Forager Number 2 Fall 2015 | Page 22

IND U S T RY P ROF ILE Cambridge Bay elder Anna Nahagaloak measures a cover made from harvested seal skins against the length of a kayak frame during a summer camp designed to introduce Copper Inuit styles of boat making The Kitikmeot Heritage Society AUTHOR BRENDAN GRIEBEL PHOTOS BRENDAN GRIEBEL T he Canadian Arctic is a region increasingly defined by change, whether in terms of climate, politics, or patterns of natural life. In the midst of this transition, the concept of Traditional Knowledge has emerged as a touchstone of stability for Inuit populations; a firm anchor that binds their lives to a foundation of history, ancestors, and land. After extensive land claim negotiations, the territory of Nunavut (meaning ‘Our Land’ in the Inuktitut language) was created in 1999 as both a new home and traditional homeland for a population of roughly 27,000 Inuit scattered throughout the Canadian Arctic in 28 isolated communities. The question of how 16 to represent Inuit Traditional Knowledge in the modern world has since been foremost on the territory’s agenda. It was decided that the term ‘Traditional Knowledge’ conveyed too narrow an impression regarding the dynamic nature of knowledge and being in Inuit culture, and the term ‘Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit’ (IQ)—translated literally as “that which has long been known to the Inuit”—was chosen as a replacement. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit IQ, as a concept, seeks to link historic knowledge to both present Inuit society and to its future aspirations for cultural independence and fortitude in a globalized society. The only way Inuit can deal with the challenges of modern life, insists cultural advocate Mary Wilman in a 2002 speech, “is to understand the unique heritage that has made us the Inuit of today. This defines the importance of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. It is the priceless asset and tool that we can use to adapt to the world around us On Our Own Terms.” While IQ remains an ideal in Nunavut, modern barriers to cultural learning continue to hamper the act of bringing Traditional Knowledge and skills into contemporary Inuit lives. In many parts of Nunavut, young people literally