Give back to Inuit what belongs to Inuit
Puvirnituq-born Lisa Koperqualuk, who is currently vice-president of international affairs for the Inuit Circumpolar Council–Canada (ICC Canada) and a life-long advocate for Inuit culture, rights and self-determination, listens to a question from the audience after delivering the first keynote address on Thursday, Oct. 3, at this year’s Inuit Studies Conference in Montreal. Education is key, she told the packed auditorium, which included many Inuit from around Inuit Nunangat. But education must respect Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, must be taught in Inuktut, must reflect Inuit values and culture, must incorporate traditional skills and must, as its goal, empower Inuit self-determination. “Give back to Inuit what belongs to Inuit,” she said, to rousing applause. The conference wrapped up on Sunday at the Université de Québec à Montréal. See stories later on nunatsiaq.com. (Photo by Lisa Gregoire)
I agree with the ideal you are talking about, but you are so
far away from reality.
Are Inuit going to fund all this themselves ?
We can’t get kids to school never mind graduating !!
Rousing applause may be wonderful for your ego, but it will
take a lot more than this.
I have a theory that kids do not attend school because the material doesn’t reflect our part of the world at all. These aren’t necessarily skills that we should foster.. in my opinion.
When people say things like “education must respect Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit” I often wonder what this means specifically. I am familiar with the 8 IQ values, but would like to know how people see these being applied in the context of education. Can anyone clarify?
IQ is a rhetorical device that invokes a kind of romantic cultural imagery that connects modern Inuit to their collective mythos, and grounds them in an imagined past. Who can say if it is real or not, but in such matters truth is often less important that the power of narrative.
Who are they talking to with stuff like this? If Inuit want those things, it has to come from them, nobody has to “give it back”. Stop seeing your locus of control as being outside of yourselves. If you want to preserve Inuktitut and have kids go to school in that language, NOBODY else can do it for you, and it’s nobody else’s fault if Inuit can’t make it happen.
20 years since Nunavut came into being, no leaders from GN have cpme out they just create small groups like a club for certain people only, WHY is no one saying anything? Education is good education opens doors they only opened a few doors was it for their family only? for what reason?