Parisians get a taste of Inuit language, culture

A volunteer-run centre in the heart of downtown Paris is promoting Inuit language and culture in France.

The Inuksuk Association – a group of former students from the Inuit culture and language section of France’s institute of oriental languages and civilizations, l’Institut national des langues et civilizations orientales, – runs the Espace Culturel Inuit as a centre for Inuit culture and language.

A dedicated team of volunteers organizes a wide variety of talks, workshops and exhibitions on the first floor in a 300-year-old stone building. There’s also a library with books on the Arctic and an Inuit art boutique.

In 1995, the group formed the Inuksuk Association, whose mandate is to promote Inuit culture and language in France, Belgium and Europe.

Inuksuk’s members have all been to the Arctic, some following programs at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit. In Paris they studied at the Institut national with the Inuktitut-speaking researcher and author, Michèle Therrien.

Therrien said she is incredibly proud of her students, who first came to her in 1995, with their idea for an Espace Culturel Inuit.

“I said it was very ambitious, and said how can this be done? But they did it without any financing. They started this without anything at all,” Therrien said in a telephone interview from Paris. “It’s required a considerable personal and collective effort.”

For these students, the Espace Culturel Inuit is a way of keeping their knowledge and experiences alive.

Its recent visitors include Greenland’s former cultural minister, Henriette Rasmussen, and Nunavut’s premier, Paul Okalik. A speech that Okalik gave last April was a “grand moment,” Espace Culturel Inuit’s director, Sylvie Teveny, said from Paris.

Activities this spring also included a play performed by students from Nunavut Arctic College and a display of photos from Kangiqsualujjuaq.

“Arnaqtaaqtuq – à la recherche d’une mère,” a book and CD of songs and stories for young children, with illustrations by Miki Jakobsen is among the publications from the Inuksuk Association’s publishing house, Editions Inuksuk.

A workshop on Inuktitut syllabics is an ongoing activity at the Espace Culturel Inuit.

All activities are open to the public, Wednesday to Saturday, in every month of the year except August.

“All my students and ex-students work there,” Therrien said. “It’s very courageous, but they are very encouraged by visitors and by all the Inuit who have come by.”

In June, one of Therrien’s former students gave a talk about the impact of climate change in the Arctic.

The Espace Culturel Inuit is planning special events in conjunction with October’s 15th International Inuit Studies conference in Paris.

The theme of the conference, scheduled for Oct. 26 to 28, is “Orality in the XXIst Century: Inuit Discourse and Practices.” Presentations will touch on passing down knowledge, verbal arts and cultural heritage, among other topics.

Therrien said she’s encouraged by 160 submissions received for presentations, many from Inuit around the circumpolar world.

The conference will be held at the new Musée du Quai Branly for indigenous art in Paris, which opened last month. The museum has 300,000 works of art, although there’s no special Inuit art collection on exhibit- yet.

But the passion France has for things Inuit has been well known, ever since French president Jacques Chirac came to Nunavut in 1999.

For more information on the L’Espace culturel inuit, located at 11, rue des Fêtes – 75019 Paris, and upcoming events around the Inuit studies conference in Paris go to espace.inuit@free.fr.