Inuit Cyberspace: The Struggle for Access for Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit

Abstract

In the field of cyberspace studies, there has been growing interest in researching the implications of cyberspace on ethnic representations and relations, a subject of particular importance for increasingly diverse societies such as Canada. In this essay, the authors examine the relationship between Internet-based new media technologies, the preservation and promotion of Inuit knowledge, and the evolution of Canada’s national identity. The authors examine whether new media technologies can serve as a means to assert and, perhaps, advance Inuit values, linguistic and cultural legacy, knowledge systems and political philosophy. The case study of the development of the Nanisiniq Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) Adventure Website, a community-based initiative, illustrates how new media technologies support the documentation and integration of a system of cultural resources. The fully bilingual website (Inuktitut and English) guides the learner-user through an online journey about the relationship between Inuit and the land through an exploration of diverse resources, including a searchable database of elders recounting the ancient legend of Kiviuq to filmmaker John Houston. The authors assert that amplifying Inuit voices via the Internet supports new patterns of engagement between Inuit elders and youth, and among their communities. Furthermore, the case study highlights how new media technologies can “push” Inuit culture out into the world and “pull” at the national power centre that continues to ignore Northerners’ policy needs. The case study’s focus on environmental stewardship reveals how online representations of ancient knowledge systems can inspire postcolonial patterns of engagement between humans, and between humans and the environment.