Latest news with #InuitCulture
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Throat singing duo PIQSIQ celebrates Inuit culture at Japanese festival
Yellowknife-based throat singing duo PIQSIQ says performing for Japanese fans was a unique celebration of Inuit culture and finding similarities between Arctic and Japanese traditions. Sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik performed in Osaka in June as part of the World Expo. "The culture is so generous and so respectful and open, and it just felt like we were able to talk about our culture and what it's like to be Inuk and living in the North, and a little bit about history in a way that was really celebrating," Ayalik said. "Sometimes when we talk about culture here, there's just like a different context in Canada, and it's always about reconciliation and it can be really heavy." The pair said that travelling to Japan is something they've dreamed of since childhood, and they got to share it with their family as well. Mackay's husband and sons travelled with PIQSIQ to perform demonstrations of Inuit games. Mackay said that some audience members had visited the Arctic or read up on Inuit culture and had lots of questions for them about life in the North. "So that was really cool to know that across the world, there were people who were really interested in culture," she said. Mackay said there were lots of commonalities between Inuit and Japanese cultures too, like respect for elders and children and the value they both place on culture itself. Beyond their performances, the sisters and their family spent time exploring a new country. They said visiting Nara, a city known in part for its temples and the deer that roam around, was one highlight. Ayalik says sharing that with family up North made her laugh. "I sent videos to other family in Nunavut and they're just like 'this food is just walking around,'" she said. The pair said the experience is one they won't soon forget. They hope one day to come back and travel to the north of Japan to collaborate with Ainu singers, a traditional Japanese music. And if it's up to her family, Mackay says that trip could happen before long. "My sons are already trying to learn Japanese on Duolingo," she said.
CBC
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
This Inuit drum dancing group is recovering music traditions that were almost lost
Sophie Agnatok and Ashley Dicker have known each other for decades. Today, they're closer than ever — in more ways than one. "We're right in each other's faces," Agnatok said, referring to how, as throat singing partners, they perform up close to one another. "It's really intimate, and it requires so much focus and so much connection." Dicker's first memories of Agnatok go back to their childhood in Nain, Nunatsiavut, an Inuit-governed region in northern Labrador. "When I was a young girl, I would break into Sophie's bedroom with my best friend, who was her sister, and I would steal her perfume," Dicker said, laughing. Agnatok and Dicker are members of Kilautiup Songuninga, which translates to "strength of the drum." They're the first Inuit drum dancing and throat singing group to come out of St. John's. Agnatok is now the group's president. As a founding member, she has been part of the group for nineteen years. Dicker joined four years ago. "Before we even had Ashley, I'd been dying and dying for a throat singing partner. I finally got one," said Agnatok. "I'm very, very lucky to have her." Women at heart of Inuit drum dance revival 3 hours ago Duration 6:18 For the six members of Kilautiup Songuninga, community is part of its draw. "It's hard for Inuit to gather here," Dicker said. She moved to St. John's eight years ago and joining the group has helped her combat homesickness. "It's so good to be somewhere [you can be yourself], or with people you could be yourself with." Reclaiming culture Kilautiup Songuninga also helps its members recover aspects of their culture that many of them grew up without access to. "When we had started, we did not know our traditions, it wasn't brought up. We weren't taught our songs, we were taught church music," Agnatok said. Throat singing and drum-dancing were feared and banned by Moravian missionaries who saw it as devil worship. In place of traditional Inuit music, they forced the adoption of brass instruments and choral singing. Agnatok was raised by her grandmother, herself a throat singer. That legacy inspired Agnatok, though her grandmother did not teach her the practice. "I was cleaning up one day and I found this newspaper clipping, and it was my grandmother. She was here [in Newfoundland] for the Folk Festival back in 1984. And I'm like, wow," Agnatok said. Dicker's journey into traditional music was ignited by a similar passion for revitalizing her culture. She never saw her grandparents or other elders in her community practising their musical traditions. "I wanted our elders to see us … I wanted them to see us being proud and fighting to take it back — and being proud for ourselves, but especially for the people who weren't allowed to be proud of themselves." Learning process Growing up, Agnatok saw the Nain Drum Dancers reclaiming drum dancing in her hometown. She points to Nunatsiavut becoming self-governed in 2005 as an inciting moment for further reconnection to Inuit culture, including through Kilautiup Songuninga. Learning techniques and songs that were almost lost comes with its share of challenges for the group. They rely on a variety of sources, including CDs, the internet and Inuit knowledge keepers to build their repertoire. "It can be a little bit hard, trying to get the technique down and get the right music down," Agnatok said. Language, in particular, can be a hurdle. "A lot of our members … we're not full Inuit speakers like a lot of our ancestors are, or even some of our elders now," Agnatok said. "But we want to make sure we sing properly when we do sing in Inuktitut, our mother tongue." 'Inuk to the core' Over almost two decades, Kilautiup Songuninga's linuep has changed. Last December, founding member Solomon Semigak died. "He was just special," said Danny Pottle, who was invited to join the group in 2004. "Taught us with patience, with skill, and he was just an all around good guy. You just couldn't ask for a better person than Solomon. He was Inuk to the core." Agnatok remembers Semigak as a strong Inuktitut speaker, a diplomatic group president, and her once right-hand man. "We drum on. We still talk about him," Agnatok said. "I know he would be so proud of all of us, believe me. And with his niece joining the drum group, that's a big thing too." New member Sophie Semigak joined the group early this year, in memory of her uncle. "He was like a father to me," she said. "He walked me down the aisle, too, when I got married. So he's very, very special to me." Agnatok says Semigak would be proud to see his niece drumming.
