Ingalangaittukuurvik

Restoring the Inuit learning cycle:

Ingalangaittukuurvik is a bold initiative aimed at reconstructing the Inuit learning cycle, a model of knowledge acquisition based on observation and mentorship. The Inuit learning cycle was at the heart of the Inuit way of life for centuries. During the 20th century it was undermined, primarily through the introduction of institution-based education in the Arctic. This disruption has had profound consequences, leaving younger generations insecure in their connections to Inuit language and culture.

As a result, some of the most advanced knowledge about Inuit society, our unique ways of thinking and living and our relationship to the environment are now held only by the oldest members of our communities. As the pace of change in the Arctic accelerates, Inuit are looking for stability and well-being through the knowledge, language and culture inherited from our ancestors.

Ingalangaittukuurvik is aimed at creating a permanent multi-year program of higher learning grounded in Inuit ways of thinking, doing and communicating. The first Ingalangaittukuurvik students will be middle-aged Inuit with both professional skills and a strong grounding in Inuit language and traditional culture – a prerequisite for working effectively alongside Elders.

As Inuit knowledge is explored and documented, it will form the core curriculum to train younger generations of Inuit in the years to come.

By mobilizing the time tested methods of observation and mentorship, Ingalangaittukuurvik will challenge and enable one generation of Inuit to learn directly from another. This concept will evolve into a blend of the best of Inuit learning approaches with the strengths of western scholarship.