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Back to the Future in Nunavik

  • August 5, 2022
  • Mountain Life Media
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A visit to a summer camp by and for the Inuit in the heart of their ancestral territory of Pingualuit, Nunavik. For French-language text, scroll down or click here. Words :: Annie-Claude Roberge with Frédérique Sauvée // photos: Annie-Claude Roberge.

Each year in Nunavik’s Pingualuit National Park, the local community organizes a summer camp for Inuit youth to get back in touch with their ancestral traditions. By reclaiming their identity and history, the next generations will be better able to build their future.

nunavik camping

Nunavik people

In the summer of 2019, I went to the heart of Nunavik to document the history and work of the national park guides. During this assignment, I had the chance to accompany a group of children from the community of Kangiqsujuaq for a week, deep in Pingualuit. Each summer, the camp allows about 15 young Inuit to make direct contact with their territory and engage in many traditional cultural activities. Park director Mary A. Pilurtuut and park ranger Noah Annahatak are dedicated to enabling this group to have this extraordinary experience far out in the tundra of the Ungava Peninsula. 

Nunavik territory

“The last summer camp had the theme of Inuit language and culture. We taught the children traditional songs, drum dancing, Inuit games, language terminology, caribou hunting, fishing, food preparation (pitsiit) and the upkeep of Inuit lamps (qulliq),” recalls Pilurtuut. 

Mother/grandmother of four, former mayor of the community of Kangiqsujuaq and now head of Pingualuit National Park, Mary is an important figure in her community. She takes traditional   Inuit values—and conveying ancestral knowledge to the younger generations—to heart. She works daily to help her community and culture flourish. Annahatak is the father of eight children, grandfather of several, an experienced hunter and a park ranger for 15 years.


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They both come from the village of Kangiqsujuaq (which means “the large bay” in the Inuktitut language) in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains a few hundred kilometres from the park.

Nunavik inuit girls

During the summer, the only way to go deep into the park is on a small Twin Otter plane. The plane lands far out in an inhospitable tundra strewn with debris from a giant meteor strike over a million years ago. The meteor impact formed a crater, 3.4 kilometres in diameter, now filled with clear blue water. A small dirt airstrip allows us to land between the crater and the park’s base camp. Located at the southeast end of Laflamme Lake (a three-kilometre walk from the crater) the camp has communal cottages with basic facilities to accommodate visitors and the youth campers.
This is the first time most of the campers have set foot in Pingualuit even though it’s in the heart of their ancestral territory.

Nunavik beach and inukshuk
Nunavik wildlife

During the week, they immerse themselves in the seemingly endless tundra and learn to live with the local inhabitants—tuktuq, the caribou. Caribou hunting has been at the core of Inuit culture for millennia. Seasoned hunter Noah takes joy in the duty of passing on his knowledge to the next generation. He also teaches them how to catch and fillet trout. Mary oversees the camp’s cultural component: “Pingualuit National Park becomes a classroom to teach children our language, songs, drum dances and culture,” she explains. Laughter erupts in a language class when Mary teaches them to place their tongues on the roof of their mouths to properly pronounce the sounds of their language. “Be proud to be Inuk, speak Inuktitut and continue to practice your culture. Thrive!”

Nunavik flights

These young people, many of whom come from families living in precarious conditions, have had neither the chance to explore their territory nor the ability to practice certain traditional activities. Through such initiatives created by Inuit for Inuit, they will be able to reconnect with their identity and roots. Thanks to these discussions and learning experiences, the younger generation will be able to build a bridge between their past, present and future based on pride in their identity.

Quebec’s preeminent filmmaker and photographer when it comes to the North and First Nations’ cultural and human wealth, Annie-Claude Roberge has been working for nearly 15 years in Indigenous communities.


Retour vers le futur

Chaque année, dans le parc national des Pingualuit, au Nunavik, un camp d’été destiné aux jeunes Inuits est organisé par la communauté locale afin qu’ils renouent avec les traditions ancestrales de leur peuple. C’est en se réappropriant leur identité et leur histoire que les nouvelles générations pourront mieux construire leur avenir.

