When Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.SA国际影视传媒檚 (NTI) president Aluki Kotierk earned her masterSA国际影视传媒檚 degree, a local newspaper wrote about her achievement.
SA国际影视传媒淧eople back home in Iglulik had seen it and would see my father and would make comments. My father called me and said he was feeling ashamed. I felt horrible, because part of it was he didnSA国际影视传媒檛 appreciate all the attention being given to us and our family,SA国际影视传媒� said Kotierk.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd the idea that we were arrogant, that weSA国际影视传媒檙e better than anyone else.SA国际影视传媒�
Which is never the intention, she adds.
Kotierk turns instead to the word ajungittuq in her Inuktitut dialect, meaning capable.
photo courtesy Thibaut Larquey
SA国际影视传媒淲hen you think of where weSA国际影视传媒檝e come from and who our society is, everyone has an important role and theySA国际影视传媒檙e all equally important. And so everyone is an achiever. Everyone needs to be capable. Our capability and our strengths determine where weSA国际影视传媒檙e specialized and how we contribute to our society,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Kotierk makes the point that the leaders who worked so determinedly to create Nunavut were under 30 years of age.
NTI recently held a board meeting in Qausuittuq/Resolute Bay. Kotierk met a young man who had just graduated from high school, one of three graduates.
SA国际影视传媒淗e had just caught a whale with his qayaq. ISA国际影视传媒檓 like wow, if thatSA国际影视传媒檚 not achievement, what is? The next day I met another graduate from the same community who just recently participated in the Northern Youth Abroad program. To me, that kind of experience, expanding your horizons, seeing what life is like outside of Nunavut, is so beneficial to our experiences as Inuit,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd, ironically, I think leaving Nunavut often helps us understand more who we are as Inuit.SA国际影视传媒�
She also mentions Miles Brewster of Iqaluit, who in 2018 at the age of 12, sat out the Canadian anthem at school.
SA国际影视传媒淭o me those are all indications of confidence. A bold belief in something. To be able to say, whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 going against the grain, so to speak, ISA国际影视传媒檓 willing to have my opinion heard. I think thatSA国际影视传媒檚 extremely important,SA国际影视传媒� said Kotierk.
In an email after our interview, Kotierk wrote of attending the 2018 Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly in Utqiaqvik, Alaska, where incoming chair Dalee Sambo Dorough spoke.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was absolutely electrifying SA国际影视传媒� inspirational. I think there is room for improvement in the area of making sure all Inuit know that they are valuable and have an important role to play SA国际影视传媒� whatever it may be,SA国际影视传媒� Kotierk wrote.
Dorough said:
SA国际影视传媒淲e need every Inuk. There are 7.6 billion people on earth. There are approximately 165,000 Inuit on the entire planet. We need every single one of us; every woman, every man, every young person, every child, every mother, every father, every elder. We need every one of you here today and more important, all those at home. We need every future leader and every past leader. We need every Inuk across the Arctic and elsewhere.SA国际影视传媒�
Kotierk recalled her brother earned his masterSA国际影视传媒檚 degree sometime after she did. Again, an article appeared in a local paper.
SA国际影视传媒淭hen when I had seen my father he talked to me a little bit about that and said that heSA国际影视传媒檚 realized that society is changing. He didnSA国际影视传媒檛 say ISA国际影视传媒檓 sorry or anything, but thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what I took it as. So I think itSA国际影视传媒檚 all part of our story as Inuit, and those questions that you ask, is our transitional story of our society changing,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd I think there is value in praising people. ISA国际影视传媒檝e come to believe that there is value in celebrating successes. And, even if we feel shy about it, to raise people up because thereSA国际影视传媒檚 so much hardship and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 so many negative stories that I think we need to do more of that, celebrate the successes.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd when I say successes I donSA国际影视传媒檛 want it to limit it to people who have masterSA国际影视传媒檚 degrees. I think itSA国际影视传媒檚 so important that we also, rightly, celebrate the successes of the first caribou hunt, the beluga hunt.SA国际影视传媒�
Meanwhile, at NTI, a new position has been created in Rankin Inlet: youth programs coordinator. That position is currently out for competition.
Kotierk says the Inuit organization is also looking to fulfil a 2015 recommendation brought forward at an annual general meeting by Gjoa HavenSA国际影视传媒檚 James Takkiruq.
SA国际影视传媒淎 youth made a presentation that there are always cultural exchanges with the south but he would like to see cross-cultural exchange across Nunavut with the different regions so they could learn from each other,SA国际影视传媒� then NTI president Cathy Towtongie told Nunavut News.
The resolution states that because Inuit youth form a large proportion of the population in Nunavut, and due to the geography of the territory, Inuit youth are spread out amongst isolated communities, programs need to be in place to formulate and enhance a unified Nunavut identity.
NTI also offers scholarships, such as the $5,000 Jose Amaujaq Kusugak Scholarship Program.
SA国际影视传媒淲e also have, more recently, scholarships available for students going to post-secondary institutions and, also, training programs,SA国际影视传媒� said Kotierk.
