The CBC reported last week that a four-year old proposal to include Nunavut’s Back River in the Canadian Heritage Rivers System is raising some local opposition. A news story in June 2009 indicated that a member of the territorial legislative assembly proposed the heritage river designation primarily because of the… Continue reading…
“One voice from an Inuit hunter can be more significant than [that of] 100 scientists,” says Martin Nweeia, a Harvard University scholar who specializes in the study of narwhal tusks. An Inuit hunter, he reported, was the first person to document the way a narwhal, a small whale that lives… Continue reading…
The Inuit Circumpolar Council and the Saami Council, major organizations for both societies, have developed an effective working relationship, a testimony to long traditions of cooperation. A journal article by Shayna Plaut published in 2012 explores the relations between the two groups. The theme of the article is the importance… Continue reading…
Prominent Inuit sculptor Abraham Anghik Ruben believes that one of the core concepts of his society is that humanity must exhibit reverence for life. That spirit, he says, is often referred to as one of the “ancient Inuit commandments [which] is passed on through the Raven creation myth.” Some of… Continue reading…
July is a month for patriotism—at least, it is a time for celebration and introspection—among Canadians, Americans, the French, and the Inuit. Last week, July 9th, the Inuit marked Nunavut Day, the anniversary of their territory’s peaceful transition to autonomy 19 years ago. It follows the Canadian celebration of its… Continue reading…
The goal of raising Inuit children who are able to speak their native Inuktitut has just been undercut by the government of Nunavut, which has deleted funding for a preschool language immersion program in Iqaluit, the territorial capital. Despite comments by government representatives, it is not completely clear from a… Continue reading…
The goal of raising Inuit children who are able to speak their native Inuktitut has just been undercut by the government of Nunavut, which has deleted funding for a preschool language immersion program in Iqaluit, the territorial capital. Despite comments by government representatives, it is not completely clear from a… Continue reading…
Recent hearings conducted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada prompted shocking testimony about the horrors of the Canadian residential Indian school system. Numerous individuals stepped forward to report on the rampant sexual abuses by the officials, priests, and clergy who ran the residential schools to which the Inuit… Continue reading…
Recent hearings conducted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada prompted shocking testimony about the horrors of the Canadian residential Indian school system. Numerous individuals stepped forward to report on the rampant sexual abuses by the officials, priests, and clergy who ran the residential schools to which the Inuit… Continue reading…
Teachers in the Inuit schools in Nunavut traveled to the capital, Iqaluit, last week for a five day conference about the issues relating to educating the young people of the territory. About 600 teachers were expected to crowd into the town, taking up all the available 247 hotel rooms and… Continue reading…