À l’été 2019, je me suis rendue au cœur du Nunavik afin de documenter l’histoire et le travail des guides des parcs nationaux. À travers cette mission, j’ai eu la chance d’accompagner un groupe d’enfants de la communauté de Kangiqsujuaq pendant une semaine dans le parc national des Pingualuit. Chaque été, ce camp donne la chance à une quinzaine de jeunes Inuits de reprendre contact avec leur territoire en pratiquant plusieurs activités traditionnelles et culturelles. Mary A. Pilurtuut, directrice du parc, et Noah Annahatak, garde-parc, permettent au groupe de jeunes de vivre cette expérience exceptionnelle au beau milieu de la toundra de la péninsule d’Ungava dans un cadre d’apprentissage et de transfert des savoirs. 

« Le dernier camp d’été avait pour thème la langue et la culture inuites. Nous avons enseigné aux enfants les chants traditionnels, la danse du tambour, les jeux inuits, la terminologie de la langue, la chasse au caribou, la pêche, la préparation de la nourriture (pitsiit) et l’entretien de la lampe inuite (qulliq) », se souvient Mary A. Pilurtuut. 


Related:

Arctique québécois: Leçons de Kuujjuaq / Quebec’s Arctic: Teachings from Kuujjuaq

Mère et grand-mère de quatre petits-enfants, ancienne mairesse de Kangiqsujuaq et directrice actuelle du parc national des Pingualuit, Mary est une figure importante de sa communauté. Elle a à cœur les valeurs traditionnelles inuites ainsi que la transmission de ce savoir ancestral aux jeunes générations. Elle travaille dans le but de partager et de faire fleurir sa communauté et sa culture. Noah, quant à lui, est père de huit enfants, grand-papa de plusieurs petits-enfants, chasseur émérite et garde au parc des Pingualuit depuis maintenant 15 ans.

Nunavik inuit woman

Ils viennent tous les deux du village de Kangiqsujuaq, signifiant « la grande baie », dans une vallée entourée de montagnes majestueuses, à quelques centaines de kilomètres du parc national.

Pendant la saison estivale, l’unique façon de se rendre dans le parc est de monter à bord d’un petit avion Twin Otter. Celui-ci atterrit dans une toundra inhospitalière jonchée de milliers de roches, conséquences de la chute d’une météorite géante il y a 1,4 million d’années, laquelle a creusé un cratère de 3,4 km de diamètre rempli désormais d’une eau d’un bleu limpide. Sur la minuscule piste d’atterrissage en terre de quelques centaines de mètres, l’avion nous dépose, les enfants et moi, entre le cratère et le camp de base du parc.  

À l’extrémité sud-est du lac Laflamme, à 3 km de marche du cratère, on y trouve des chalets collectifs qui disposent d’installations minimales afin de pouvoir recevoir les visiteurs. C’est ici qu’a lieu le camp estival pour les jeunes du village.

Nunavik inuit kids

Pour une grande majorité d’entre eux, c’est la toute première fois qu’ils foulent le sol du parc, pourtant au cœur du territoire ancestral de leur peuple. Au cours de la semaine, ils s’immergeront dans cette toundra à perte de vue et apprendront à vivre avec les habitants des lieux, tuktuq, les caribous. La chasse aux caribous fait partie intégrante de la culture inuite depuis fort longtemps. 

Noah se fait une grande joie – et un devoir – de transmettre son savoir à la prochaine génération. Il leur apprend également à pêcher la truite et à découper le poisson. Mary, quant à elle, se charge du volet culturel du camp . « Le parc national des Pingualuit devient une salle de classe pour transmettre aux enfants notre langue, nos chants, nos danses au rythme du tambour et notre culture », explique-t-elle. Les rires fusent lorsque Mary leur montre comment placer la langue sur le palais afin de bien prononcer les sons propres à l’inuktitut. « Soyez fiers d’être Inuk, parlez l’inuktitut, continuez à pratiquer votre culture et à la faire briller ! »

Nunavik inuit kids

Ces jeunes, dont plusieurs sont issus de familles vivant dans la précarité, n’ont ni la chance d’explorer leur territoire ni celle de participer à certaines activités traditionnelles. Grâce à ce genre d’initiatives, créées par les Inuits pour les Inuits, ils pourront se reconnecter à leurs racines. C’est grâce à ce type d’échanges et à ces apprentissages que la jeune génération sera à même de bâtir un pont entre son passé, son présent et son futur, fondé sur la fierté de son identité.

Réalisatrice et photographe de référence au Québec lorsqu’on évoque la nordicité et la richesse culturelle et humaine des Premières Nations, Annie-Claude Roberge travaille depuis près de 15 ans parmi les communautés autochtones.

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If you want to understand the value of Indigenous guardianship there’s no better way than a sailing trip through Gwaii Haanas.
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