Some of the shrinking number of Inuinnaqtun speakers in the Kitikmeot are being recruited to act as mentors to apprentices who want to learn the Inuit language.
The Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society is fundraising to support the Mentor-Apprentice program, which generally requires 900 hours of learning for the pupil to become fluent in the language.
The society has set a goal of $17,000 in donations by the end of December to allow two mentor-apprentice pairings to begin the first 150 hours of instruction.
The approach the heritage society is using is adapted from a successful model used in California and British Columbia, said Pamela Gross, the societySA国际影视传媒檚 executive director.
Although it has been estimated that Inuinnaqtun SA国际影视传媒� spoken by fewer than 600 people SA国际影视传媒� could disappear within two generations if more isnSA国际影视传媒檛 done to preserve the language, Gross said a sense of optimism remains.
SA国际影视传媒淚t will be building capacity within our community so we have more people who are learning the language and able to teach as well,SA国际影视传媒� said Gross. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 all one-on-one speaking, no English or anything else. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 just Inuinnaqtun 100 per cent. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not in the classroom per se, itSA国际影视传媒檚 doing activities together and speaking and acting gestures outSA国际影视传媒� and then practising it.SA国际影视传媒�
The instructor who led a recent three-day SA国际影视传媒渢raining the trainersSA国际影视传媒� workshop in Cambridge Bay came from Vancouver Island. There were only five fluent speakers left who knew her ancestorsSA国际影视传媒� Indigenous language. However, she gained command of it and now is teaching it to others, said Gross.
SA国际影视传媒淣ow theySA国际影视传媒檙e resurging their language and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 so powerful and amazing that language can do that when people have the drive,SA国际影视传媒� she said, adding that a delegation from the Kitikmeot travelled to Port Alberni, B.C. in September to witness the mentor-apprentice method in action.
The expectation is to begin the initial two mentor-apprentice pairings in Cambridge Bay in January.
A panel will select the first learners from a list of residents who want to take part.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 going to be hard because we already have people that are interested,SA国际影视传媒� said Gross.
Each pairing will report to senior Inuinnaqtun speakers monthly to show their progress.
Gross noted that thereSA国际影视传媒檚 plans to expand the mentor-apprentice program into Kugluktuk, Gjoa Haven and the NWT community of Ulukhaktok in the future. Those are the other communities where Inuinnaqtun is still spoken. The language was disrupted by the residential school experience, which removed Inuit children from their homes and deprived them of exposure to Inuinnaqtun.
Public donations for the mentor-apprentice program will supplement a variety of other sources of funding, according to Gross.
The Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society also sponsored a video documentary project that Reel Youth delivered in late November. Fourteen youth filmed interviews with land users and elders SA国际影视传媒� some of them speaking Inuinnaqtun SA国际影视传媒� discussing climate change. Five short documentaries will be created and those will be screened in Cambridge Bay next spring.
