 |  |  |
| | | | |  | After 6 weeks of total darkness, the first sunrise of 2022 (on January 12th) brought new life and light to our horizon. |
| Ten years of action for Indigenous languages
and what you can do as a speaker, a learner, or a supporter
As we rang in 2022, we welcomed a new era of hope for Indigenous languages. 2019 marked the International Year for Indigenous Languages, and at its end, the UN General Assembly decided that long-term action was needed “to draw attention to the critical loss of Indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize, and promote Indigenous languages” and “take urgent steps at the national and international levels.” 2022-2032 was declared the International Decade for Indigenous Languages. |  | Whether you're reading this newsletter as a speaker of your mother tongue, or as a learner of it, you might be wondering, what can I do to help Indigenous languages over the coming decade? What does taking action look like for me?
We must add new speakers to our languages, and we must empower speakers.
As we work to revitalize Inuinnaqtun, we need your help to do both of these things. As a speaker, a learner, or a supporter.
If you're a speaker or an interested learner...
If you're a speaker and want to become a Mentor, or you are trying to reclaim Inuinnaqtun, and want to start as an Apprentice, please reach out to Tammy Omilgoetok, our Inuinnaqtun Revitalization Coordinator, at tomilgoitok@kitikmeotheritage.ca. Experience is not needed! We will provide the support and training to set your team up for long-term success. Hourly honoraria are paid to both Mentors and Apprentices.
| |
"My language is so important to me, it is who I am. [When] I struggle to make the correct sentence, my mentor gives me confidence and courage to go forward learning." — Monica Angohiatok, current Apprentice in Cambridge Bay
|
|
If you're a supporter of languages...
If you're thinking about how you might take action for the International Decade for Indigenous Languages as someone who deeply supports language diversity, consider giving to support the creation and empowerment of Inuinnaqtun speakers.
Last March, we celebrated our 25th Anniversary and launched Akhuuqhimajara Inuinnaqtun / I'm all in for Inuinnaqtun—a campaign to raise $250,000 for Inuinnaqtun revitalization over the course of the year.
With three weeks left, we have raised $245,105!
We're so close, and we could use your help. |
Since the start of our 25th Anniversary year almost 365 days ago, our language revitalization work has been significant.
|
 |
While these numbers tell a quick story of one year's success, the work to revitalize a language is a long-term commitment that requires extensive human and financial resources.
Our staff and Elders are receiving coaching and support from mental health and wellness experts to embed paths to healing in all of our programs. A five-year commitment from Bell Let's Talk's Diversity Fund is making this happen.
While 7 Mentor-Apprentice teams are meeting for one-on-one immersion in Cambridge Bay, many of these individuals are foregoing work opportunities as they work to increase their Inuinnaqtun fluency. A gift of $50 supports one hour of immersion, cheering on their commitment, and recognizing both members of the team with an honoraria for teaching, and for learning.
We're also working with local Elders to document Inuinnaqtun vocabulary and terminology to do with the natural world and the changes they have witnessed over their lifetimes, so that their knowledge—knowledge that has been accumulated by thousands of generations before them—can be shared with current and next generations, and inform our understanding of and adaptations to climate change. Thanks to multiyear funding from Polar Knowledge and ArcticNet, this project is off to a good start! A gift of $250 continues to support sessions between Elders and linguists to record terms and pronunciations, and share memories and personal experiences.
With support from Makigiaqta and the Government of Nunavut last year, we developed an online learning portal, Ilihaqtavut Tunngavia / The foundation of our learning, to house language and culture resources that can be accessed by Inuinnait anywhere, regardless of whether they're in Cambridge Bay, the Kitikmeot, or elsewhere in the world. Now, we're populating the platform with courses and content. Bringing teachers, linguists, and digital specialists together to create these resources is no small feat. Monthly Giving allows us to plan ahead, and make commitments to carry out time-intensive projects like the development of a step-by-step digital guide to making a tool, or the creation of an online course.
Wrapping up some of the major work ahead, we're also leading a group of linguists to develop an Inuinnaqtun curriculum, rooted in our values and worldview, and provide much-needed resources to supplement language learning. A gift of $500 supports virtual meetings to bring experts together to work collaboratively, such as that of Inikhaliuqatigiit (Those who make the way forward), to work on curriculum development.
