Qaujimajatuqangit and social problems in modern Inuit society. An elders workshop on angakkuuniq

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This paper discusses the main results of a workshop on "Integrating<jats:italic>Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit</jats:italic>into methods of social control" that was held in Rankin Inlet in July 2000. The workshop was set up from an anthropological perspective to record the views of Inuit elders on social control and<jats:italic>angakkuuniq</jats:italic>(shamanism). In many respects the results of the workshop confirm current trends and efforts to strengthen the involvement of Inuit communities in the judicial processes, especially with respect to minor offences. Today Inuit traditional knowledge and values are rapidly eroding. Many knowledgeable elders who grew up in the nomadic period and in contact with shamans are now passing away and with them disappears the knowledge of the great traditions of<jats:italic>angakkuuniq</jats:italic>and related beliefs and practices. Hence there is an urgent need to record knowledge from Inuit elders with due attention to its richness and local variation.</jats:p>

Well-being and environmental change in the arctic: a synthesis of selected research from Canada’s International Polar Year program

“…Some scholars suggest the extent of environmental disruption may be of limited consequence and concerns paternalistic when compared to the extent of social change experienced since Euro-Canadian settlement (Haalboom and Natcher 2012;Duerden 2004). Others point to federal and territorial statistics on ill health among young and vulnerable northern populations, socio-economic inequities, struggling local economies and land and resource use conflicts as evidence that the ideal of "northern sustainability" has yet to be achieved (Andersen and Poppel 2002;Young and Mollins 1996;Furgal and Seguin 2006;Suluk and Blakney 2009;Abele 2009;Lyons 2010;Oosten and Laugrand 2002;Christensen 2011).…”

Faire face à l’usage de substances psychoactives au Nunavik : amalgame de traditions et pratiques modernes

“…Devant l'absence d'études empiriques sur le sujet, Korhonen (2004a) À l'instar de plusieurs observateurs, nous avons constaté que plusieurs Inuits veulent conserver le meilleur de leurs traditions, sans pour autant renoncer aux ajustements qu'incitent l'évolution et les changements de mentalités (Korhonen, 2004a;Oosten et Laugrand, 2002;Trevethan et coll., 2004b). Dans cette perspective, Oosten et Laugrand (2002) ont mené une étude anthropologique visant à documenter l'intégration des savoirs traditionnels inuits (Qaujimajatuqangit) dans le contrôle social.…”

“…Dans cette perspective, Oosten et Laugrand (2002) ont mené une étude anthropologique visant à documenter l'intégration des savoirs traditionnels inuits (Qaujimajatuqangit) dans le contrôle social. Le rationnel sous-tendant cette étude est que la résolution des problèmes sociaux contemporains passe nécessairement par la compréhension des traditions inuites.…”

The Inuit presence at the first Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission national event

“…They construct and affirm their current Inuit identity using both religious worldviews. Although Christianity was introduced among the Inuit at the cost of total eradication of shamanism, it has nevertheless been incorporated into other Inuit traditions, language, and culture (Laugrand 2002;Laugrand and Oosten 2010).…”

“…The notion of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit ('Inuit traditional knowledge') has been used by the Nunavut government as a way to institutionalise this distinctiveness. Since the late 1990s, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit has been a key concept and tool for the Inuit in managing their political and social arenas and restoring their collective pride and individual self-esteem (Oosten and Laugrand 2002;Wenzel 2004). Thus, use of Inuit culture and ways is not solely limited to healing processes in the residential school context; it is a general tool commonly used by the Inuit in their political and social strategies to cope with the legacy of trauma, the colonisation of the Arctic, and the multiple stressors of contemporary life (Kral and Idlout 2009).…”