SUMMARY
This article traces the historical development of post-secondary educationin the Western and Eastern Arctic from the end of the Second World War to thelate 1980s and explores the role that southern Canadian universities have playedin carrying out the socio-economic goals of nation building in the North. Writingfrom an interdisciplinary perspective, I argue that the history of higher educationin the North should be situated within the context of settler colonialism, Canadiannationalism, resource extraction, and the struggle for Indigenous self-determination.The debate around a “bricks and mortar” northern university is ongoing, and thisarticle brings attention to the questions and concerns of the past in order to informpresent and future dialogue around post-secondary education in the North.