CBC
12-06-2025
- CBC
What it's like to go ice fishing in the Arctic
Students from Helen Kalvak Elihakvik, a school in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., went on an ice fishing field trip on April 2. See what it's like to fish with an aulattit, a traditional Inuit tool.
CBC
01-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Kativik Regional Government requests audit of Nunavik police
The Kativik Regional Government (KRG) has passed a resolution requesting an audit of the Nunavik Police Service. The resolution, passed Thursday, calls for a review of police operations and ways to make policing better reflect Inuit culture. The audit request follows two fatal police shootings in seven months — in Salluit in November, and Kangiqsualujjuaq earlier this month — the latter being the 16th police-related death in Nunavik since 2017. Police chief Jean-Pierre Larose said he is in full support of a review. "We are transparent and maybe [we need] somebody who thinks outside the box … to help us find solutions and improvements," he said. KRG is asking the Makivvik Corporation to help it find an auditor, who would report back to the council by fall 2025. Mylène Jaccoud, a professor of criminology at Université de Montréal, was in charge of Indigenous policing issues in the Viens Commission inquiry. That was launched in 2016 by the former provincial Liberal government after allegations of police misconduct against Indigenous women. She said the audit is a good step, though it should look at structural transformation of the policing model in Nunavik, rather than just the operations. She said the problems with the Nunavik Police Service are well-known and don't need further study. "We know that there is a problem of underfunding. We know that we are still waiting for the recognition of [Indigenous] police as an essential service," she said. "If we want to address this problem of the absence of Inuit police officers, it's absolutely necessary to change the policing model … a police [model] which is not oriented toward repression, but seen as a police who is very close to the communities that they share." The police chief however, doesn't believe the police model needs reform, and reiterated his pledge to implement every recommendation from investigations into the shooting in Salluit, once those final reports are presented. "Certainly we can improve it or adjust it, but right now we have positive results," Larose said. Community policing model Jaccoud said she doesn't believe the Nunavik Police Service is a truly autonomous Inuit police service — rather, that it's a southern-style team that happens to have oversight from KRG, the regional authority in Nunavik. "The majority of police officers are police officers from down south and I think that the change of governance should go to work on a real autonomous Inuit police service," she said. During the Viens Commission inquiry, she pitched — unsuccessfully — for a specific police school or training program for Indigenous police officers. Larose said the Nunavik Police Service is restarting a cadet program in a bid to recruit more Inuit, though he recognizes the challenges of Inuit policing Inuit communities. "They know everybody. They have relatives, cousins, parents and it's hard for them … and I understand they're kind of isolated from their community being a police officer. So we have to work on that," he said. In terms of solutions to how policing works in Nunavik, Jaccoud looks to other provinces for inspiration. Ontario has an inspector general of policing, who's tasked with ensuring policing regulations are followed, as well as a complaints agency. In several western provinces, there's the Hub model, which was pioneered in Prince Albert, Sask., in 2011. It's a multi-agency intervention that mobilizes social services for those in need before harm is done. "They just share information, they work together, they meet weekly, they plan together, action plans and appropriate intervention. That kind of model of policing is more oriented toward prevention than repression," she said. More funding in tripartite agreement Last month, the Nunavik Police Service received a five-fold increase in funding through a tripartite agreement between the KRG, Quebec and federal governments. The renewal of the agreement, from 2024 to 2029, is worth $562 million. Larose has previously spoken out about the lack of resources for the Nunavik Police Service. He said this new funding can help them bring on more officers and investigators, offer higher salaries to address staff retention, and provide more cultural awareness training. "I would like my police officers to get involved in the community, and families, at least two days per year to work with them, to go on the land, to do some activities with them, to better understand their lifestyle and their culture," he said. Another priority for him, he said, is expanding the mobile intervention model, currently in place in Puvirnituq, Que., which pairs police officers with social workers.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Ontario Indigenous Stories
