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
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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