Based out of the May Hakongak Community Library and Cultural Centre in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, the Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq/Kitikmeot Heritage Society is a leader for culture and heritage in Nunavut. We are guided by an Inuinnaq Executive Director and Inuinnait Board, and are among the territory’s longest established heritage organizations. With over 20 years of experience in cultural research and program delivery, we have earned the support and trust of our community, and built solid partnerships and recognition at national and international levels.

 

We use our professional standing to address projects of critical importance to the revival of Inuit culture, language and history. We focus on the critical needs of Inuinnait—a distinct regional group of Inuit living in the Central Canadian Arctic. The Inuinnaqtun language—the foundation of Inuinnait culture—has less than 600 fluent speakers remaining. By most estimates, it is a language that will be extinct in less than two generations. Faced with an urgent timeline, we have introduced a major shift in our priorities and made an unwavering commitment to support the renewal of Inuinnait culture and the revitalization of Inuinnaqtun. We are guided by a five-year Strategic Plan (2019-2024) and will work to ensure that our language and culture survives and thrives through multiple parallel programs that bring together Inuinnait communities, Elders, language specialists and researchers.