Inuktitut Language
Avataq’s Inuktitut Language Department is forging ahead with paving the way for a secure future for the Inuktitut language, culture, and identity in Nunavik.
§ 01 · In the beginning
Inuktitut Language Reclamation and Revitalization
Motivated by alarms expressed by our Elders at Inuit Elders’ Conferences in the 1980s and 90s about the decline of Inuktitut, Avataq convened many Inuktitut Terminology Workshops during those years, to compile, and record, Inuktitut terminology for purposes of preserving what was obviously being lost of Inuktitut’s original health and integrity.
Through these series of conferences, Avataq succeeded in eventually collecting a sizable archive of Inuktitut terminology, whose value became apparent with the passage of time. The most obvious beneficiary of this collection of works is the formal education system in Nunavik, administered by the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq (formerly the Kativik School Board).
§ 02 · Language Survey
The five needs articulated in the ILLIRIJAVUT Report:
One other major accomplishment achieved by Avataq was the Illirijavut-Survey of the Inuit of Nunavik, which took place in 2006–2012. This survey collected information from the Inuit of Nunavik about the type of language programming they believed was required to construct a secure future for Inuktitut.
This report contained five main needs, identified by the Inuit of Nunavik, through which our ancestral language can survive and thrive in the modern age.
01
Establish an Inuktitut Language Authority in Nunavik.
02
Erect Inuit Heritage Centers in all Inuit communities.
03
Establish Inuit Cultural Learning Centers (Pigiaqivut).
04
Broaden, expand and develop Inuktitut language instruction capacities.
05
Establish permanent Inuit Youth Theatres.
The contents of the ILLIRIJAVUT Report have served as the foundation of Avataq’s consequent work to design and develop organized programs and enabling infrastructure to facilitate the work necessary to construct the required environment through which the saving of Inuktitut in Nunavik will happen.
§ 03 · Milestones
June 21, 2019
On June 21, 2019, the Canadian Parliament passed the Indigenous Languages Act. This became the source of sustained funding for activities to reclaim Indigenous languages.
2023–24
Since 2023–24, Avataq has gained access to secure funding sources, which will finally facilitate systematic infrastructure and capacity building. To this end, Avataq’s Inuktitut Language Department formulated a five-year plan to implement two monumental tasks, upon which the restoration of Inuktitut in Nunavik will be based.
§ 04 · The Five-Year Plan
Two monumental tasks.
01 · UPB
The first task is the establishment of an Inuktitut Language agency, which has been named the Uqausiptik Pijunarnasivik Bureau (UPB).
02 · LCC
The second task is the development of Local Cultural Committees (LCCs). These have existed under Avataq’s sponsorship since 2007. These committees, which will eventually become full-fledged institutions, will require trained staff and administrators, offices and equipment, and operational funding for programs.
The Local Cultural Committees will become the home bases of all work related to Inuktitut language instruction, and maintenance of everything to do with preservation of all aspects of Inuit culture and identity.
Uqausivut Illirijavut
In the fall of 2023 we hosted the Uqausivut Illirijavut Inuktitut Language Conference in Montreal. We passed a comprehensive declaration to preserve our language called “A Declaration to a Secure Future for Inuktitut in Nunavik” in which we stated,
“We affirm our solemn commitment to maintain our language’s health and vitality to guarantee its existence as a legacy to our descendants for all time.”
Avataq also assists individual projects by providing funding for specific activities conducted by others for purposes of enhancing the use and circulation of the Inuktitut language. It has issued financial grants to Aaqsiiq Youth Theatre, which researches, and develops Inuit legends and true stories into theatre plays.
“
Avataq is pioneering a way forward, and is not intimidated by the sheer size of the challenges it has to tackle to achieve these goals, based on ILLIRIJAVUT!