Nakuumik, the Innuktitut word for thank you. This is the first of many Innuktitut words I learned during our time in the North. While in Labrador, Fellows learned about Inuit culture, identity and heritage, and the important role that language plays in their preservation. We heard from older Inuit about the challenges of maintaining the language and ensuring its propagation, and from younger Inuit about how learning the language of their ancestors connected them to their community and heritage.

This struggle really speaks to me as it’s one that I live in my own life. Although I spoke it growing up, I’ve almost entirely lost the ability to speak my Indian dialect, Kuchi, the only language my grandmother spoke. And yet, in Nain, the Inuit have come up with an incredibly innovative way of protecting the language that is such a fundamental part of their culture and identity. They recognized the need to adopt new technologies and harness new media for their benefit, and developed a Rosetta Stone CD-ROM language program teaching tool for Innuktitut.

We met Rita Anderson, a Nain elder, who dedicated three years of her time and painstaking effort to creating and perfecting the CD-ROM language program, thanks to funding received from the Government of Nunatsiavut. Rita was instrumental in the development of this CD-ROM, which is now used in the communities and schools of Nain and other Inuit towns along the coast of Labrador, to teach and revitalize the language. The once-endangered Innuktitut language has found new life. Using an innovative technique, the Nunatsiavut government has taken tangible steps to preserve, protect, promote and propagate their traditional language. Now, granddaughters will be able to speak to their grandparents in the language of their ancestors.

– Ayesha Harji, ’15

photo:  Action Canada Fellows with students in Nain