Description
Inuit Kinship and Naming Customs is an important collection of Inuit elder interviews about current naming and family traditions among the Inuit communities of Baffin Region, Nunavut. Four elders explain that Inuit do not call each other by their given names. Instead, they refer to each other using a system of kinship and family terms, known as tuq&urausiit (turk-thlo-raw-seet). Calling each other by kinship terms is a way to show respect and foster closeness within families. Children were named after their elders and ancestors, ensuring a long and healthy life. As more and more Inuit refer to each other by their English first names, rather than their traditional kinship terms, the tradition of tuq&urausiit is slowly disappearing. James Konek, Leo Sr. Ahmak, Matilda Sulurayok, and Nancy Tasseor offer their answers to questions such as how names were chosen, the importance of using kinship terms, and how the practice of tuq&urausiit has changed over the years. Inuit Kinship and Naming Customs helps to preserve the knowledge of this tradition for younger generations, both Inuit and non-Inuit. Interviewer and translator Pelagie Owlijoot has a long history as an educator, beginning from when Inuit first started working as classroom assistants. She has facilitated Nunavut-wide elders' conferences and Inuktitut terminology workshops, and has also worked as a translator and interpreter for Council meetings. Currently, she is a manager of curriculum development at Nunavut Arctic College in Arviat, Kivalliq Region. Louise Flaherty, co-founder on Inhabit Media is editor of this important contribution. Half the book is written in English and the flip side appears in Inuktitut syllabics. Inuit Kinship and Naming Customs has been selected in the Young Adult/Adult Category Longlist for First Nation Communities READ 2017.