Karla Jessen Williamson facts for kids

Karla Jessen Williamson was born in 1954 in Appamiut, a place in Maniitsoq, Greenland. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. She is a special teacher and researcher. She works as an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Before this, she was the leader of the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA). She was the very first woman and the first Inuk person to have this important job. Karla Jessen Williamson speaks three languages fluently: Danish, English, and Greenlandic. She teaches and studies many important ideas. These include how different cultures mix (cross-culturalism), how many cultures can live together (multiculturalism), and how to fight against unfair treatment based on race (antiracism). She also studies how Indigenous people gain knowledge (Aboriginal epistemology).

Early Life and Learning Journey

Growing Up in Greenland

Karla Jessen Williamson is a Kalaaleq person, which means she is from the Inuit people of Greenland. She grew up in Greenland and went to school there for her early education. She then finished high school in Denmark.

University Studies and Degrees

Later, she moved to Canada. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education from the University of Saskatchewan in 1987. She also studied at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. There, she earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology. Her research focused on how men and women relate to each other in Inuit communities in Greenland after colonial rule ended. She also trained to be a teacher at the College of Nuuk in Greenland.

Karla's Important Work

Researching Inuit Life

Karla Jessen Williamson's research looks at many aspects of Inuit life. She has studied how Inuit people raise children. She also explores the roles of men and women in Greenland after it became independent from colonial rule. She taught for 16 years in a program for Indigenous and Northern Education at the University of Saskatchewan. In September 2000, she moved to work at the AINA. She is also a Senior Researcher with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national organization for Inuit in Canada.

Leading Arctic Projects

Because of her role with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Karla became a leader for a big project. This project was part of the IPY from 2007 to 2008. The project was called "Arctic Resiliency and Diversity: Community Response to Change." She worked on this with the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.

Promoting Equality and Understanding

Karla Jessen Williamson often gives presentations about Inuit masking. This is a traditional art form. She believes it helps Inuit people understand gender equality. This means that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. She connects this idea to ancestors, animals, and the environment. She has also been an editor for the Journal of Indigenous Studies, published by the Gabriel Dumont Institute.

Serving on Important Committees

Karla has served on many important committees. These include advisory groups for the Minister of Natural Resources and the Canadian Council on Learning. She also worked with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the Canadian National Steering Committee for International Polar Year. In 2017, she was appointed to the Greenland Commission for Reconciliation. This group works to heal past harms.

Her Family Life

Karla Jessen Williamson is married to Robert Gordon Williamson. He was an anthropologist and a professor at the University of Saskatchewan. He passed away in 2012. They have two children together. Karla lives near Saskatoon, Canada. She continues to work as an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan. She is the first Inuk person to be a tenured professor at a Canadian University. This means she has a permanent teaching position.

Selected Writings

Karla Jessen Williamson has written many important articles and book chapters. Here are a few examples:

• 1987, "Consequence of Schooling: Cultural Discontinuity amongst the Inuit." This article was in the Canadian Journal of Native Education. It looked at how schooling affected Inuit culture.
• 2000, "Celestial and Social Families of the Inuit." This was a chapter in a book called Expressions in Canadian Native Studies.
• 1995, "Canadian Inuit Teacher Training and Inuit Identity." This was in a book from Greenland.
• 2004, "Gender Issues." This chapter was in the Arctic Human Development Report.
• 2010, "Inuit Ways of Knowing: Cosmocentrism and the Role of Teasing in Child Development." This was co-written with Laurence J. Kirmayer. It explored how Inuit children learn.
• 2011, "Inherit my Heaven: Kalaallit Gender Relations." This book was published in Nuuk, Greenland.