Abstract
Drawing upon my study of Nunavut educators’ constructions of the role of Inuit (Indigenous) languages and cultures within Nunavut schooling, I propose that there exists a distinct Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) Conversation. A discourse analysis of a sample of Inuit and non-Inuit teachers and curriculum authors’ dialogue about the role of Inuit language and culture in Nunavut education establishes the components of the IQ Conversation. Embedded within the Conversation are theorizations that contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of cultural and social difference for minoritized populations of Indigenous communities.
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Notes
- 1.
Teresa McCarty, in writing about her work with the American Navajo Indian community, uses this term in order to more accurately convey the power relations or marginalization experienced by Aboriginal groups in society even though they may be living in a numerical “majority” situation; as is the case in Nunavut for the Inuit.
- 2.
Terms that were used repeatedly across the group and noted in webs of situated meanings during the analytic process are indicated in the text through the use of quotation marks. These phrases and related terms were often used by more than one participant and so are not individually referenced.
- 3.
Inuktitut is one of the Inuit languages used in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun are classified by linguists as dialects of Inuktitut but many speakers claim they are Inuit languages. In addition, there are many regional dialectical differences within the language of Inuktitut.
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Aylward, M.L. (2012). The Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Conversation: The Language and Culture of Schooling in the Nunavut Territory of Canada. In: Bekerman, Z., Geisen, T. (eds) International Handbook of Migration, Minorities and Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1466-3_15
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