New website features Inuktitut-language video

Nunavut-based tech start-up Pinnguaq has created an Inuit version of the popular video-sharing site YouTube, with a focus on Inuktitut-language content.

Imagine: you’re searching online for Inuktitut-language videos of the spring seal hunt in Nunavut.

There are plenty of them out there, but searching through YouTube’s collection of hundreds of millions videos can be a long process.

That’s why the Nunavut-based tech start-up Pinnguaq has created an Inuit version of the popular video-sharing site, with a focus on Inuktitut-language content.

Inuktitube launched earlier this month, though it’s been a project in the works for many years, says Pinnguaq’s founder, Ryan Oliver.

“It’s an idea we came up with when we first started the company,” he said. “We designed it on paper but just never had the time to put it together.”

Oliver said he was inspired by Kids Tube, and app that essentially filters YouTube content and gathers child-friendly uploads.

“So [Inuktitube] creates categories that are relevant to Inuktitut media consumers, and makes it available as a one-stop shop,” he said. “We’re just organizing it for them.”

“We” is Pinnguaq’s nine staffers, who spend a few hours each week uploading new links. Inuktitube has about 70 videos online right now, with plenty of room to grow.

Viewers can submit their own links to the website here.

Pinnguaq continues to grow since its inception in Pangnirtung in 2012.

The company’s te(a)ch project won $400,000 from the Arctic Inspiration Prize last year for its computer science-based curriculum for Nunavut’s schools, which focuses on design, engineering and mental health advocacy.

Pinnguaq also picked up an award as StartUp Canada’s top social enterprise during an Oct. 19 ceremony.