The Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA) is offering grants through its Kivalliq Community Cultural Initiatives Program (KCCIP) to help community groups in Arviat, Nunavut, run carving workshops and other cultural programs. The funding is intended to support elder-led training and other community initiatives that transfer traditional skills to younger residents and help maintain the Inuit language.
The program’s guidelines allow funding for instructor fees (including elders), materials and public-event costs. Groups applying for these grants must include at least two letters of support from non-family community members with their application, per KIA application requirements.
This support has taken on greater importance because KIA’s Traditional Economy Fund (which provides up to $1,500 per applicant for tools, equipment and materials) has reached its funding limit for Arviat for the 2025–26 fiscal year. With the Traditional Economy Fund exhausted for Arviat, community grants under the KCCIP are the primary remaining KIA funding route for community-led programs that help local carvers access training and materials.
Arviat is known for a hard‑stone carving tradition that often uses granite and other tough materials; unlike some Nunavut communities, Arviat does not have a local soapstone quarry. That means carvers frequently depend on shipped stone or donations from mining companies to get carving supplies—Agnico Eagle, for example, has provided soapstone to Arviat carvers in documented donations.
At the same time, industrial opportunities are expanding in Arviat: a modular housing factory developed by Sakku Investments (Sakku Innovative Building Solutions) is slated to begin operations in 2025 and is expected to create roughly 40 full‑time jobs. Local leaders and cultural organizers say they are using KIA grants as a counter‑weight to these changes—supporting workshops and training so traditional arts and carving remain viable livelihoods as the local economy shifts.
