REIGNITING THE FLAME:
CULTURAL RESURGENCE TODAY
Our organization’s mission and activities are a result of the legacy of residential schools in Canada. The scars of colonization and the systemic oppression of Indigenous languages and cultures run deep. But we are optimistic. Healing is taking place, and there is so much hope.
We are repairing relationships between generations that have been strained. We are rebuilding our communities and our wellbeing. We are reclaiming our traditions and reconnecting to our ancestors. We are speaking and reawakening our language. We have built a strong network of leaders across the four Inuinnaqtun speech communities, and are working together to create the expertise, resources, and technology critical to the survival of our language and culture.
It’s workshops like this that reignite a flame that will continue to burn.
In 2019, we brought multiple generations of women together from across Cambridge Bay and Ulukhaktok to revive the art of the kiihimajuq kammak and the traditions and processes of thousands of women before them.
To support our ongoing work to heal and reconnect generations, learn more about joining the Kivgaqtuiniq Circle and making a gift.
There is work that remains in order for us to move forward, collectively, as Canadians, and now more than ever that is clear. Reflection must become action. If you're looking for ways to get started, we have compiled a list of resources.
“Achieving reconciliation is like climbing a mountain—we must proceed a step at a time. It will not always be easy. There will be storms, there will be obstacles, but we cannot allow ourselves to be daunted by the task because our goal is Just and it is also necessary. Remember, reconciliation is yours to achieve. We owe it to each other to build a Canada based on our shared future, a future of healing and trust.”
— Justice Murray Sinclair, Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission