Nunavut language, culture celebration to stress kinship terms

This map shows the distribution of the main Inuit language dialects between Greenland and Alaska. (WIKIMEDIA COMMONS IMAGE)

The 2015 version of the 11-day Uqausirmut Quviasuutiqarniq, will emphasize the connections between language, family and culture, the Nunavut government’s heritage and culture department said Feb. 16 in a news release.

To that end, organizers have chosen a theme based on the use of kinship terms: Tuqłurausiit/Ilaruhiriigut.

“The purpose of Uqausirmut Quviasuutiqarniq is to celebrate and strengthen the use of Inuktut in all areas of our lives,” Nunavut’s languages minister, George Kuksuk, said in the release.

(In government circles, Inuktut is now the preferred term for the Inuit language.)

The event, which used to be called Inuit Language Week, will run from Feb. 16 to Feb. 27.

In one of the event’s highlights, Kuksuk and Sandra Inutiq, the languages commissioner, will co-host a three-day conference in Iqaluit from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.

The conference, held in collaboration with Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit language authority, will focus on the connections between culture, identity and language.

The Department of Culture, Heritage and Resources has distributed boxes of Inuktut resources to every school, daycare and library in Nunavut.

Those boxes contain books, flashcards, posters and an information sheet about the 2015 theme.

Also, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association is holding a Facebook video contest for beneficiaries living in the Qikiqtani region.

“You need to express in your video why you feel the Inuit language is important and how we can all make sure it continues to be vibrant in Nunavut and elsewhere in Canada,” the QIA said in an information sheet.

Information on how to enter the QIA contest is available here, in a downloadable PDF.