Intergenerational resilience in Aklavik, NT – exploring conceptualizations, variables, and change across generations

• Author / Creator

  Rawluk, Andrea J

• I explore resilience qualitatively and quantitatively with youth, adults, and elders in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Using focus groups, semi-structured and follow-up interviews, the research questions were: How is resilience defined in Gwich’in and Inuvialuit cultures? What themes might be useful for understanding the resilience of youth, adults and elders and, examining these themes, what are the similarities and differences between generations (as observed quantitatively)? What changes in the community and on the land are important to different generations? The results suggest that Gwich’in and Inuvialuit elders define resilience similarly to other indigenous cultures whilst offering additional perspectives. Fewer youth reported having traditional language, knowledge and spirituality than elders, but expressed a desire to learn them and described spiritual experiences. All generations had similar perspectives about what changes were negative and positive for the community and the land and how they would like to see the future of the community.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Generations
  • Arctic
  • Resilience

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R33918

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.