Publishing Date
2014
Document Language(s)
English

Collective essay on linguistic issues in Nunanga, the Arctic territory of the Inuit

Until quite recently Inuitness was mainly rooted in the complex connection to the land. Most Inuit over 50 in Canada were probably born in hunting or fishing camps. In the olden days, Inuit youth grew up solidly attached to a complex kinship network until missionaries and the controversial residential schools episode interrupted ancient ways of conceiving the world. With the implementation of various forms of self-government from Alaska to Greenland, Inuit now face the enormous challenge of building their capacity to manage public infrastructure of governance. In that socially moving context, will the Inuit language remain just a local commodity, mostly spoken by parents and grandparents still connected to their nomadic past? Or will it become the working language of future Arctic generations?

Book edited by Jeela Palluq Cloutier and Louis McComber, with articles by Christine Nochasak (Nunatsiavut), Edna MacLean (Alaska), Harry Tulugak (Nunavik), Jose Kusugak (Rankin Inlet), Mary Simon (Nunavik), Kevin Kablutsiaq (Ottawa), Louise Flaherty (Iqaluit), Jaypetee Arnakak (Iqaluit), Sandra Inutiq (Iqaluit), Mary Nirlungayuk (Winnipeg), Janice Grey (Montréal) and Jaypetee Nungak (Nunavik).


Jeela Palluq Cloutier and Louis McComber [ed.], Uqausivut sivummuagutivut. Our Language, Our Leadership, Iqaluit, Nunavut Research Institute, 2014, 194p.

ISBN 9781897568200