As you've read, all of this important work comes at a cost. Reaching the Akhuuqhimajara Inuinnaqtun / I'm all in for Inuinnaqtun campaign's $250,000 goal will help give a big push to these programs, so that we can focus on implementation and empowerment.
Will you join us to help raise the final $5,000? |
| | | | |  | Tammy Omilgoetok (left) and Bessie Omilgoetok (right) work together to scrape a skin during a workshop to revitalize making kiihimajuq kammak (crimped sealskin boots) in December 2019. |
A must-listen on Silent Speakers
and a little encouragement for anyone reclaiming their language
At the end of 2021, we recorded a special podcast episode. It's a must-listen. Three generations of women, each promoting and supporting the use of Inuinnaqtun in our community—Eva Ayalik, as a linguist and interpreter, Bessie Omilgoetok, as one of our Elders-in-Residence, and Tammy Omilgoetok, as our Inuinnaqtun Revitalization Coordinator.
While the rest of our podcast episodes are all-Inuinnaqtun, in this episode, Eva hosts her mother Bessie and her niece Tammy, translating between the two. Tammy talks about being a Silent Speaker—someone who understands much of Inuinnaqtun, but does not speak it. She was raised by her fluent grandparents, but entered the school system and began speaking English. Today, when she’s not working as our Inuinnaqtun Revitalization Coordinator, she’s working with her grandmother and mentor, Bessie Omilgoetok, to bring back her voice in Inuinnaqtun.
There are so many reasons why we are not speaking Inuinnaqtun. But, with your help, we're working to break down those barriers, support healing, and empower speakers and learners.
|
| | | | |
|  | Our social enterprise coffee company Kaapittiaq means 'good coffee' in Inuinnaqtun, but our commitment to brewing good in the world is more than creating the perfect cup. We're building Indigenous business networks, empowering local economies, and prioritizing sustainable practices. On top of that, 75% of annual profits support language and culture revitalization in the Arctic.
Shop online. | |  | In the December 2021 issue of Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine, Richard A. Grounds writes about how we can make the most of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages for Indigenous Communities.
As the Arctic and the oceans warm due to climate change, understanding how a rapidly changing environment may affect birds on migration between the Arctic and the high seas is vital to international conservation efforts. Scientists have been using telemetry to solve some mysteries of three related seabird species – the pomarine jaeger, parasitic jaeger and long-tailed jaeger – and discovered they took different paths across four oceans from a shared central Canadian high Arctic nesting location. To tell this story, the authors partnered with artist Laurel Mundy to create a comic version of the research that’s available in Inuinnaqtun, showing how these Arctic seabirds connect the world.
How can Northern economies grow through Inuit skills and community priorities? This paper by Twiladawn Stonefish explores job sectors in Inuit Nunangat where values, traditional knowledge, and strengths thrive.
On Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, the Kenhté:ke Seed Sanctuary is preserving not just plants, but culture and language too.
An Indigenous-led research team in Port Hardy is working to unlock artifical intelligence and build voice-to-text technology for Kwak’wala, which would open the door to applying this technology to other Indigenous languages.
| |  | Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated is calling on the federal government to demonstrate its commitment to Indigenous languages and mark the International Decade by making Inuktitut an official language in Canada.
Miali Coley-Sudlovenick's invitation for people to learn Inuktitut prompted responses from across North America, and now she's teaching students online to speak the language.
Microsoft Translator has added Inuinnaqtun and Romanized Inuktitut text translation to its growing list of languages! You can now translate between Inuinnaqtun or Romanized Inuktitut and any of over 100 supported languages and dialects in the Microsoft Translator apps, Office, and Translator for Bing. | |  | Looking for some indoor-friendly activities while it's cold outside? Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami has put together a page full of Inuit-specific online activities including apps, websites, games and more. | |
 | | |  | Was this e-newsletter shared with you? Would you like to join our mailing list?
Subscribe. | |  | We're a leader for culture and heritage in Nunavut, guided by an Inuinnait Board. We address projects of critical importance to the revival of Inuit culture, language and history. We focus on the critical needs of Inuinnait—a distinct regional group of Inuit living in the Central Canadian Arctic.
Our mission is to preserve and renew Inuinnait knowledge, language and culture for the benefit of all Inuit.
Our vision is to concentrate and connect the resources, expertise and technology critical to Inuinnait cultural and linguistic survival.
| |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
