The circumpolar north - the now fashionable moniker for the globe’s shared arctic region - has lately become the focus of political and media scrutiny in light of a changing climate, but for Dr. Allice Legat, Trent’s third Roberta Bondar Fellow in Northern and Polar Studies and long-time resident of Yellowknife, the North is home.

During her time at Trent, Professor Legat’s passion for the sub-arctic north, and the support of Trent’s Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies led to the development of a unique course offering students hands-on experience with Indigenous people in a northern setting.

With two decades of experience in northern communities as both researcher and resident, Prof. Legat’s four-week course gave students the opportunity to study and learn in both road-access and fly-in communities with the goal of allowing them to fully experience the life, land, politics, and relationships important to the people of the Northwest Territories.

“For me, the whole focus is Canada. I believe that before we can start talking about other places in the world we should know our own home. I’ve always wanted to bring students from the south to the sub-arctic north so that they can actually experience the things that they are reading about and actually meet the people who live there,” explains Prof. Legat. “Canada is a huge country and we are regionally very diverse and it is essential to really know what north we are talking about before making policies that impact the land and the people.”

Trent’s leadership in the North paves way for unique learning opportunity

Prof. Legat credits Trent’s Canadian Studies Department for the support and the vision that helped make her course a reality. “Trent’s Canadian Studies Department is known for these types of opportunities. Their thinking is interdisciplinary,” explains Prof. Legat; “Their thinking is experiential."

Dr. Dimitry Anastakis, chair of Canadian Studies, concurs: “We know that students will gain an incredible life experience by taking part in this course. The goal is that these students will leave the Northwest Territories with a better understanding of the relationship between the land and the people in the Canadian North and its importance to the future of Canada.” 

Award-winning impact

Though small in numbers, Prof. Legat’s course is already having a big impact both at home and abroad. Notably, one of the students to graduate from the course in 2013, Kylie de Chastelain, has since been awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. One of several national and international students to participate in the program alongside Trent students, Ms. De Chastelain describes Prof. Legat’s course as “absolutely fundamental” to achieving her scholarship, and has credited the course with shaping her future studies.

“When I was in the North and witnessing first-hand how the Canadian government interacts with Aboriginal communities. I realized that diplomacy, cultural awareness and better governance are needed in order to address a whole host of issues in Canada,” asserts Ms. de Chastelain. “It was this realization that led me to pursue the Rhodes and the program in Global Governance. Without Trent, Allice, and the field course, I never would have made this connection. Trent offered me something unique that I could not have experienced through any other academic institution in Canada.” 

Ms. de Chastelain was just one of an extremely diverse group of students involved in the course from a variety of perspectives including nursing, water studies, wildlife studies, educations, international development and urban planning.

Learn more about the impact of Prof. Legat’s field course in this CBC interview with elder Elaine Lamalice and Prof. Legat: http://www.trentu.ca/canadianstudies/AlliceLegatinterview-July23-2013.mp3

About the Roberta Bondar Fellowship

The Roberta Bondar Fellowship in Northern and Polar Studies is a postdoctoral teaching and research award. The fellowship is intended to bring a Northern scholar to Trent for the period of two academic years. The fellowship, named in honour of Dr. Roberta Bondar, renowned space scientist, neurologist, astronaut and former Trent University chancellor, is intended to foster interest in Northern Studies at Trent, and is based in the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies. For more information, visit http://www.trentu.ca/frostcentre/overview_bondar.php

Posted on Thursday, January 23, 2014.