Social Sharing Explore powerful stories and experiences collected from across the province in honour of National Indigenous History Month. This is a dedicated space to highlight the diverse perspectives and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. Ottawa A mother's song How three generations of women carried on the Inuit throat-singing tradition, with a little help from a dusty tape cassette. Christine Toulouse carries on her family's intricate quill work tradition, finding healing and connection in every stitch. Toronto An Indigenous spirit garden in Toronto honours residential school survivors. The inaugural Reverie Music Residency 'creates space' for Indigenous musicians to thrive Six First Nations, Métis and Inuit musicians came together in Toronto to make music, gain industry insights and take the next step in their careers. Thunder Bay Waa Nish Kaan (Wake Up) Waa Nish Kaan (Wake Up) is a continuing audio series about the Wake the Giant music festival. The festival is part of the Wake the Giant movement, which is a cultural awareness project developed in Thunder Bay, Ont. by Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. Thunder Bay elementary school students learn the teachings of the Sugaring Moon Sweet Science: Thunder Bay students tap into tradition, learning about the Sugaring Moon and the magic of maple. Thunder Bay elementary school students learn the teachings of the Sugaring Moon 2 months ago Duration 2:44 Sudbury An Anishinaabe artist was given creative freedom to design the special logo for the team's Indigenous heritage game against the Vancouver Canucks. No English!' inside Wiikwemkoong's first annual Anishnaabe language immersion camp The non-profit organization Anishnaabemowin Teg and the community's language department hosted four days of workshops, games and performances in an effort to boost the number of fluent Anishnaabemowin speakers. No English allowed. Anishnaabemowin immersion camp helps preserve the language 10 months ago Duration 0:53 Windsor Caldwell First Nation is moving home after hundreds of years. Here's what it took to reclaim their land After fighting to reclaim its land and reunite its community for more than 230 years, Caldwell is celebrating a monumental moment: its people are returning home. A nurse from Walpole Island First Nation is now in leadership at Windsor's Southwestern Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre. London Eighty years after her uncle Welby Patterson died on a European battlefield in the final days of the Second World War, Maidy Keir will see him being recognized at a museum exhibit in the Netherlands in a way he never really was back home. Landed in London? This eight-part series gives new Canadians a deeper understanding of Indigenous affairs. Hamilton How food became a weapon of colonization Aicha Smith-Belghaba and experts from Six Nations of the Grand River explore how food has been used as a weapon against Indigenous people and the paths communities are taking toward food sovereignty. Family, friends, Six Nations community join Brandon Montour at Stanley Cup hometown parade A proud community as one of their own brings the cup home. "Brandon Montour is so inspirational and a positive role model for our children and youth," said Sherri-Lyn Hill, elected chief of Six Nations of the Grand River. #TheMoment Six Nations hero Brandon Montour brought home the Stanley Cup 10 months ago Duration 1:18 Kitchener-Waterloo The students in a fashion design class at Huron Heights Secondary School were given an assignment to create Indigenous ribbon skirts and write a reflection about what it meant to them to make them. Now, those skirts are part of an exhibit in Huntsville, Ont. An elementary school initiative that explores math concepts while incorporating Indigenous practices is making its way into classrooms across Canada. Guelph students learn math concepts through Métis beading practices 1 year ago Duration 2:22 An elementary school initiative that explores math concepts while incorporating Indigenous practices is making its way into classrooms across Canada. Recently, Guelph, Ont., students were elated to explore their creativity while designing and making beaded bracelets. CBC Gem A collection of shows, movies and documentaries featuring the stories, history and originality of Indigenous Peoples.
