CamBay elders receive “master teacher” certification

Seven Cambridge Bay elders who received their certification as Innait Inuksiutilirijit stand with members of the local District Education Authority and others who attended an April 29 ceremony in Cambridge Bay. From left to right Cathie Rowan, principal of Kullik elementary school, Dawn Gillard, DEA, Annie Atighioyak, elder, Vicki Aitaok, DEA, Mary Kaniak, elder, Mabel Etegik, elder, Keith Peterson, Cambridge Bay MLA, Margaret Okhina, elder, Amy Kamoayok, elder, Jonathan Bird, KSO, Susie Maniyogina, elder, Lorne Penney, principal of Kiilinik high school, Susie Koaha, elder, Bessie Joy, DEA Chair, Connie Kapolak, principal of Kiilinik high school. (PHOTO BY RED SUN PRODUCTIONS)

Seven Cambridge Bay elders are now among the 129 certified elders across Nunavut who share their knowledge with the territory’s students.

“Our esteemed elders to be certified are to be known as Innaq Inuusiutiliriji, master teachers, and will now be considered part of the school education staff,” said Bessie Joy, the chairperson of Cambridge Bay’s district education authority, at an April 29 ceremony at Cambridge Bay’s Kullik elementary school.

Mabel Etegik, Annie Atighioyak, Mary Kaniak, Margaret Okhina, Amy Kamoayok, Susie Maniyogina and Susie Koaha will now participate in the instruction of school programs in cooperation with the school team and the classroom teachers, Joy told the gathering.

These new master teachers will not replace teachers or instruct or supervise students without assistance, she said.

Instead they’ll serve as casual employees who will assist on short-term projects or programs in such areas as language or biology, where they’ll share their traditional knowledge on plants and the environment.

“We are very pleased to be working more closely with the elders in our community,” Joy said.

“We are very fortunate to be working with these elders and looking forward to doing that for many years to come,” added DEA member Vicki Aitaok.

Under section 102 of the Government of Nunavut’s education act, DEAs can hire elders to assist in teaching about Inuit culture, tradition and knowledge.

Speaking on April 29, Jonathan Bird, the executive director of the GN’s Kitikmeot School Operations, also thanked the elders of Cambridge Bay for their time and commitment to Kullik and at Kiilinik high school.

“Your dedication to preserving the traditional knowledge skills and values of Cambridge Bay is appreciated by us all,” Bird said.

The KSO had wanted to acknowledge elders’ involvement in education for years — now, thanks to the DEA’s motion, the Department of Education can formally recognize these elders as members of the schools’ staff, he said.

The names of the new Innait Inuusiutilirijiit are recorded on a territorial registry at the Department of Education in Iqaluit.