Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit


Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is an Inuktitut phrase that is often translated as "Inuit traditional knowledge", "Inuit traditional institutions" or even "Inuit traditional technology". It is often abbreviated as "IQ". It comes from the verb root "qaujima-" meaning "to know" and could be literally translated as "that which has long been known by Inuit".

Traditional knowledge

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is a body of knowledge and unique cultural insights of Inuit into the workings of nature, humans and animals. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, then, has both practical and epistemological aspects that branch out from a fundamental principle that human beings are learning, rational beings with an infinite potential for problem-solving within the dictates of nature and technology. According to the government of Nunavut in 2013 , Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit has the following components:
The Inuit Language Protection Act of 2008 establishes the rights of parents to receive instruction in Inuktitut; see also .
Similarly, Inuit intergenerational and experiential knowledge has also been called "Inuit ecological knowledge" or "IEK"

Studies of traditional knowledge

The Igloolik Research Centre in Igloolik, Nunavut focuses on documenting Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, as well as climatology and seismic data research.

Politics

It has recently become something of a political slogan in Nunavut, as the government attempts to integrate the traditional culture of the Inuit more into their modern governance structure in order to combat disempowerment. Its critics, however, tend to view it as little more than window dressing for more conventional politics.

Footnotes

Citations