Nunavut online.

• Author: Driechel, Tanya
• Position: Online Law

In the spring of 1999 an area of almost two million square kilometres of rocky tundra, fjords, mountains, plateaus, and archipelagos was carved from the eastern half of the Northwest Territories. After 13 years of intense negotiation between the Inuit people and the Government of Canada, Nunavut was created.

In a commemorative publication from the time, journalist and writer Ann Meekitjuk Hanson wrote: "The technical translation of nunavut is simply "our land." The emotional, spiritual, deeper meaning of nunavut or nunavun is "our homeland." The unspoken meaning stresses "home." To some Inuit, with deeper knowledge of the language, when nunavut is spoken, the silent understanding means "we share in this together, unconditionally," and there is an intense gratitude."

The idea that understanding "nunavut" hinges on one's fluency in Inuktitut is as significant today as it was in 1999. Over the past ten years, the Nunavummiut--the plural for residents of Nunavut--have made great progress in preserving and promoting their culture and language. While few Canadians may be fortunate enough to travel to Nunavut to see how the Nunavummiut continue to promote their cultural and linguistic identity, several local, regional, and territorial examples can be found online.

Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut http://langcom.nu.ca/

With the adoption of the Nunavut Officia/Languages Act approaching, a visit to the Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut's (OLC) website is worthwhile. The Commissioner's symbol--the saxifrage flower, or aupilattunnguaq in Inuk titut, is protected by the qilaut--the Inuit drum. These symbols represent the resilience and diversity of the Nunavummiut. The Languages Commissioner of Nunavut, Alexina Kublu, has been an active proponent of standards in support of Inuktitut, and the site is a valuable source of information, ranging from detailed annual reports, statistics, and news releases to links for downloading Pigiarniq and Uqammaq computer fonts.

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated www.tunngavik.com

The NTI was preceded by Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut who signed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement on behalf of Inuit. The NTI legally represents Nunavut's Inuit population. One of the NTI's chief obligations is to see that the Government of Canada and the Government of Nunavut abide by their obligations made under the Agreement. The NTI plays a central role in Nunavut with a mandate to ensure "Inuit economic, social...