Inuit studies conference returns to inaugural home

Qaumaniq – enlightening knowledge: the 19th Inuit Studies Conference takes place at Laval university in Quebec City from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.

The 19th edition of the biennial Inuit Studies Conference kicks off this week in the same place the conference began almost 40 years ago — at Laval university in Quebec City.

In 1976, researchers involved with Inuit and Arctic studies felt they needed a forum that would allow them to exchange their findings and experiences, which lead to the launch of the Laval university-based Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc.

But what was once a gathering of mostly non-Inuit researchers has grown to include a wide variety of Nunavut and Nunavik-based projects, presented by Inuit.

“Confined for a long time to the status of objects of science, Inuit have now become important actors and active participants in Arctic research,” reads the conference’s website.

“Moreover, Inuit knowledge is now giving form to scientific discourse.”

“Formerly considered as mere stories whose interest was purely ethnological, Inuit descriptions and explanations of their environment are now valorized because of their richness, their deep-reaching understanding, and their precision.”

The theme of this year’s gathering, which runs from Oct. 29 to Nov.1, is Qaumaniq: Enlightening Knowledge.

The majority of the conference’s presentations come from across Canada, although researchers from Greenland, the United States and Europe will also attend.

Among this year’s dozens of presentations, researchers will present a number of community-based projects, from a Kuujjuaq compost project that makes soil for its greenhouse to engaging and building research capabilities among Inuit youth in Nunavut.

The conference features a section on mining projects in the Canadian Arctic and their impacts on local Inuit communities, including research on the social impact of Nunavik’s Raglan mine, Nunavut’s Meadowbank mine and youth participation in consultations around Baffinland’s Mary River project.

Language continues to be an important topic: from the historic spread of Inuktitut syllabics throughout the eastern Arctic to more modern-day efforts to standardize the language in Nunavut.

This year’s conference will also feature keynote speeches from a number of Inuit leaders, including Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Terry Audla, former Nunavut MLA Louis Tapardjuk, former Avataq Cultural Institute president Robbie Watt and former Iqaluit mayor Madeleine Redfern.

Click here for a complete conference program.