living in Canada pursuing her dissertation research was galvanizing. “I am fully committed to continuing to increase my knowledge of Canada and to pursuing work with homeless young people in Canada.”

The Canadian Studies Center, through its Graduate Student Professional Development program, works closely with schools and departments across campus to encourage and support graduate student study and research that includes Canada, the Canada-US relationship and Canada's role in the world contributing to the vibrancy of Canadian studies at the UW. For a list of current graduate affiliates see http://jsis.washington.edu/canada/graduate/.

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FLAS Fellow Wins Awards for New Book, Subverting Exclusion

Geiger found this photo while conducting research in Canada. The cover photo depicts four Japanese coal miners in Cumberland, B.C., circa 1915. (Cumberland Museum and Archives, C140.66. Hayashi/Kitamura/Matsubuchi Studio.) 

Andrea Geiger's just-published book on Japanese-Canadian history was an outcome of her FLAS Fellowship in Japanese from the Center.

Andrea, Assistant Professor, History, Simon Fraser University, was able to conduct some of the research that led to Subverting Exclusion: Transpacific Encounters with Race, Caste, and Borders, 1885-1928 as part of her FLAS Fellowships (1999-2002). “The FLAS Fellowships I received through the Canadian Studies Program, played a big role in making it possible for me to fully develop the U.S.-Canada comparison that is a key element of the book.”

This year Andrea was awarded the Theodore Saloutos Memorial Award from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society for her book. “The Japanese immigrants who arrived in the North American West in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries included people with historical ties to Japan's outcaste communities. In the only English-language book on the subject, Andrea Geiger examines the history of these and other Japanese immigrants in the United States and Canada and their encounters with two separate cultures of exclusion, one based in caste and the other in race” (Yale University Press, retrieved from http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300169638). The prize committee described Subverting Exclusion as "a major contribution to the study of immigration and ethnic history." (Immigration and Ethnic History Newsletter, May 2012).

Funding for FLAS Fellowships is provided by a Center allocation from International and Foreign Language Education, U.S. Department of Education. Visit our FLAS page: http://jsis.washington.edu/canada/flas/

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Former Killam Fellow now Applies Understanding of Canada to Policy Work in D.C.


Former UW Killam Fellow Gregory Johnsen (McGill University, Fall 2010) graduated from the University of Washington this June with a BA in International Studies (Canada Track) and BS in Economics. He now researches U.S. fiscal policy full-time with the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in New York City. Although his work focuses primarily on domestic policy, Gregory says his Canadian Studies background is proving quite useful.

"Canada and the U.S. have a lot in common – more than most other countries the U.S. could be compared to. As someone who is researching policy, it is interesting for me to see where the two countries make policy decisions that are similar, and where they diverge. In that respect, Canada serves as a sort of policy experiment to see other ways things can be done. It is a valuable perspective to have."

Gregory says he is enjoying life in New York and hopes to take advantage of the close proximity to Canada by traveling in Ontario and Québec.

The Killam Fellowships Program provides an opportunity for exceptional undergraduate students from universities in the United States to spend either one semester or a full academic year as an exchange student in Canada. UW students may participate in the program as a direct exchange student (registering at their home university, paying their home fees, and attending the host university as an exchange visitor). The Killam Fellowships Program provides a cash award of $5,000 US per semester ($10,000 for a full academic year), an all expense paid three day orientation in Ottawa, and a three day all expense paid seminar in Washington (plus other benefits). The Canadian Studies Center is a partner institution with the Killam Foundation enabling up to two full academic year fellowships annually for UW students.
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K-12 Educators Bring Canada to the Classroom

by Maureen Stevens, Educator, Belton Honea Path High School, South Carolina

Maureen Stevens (left), with STUDY CANADA Summer Institute colleague, Hope Bentley, from Grayson, GA.


The young people I teach will be tomorrow's leaders and therefore they need to realize the increasing importance of Canada and its role in a successful future for the United States. STUDY CANADA provided the knowledge and experiences needed to assist me in broadening the horizons of my students. I plan to incorporate the story of Canada in our study of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War (focusing on the role Canada played in the Underground Railroad), and the study of Canada-U.S. relations throughout World Wars I and II.

I learned a great deal at the 34th Annual STUDY CANADA Summer Institute for Educators. It was a wonderfully exciting and activity-packed week. The trips to Montréal, to Parliament, to the Supreme Court, to the War Museum, Museum of Civilization, and the MOSAICA enabled me to experience Canada in a way no textbook would allow me to do. I will now be able to teach my students about Canada more effectively that prior to this experience were not possible.

I have not traveled extensively around the world. Unfortunately for my students, in the very rural high school where I teach, the majority of them have not traveled further than 150 miles from home. We are a rather poor rural, textile mill town. I teach U.S. History to eleventh graders. My classes range from 30 to 35 students. The STUDY CANADA Institute gave me the tools I need to best present this information to my students. The guest speakers discussed the geography of Canada, the peoples of Canada, the political and judicial systems, the bilingual impact, and the culture of Canada. Each of the presentations made an enormous impression on me.

Every minute was filled with exceptional speakers, engaging field trips, and immersion in the culture of Canada. The amount of knowledge I gained from this one week is overwhelming. I will encourage my colleagues to take part if at all possible in the future. I know that I have become a better teacher because of this experience and that my students will ultimately be the beneficiaries.

“STUDY CANADA,” the Pacific Northwest National Resource Center on Canada’s annual professional development workshop, has been offered by Western Washington University for the last thirty-four years and hosted in Canada since 2006. Don Alper serves as program director and Tina Storer as program coordinator. The Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University gratefully acknowledges program funding from the US Department of Education (Title VI) and the Government of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Additional program support is appreciated from the Université du Québec à Montréal and Herff-Jones Nystrom. In addition, support for teacher scholarships from the Canadian Studies Center in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington as well as Greg Boos and the Pacific Corridor Enterprise Council (PACE) is appreciated.

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PHOTO ALBUM

Michael Hank in Québec City during his summer FLAS Fellowship experience at l'Université Laval. (08/12)



Zhenni Thomas, International Studies major & student assistant at the Center, welcomes guests at the Arctic forum co-sponsored by the Center & Canadian Consulate, Seattle. (5/12)



Kenda Gee, director with T. Radford of documentary, The Lost Years about Chinese immigration to Canada, with Betty Luke, Wing Luke Museum. (05/12)

 

Canadian Studies Center
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