An artist, filmmaker, and storyteller originally from Greenland, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory begins her recounting of Inuit oral history at the Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre in Iqaluit as part of Parks Nunavut SA国际影视传媒淟earn ToSA国际影视传媒� summer series on June 20. 

She emphasizes that all retelling of Inuit legends begins with SA国际影视传媒淚laangooq,SA国际影视传媒� which translates to SA国际影视传媒渋t is said to be part of our reality.SA国际影视传媒� 

Although the exact details differ from region to region and dialect to dialect, stories like Sedna and Taloyoak, the legend of the fog, giants and the little folk, as well as the origin of the sun and the moon are ubiquitous. They represent, as Bathory explains, SA国际影视传媒渢he relationships that [Inuit] have with the animals are still there.

SA国际影视传媒淪illy stories, lovely stories, perfect stories,SA国际影视传媒� Bathory summarizes. SA国际影视传媒淥ur stories are full of love, mirth and information.SA国际影视传媒�

She tells the audience that Greenlandic/Inuit and Viking tales are full of accounts of encounters with each other, despite both cultures being based on the retelling of oral history rather than a written language. SA国际影视传媒淭hatSA国际影视传媒檚 how accurate they are... our stories are extremely powerful.

SA国际影视传媒淚 do not identify as traditional,SA国际影视传媒� Bathory continues. Here, she points to the statue of Sedna on display behind glass in the visitor centre.

SA国际影视传媒淚t puts us in a box like that, behind glass, unchanging, unmoving... people all across the world can relate to colonization, whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 being on one side or the other... told to not tell our stories, not speak our language. We have lost our families. We had so many things broken... that is what has happened, and so there is this idea that tradition is something we should strive towards.SA国际影视传媒�

Instead of tradition, Bathory says we should embrace the idea of being trans-customarian. Trans-customary is an art term used to describe a space between what is labelled SA国际影视传媒渃ustomarySA国际影视传媒� (or traditional) and SA国际影视传媒渘on-customarySA国际影视传媒� (or non-traditional). This is the place at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems and practices SA国际影视传媒� known in Nunavut as Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit SA国际影视传媒� with advances in technology. By already employing this term in everyday practices, Nunavummiut are already living in a SA国际影视传媒渢rans-customarySA国际影视传媒� society.

SA国际影视传媒淲e are trans-customarian. We are Inuit. We will always be here. Our stories are always inside of us,SA国际影视传媒� says Bathory.