Description
Book SynopsisUntil recently, most residents of Puvirnituq, an Inuit settlement in Northern Quebec, made their living off the land. Successful hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering, so vital to people’s survival, were underpinned by the expectation that food should be shared. As the Inuit moved into – both forced and voluntary – they have had to incorporate the workings of a monetized economy into their own notions of how to operate as a society. Quoting local residents and drawing upon academic literature, the author documents the experiences of an Inuit community as they wrestle with how to accommodate their belief in a sharing economy with the demands of market forces.
Table of Contents1: Placing Economics: Telling Stories About Food and Making a Living
Introduction
Welcome to Puvirnituq
Narrative
Place
Issues of Economics
The Place of Economy and the Economy of Place
2: The Place of Country Foods / Country Foods in Place
Niqituinnaq
Seasons, Weather, Time, and Country Foods
Common Property and Country Foods
Animal Relations and Country Foods
The Social Relations of Country Foods
Memory, Home, and Country Foods
Knowledge, Place, and Country Foods
Health and Country Foods
Politics and Country Foods
Economics and Country Foods
3: The Political Economy of Nunavik and the Commoditization of Country Foods
Government Approaches to Economic Development in the Canadian North
The Political Economy of Nunavik
The Commoditization of Country Foods among Inuit: An Overview
Forms of Commoditization in Nunavik
4: Sold Down the River: The Business of Country Foods in Puvirnituq
History, Economy, and Society
The Commoditization of Country Foods in Puvirnituq
5: “If You Want to Buy, I’ll Sell it to You. If You’re Asking for it, I’ll Give it to You”: Change and Continuity
Selling off the Commons: Evolving Systems of Belief and Behaviour
Social Processes: Sharing, Community, and Identity
Money and Processes of Valuation
Scaling the Boundaries of Place
The Commoditization of Country Foods: Scale, Value, Identities, Community, and Futures
Epilogue: Closing the Circle?
Appendices
1. Country Foods Eaten in Puvurnituq
2. Employment, Population, and Earning Statistics for Puvirnituq
3. Comparative List of Prices Paid for Country Foods in Puvirnituq, 2001
4. Glossary of Inuktitut
Notes
Bibliography
Index
