We thank our donors who support our mission to promote a diverse and deep understanding of the North by facilitating collaborative research, knowledge mobilization and education through our awards program.

If you would like to support our awards program, please contact our office.

The Blake Family

Dr. Weston Blake Jr. Memorial Doctoral Scholarship

Dr. Weston Blake Jr. was a quaternary geologist who spent over 50 Arctic seasons in Canada, Greenland, and Svalbard, beginning in 1952. Throughout his career, spent almost entirely at the Geological Survey of Canada, he encouraged students to join in field expeditions, and often worked with interdisciplinary teams.

We are deeply moved that Dr. Blake’s family has directed donations to the Canadian Northern Studies Trust endowment which ACUNS administers to fund scholarships for early-career Canadian researchers.

The McGeer Family

Kay and Peter McGeer Scholarship for Northern Research

Peter McGeer held a PhD in physical chemistry. He and his wife Kay were world travellers, with a strong bias to the polar regions. On small ship expeditions they visited Antarctica and made several trips to the Arctic, ranging from Siberia across the Canadian Arctic to Greenland. The family is committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) 94 Calls to Action, in particular the 10 Calls to Action to natural scientists to enable reconciliation in their work in Canada.

ACUNS is grateful to the McGeer family for making this scholarship possible.

Beverly Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board

Gunther Abrahamson Caribou Research and Management Award

The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) is made up of hunters, biologists and wildlife managers from Northern Canada who help manage two caribou herds that migrate across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The conservation efforts of the BQCMB are vital for the welfare of Dene, Inuit, Métis, Cree and other caribou-range residents who have always hunted caribou, and for others who cherish the vast caribou herds. As of 2022, this award is offered biannually.

Arctic Co-operatives Limited

Arctic Co-operatives Limited is a service federation that is owned and controlled by 32 community-based Co-operative businesses that are located in Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. Arctic Co-operatives Limited enables these Co-ops to provide a wide range of services to their local Member-Owners that improve social and economic well-being in their communities. The federation was incorporated in 1972 to coordinate the resources, consolidate the purchasing power and provide operational and technical support to independent community based Co-ops in the Arctic.