Revisiting Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Inuit knowledge, culture, language, and values in Nunavut institutions since 1999

Abstract

The Government of Nunavut and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement organizations have been making a lot of effort to integrate Inuit qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) into their operations, institutional structures, and policies since the creation of the territory in 1999. This paper describes some of the ways in which IQ has been integrated into the operations, structures, and policies of Nunavut since 1999. It also proposes a broader discussion about the impacts of Western bureaucratic institutions on IQ, and highlights that IQ also impacts Nunavut operations and institutions. In this paper, I argue that IQ is not so much a practice of resistance to the colonial order, as some have suggested, but rather a way for Inuit to assume control of these structures to adapt them to their own use. Although IQ has still relatively limited influence, it has the potential, in the long run, to reshape Nunavut institutions and make them more representative of Inuit culture.Cet article décrit comment le gouvernement du Nunavut et les organisations nées de l’Accord sur les revendications territoriales du Nunavut tentent d’intégrer l’ Inuit qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) dans leurs opérations, leurs structures et leurs politiques depuis la création du territoire en 1999. Il propose aussi une discussion plus large sur les impacts des institutions bureaucratiques occidentales sur l’IQ et souligne le fait que l’IQ influence également les opérations et les institutions du Nunavut. Dans cet article, je propose de repenser l’IQ non pas comme une résistance aux institutions coloniales, comme il a été suggéré, mais plutôt comme un moyen pour les Inuit de s’approprier ces structures en les adapter à leurs usages. Même si l’IQ joue encore un rôle relativement limité, il a le potentiel, à long terme, de transformer les institutions du Nunavut pour qu’elles soient plus représentatives de la culture des Inuit

Analysis of Impact Assessment Practice and Mitigation for Shipping Activity in the Eastern Canadian Arctic

“…IQ encompasses a body of knowledge, worldviews, cosmology, experiences, and values rooted in the daily life of the Inuit across Inuit Nunangat (homeland) and guides "how to live a good life" (Karetak and Tester, 2017:3), beyond a narrow conception of traditional knowledge (TK) (Tester and Irniq, 2009;Barry et al, 2016;Egede Dahl and Hansen, 2019). This distinction is important in Nunavut (Wenzel, 2004;Lévesque, 2015); before the creation of the territory, there was a desire to develop an Inuktitut term to acknowledge that Inuit TK encompassed far more than what Western science understands about TK (Usher, 2000;Stevenson, 2006;White, 2006) and to integrate the breadth of Inuit culture into bridging the two Nunavuts. In IAs, the NIRB uses the guiding principles of IQ developed by the Government of Nunavut (GN, n.d.).…”

Using OCAP and IQ as Frameworks to Address a History of Trauma in Indigenous Health Research

“…14 IQ is widely implemented to promote respect for Inuit people's autonomy, and it ensures that researchers approach research in a culturally safe and respectful manner. 15 Every research project conducted with Inuit people is expected to engage elders, knowledge keepers, and community representatives before it is initiated. Indigenous people to promote self-determination; to incorporate Indigenous voices into knowledge acquisition, translation, and dissemination; and to benefit Indigenous communities.…”

Using Inuit traditional ecological knowledge for detecting and monitoring avian cholera among Common Eiders in the eastern Canadian Arctic

“…Inuit TEK has further been recognized as one aspect of Inuit traditional knowledge or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (literally, "that which has long been known by the Inuit" [White 2006:241]), which encompasses all aspects of traditional Inuit culture, including values, language, social organization, knowledge, life skills, perceptions, and expectations (Wenzel 2004, Lévesque 2014Wenzel, unpublished manuscript). Arnakak (2000) described IQ as a holistic and evolving body of knowledge and cultural insights held by Inuit about society and human nature and experience, including human-environment relationships: "In fact, IQ is a living technology.…”