Qanuipit - a crash course in Inuktitut

Qanuipit? (Ka-noo-WEE-peet) means How are you? in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. While many young people in Nunavut are bilingual and have learned to speak English in school, most of the Elders speak Inuktitut exclusively.

Qanuipit? [ka-noo-WEE-peet]- How are you?

Qanuingittunga [KA-noo-WIN-ngi-TOO-ngah]- I'm fine.

Igvili [IG-vee-lee]- And you?

Matna [MAAT-nah]- Thank you

Qujanamik [koo-YAA-na-mee]- Thank you

Iilali [ee-LA-lee]- You're welcome.

Kinauvit? [kee-NOW-veet]- What is your name?

Uyunga [oo-YOO-nga]- My name is ______.

Nagligivagit [na-GLEE-ghee-va-geet]- I love you.

Taima [tay-MA]- That's it (finished)!

Atii [a-TEE]- Let's go.

Suva? [SOO-vah?]- What? Sunouna? [soo-NOW-na?]- What is it?

Ii [EE]- Yes

Akaa [ah-KAH]- No

Qapsituqpa? [kap-SEE-took-pa?]- How much does it cost?

Sokaiman [so-KYE-ma]- Of course

Qanisumavi? [ka-nee-SOO-ma-vee?]- What are you thinking?

Ikee! [ik-KEE]- It's cold!

Okho! [oh-KHOE]- It's hot!

Nawgli ______? [NOW-glee ______?]- Where's _______?

Puyuk [POO-yook]- Beautiful

Kigu [KYE-goo]- Give it to me

 

Baffin Island has a diverse topography. There are flatlands with sparse vegetation, where sedges and lichen grow among the rocks. There is a mountainous region with peaks as high as 7,040 ft (2148m) above sea level (Mount Blanche). Its eastern coast has rugged sea cliffs and fjords, such as the Pangnirtung Fjord (pictured right). Such high-ground areas become particularly dangerous with the effects of global warming because of the increasing risk of mudslides and avalanches.
Baffin Island also has year-round ice in the forms of glaciers and two ice caps, the Barnes Ice Cap and the Penny Ice Cap. The expedition team will cross the Barnes Ice Cap, a remnant of the last Ice Age, which has been in retreat since at least the 1960’s.

Underneath Baffin Island is a layer of permanently frozen ground, called permafrost . It is basically frozen peat marsh. As it thaws, it disrupts infrastructure, damaging roads and bridges. Buildings are sinking into the ground. But the risk of melting permafrost has a greater catastrophe in store for the rest of the world – it releases methane gas, which further speeds up the rate of warming.

Sources:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

The world is changing rapidly for the Inuit, becoming a place they no longer recognize. In some cases, they do not even have the language to describe what is happening to them – species are appearing that they have never seen before. Their food sources are disappearing. The weather is changing rapidly. The landscape is changing as well, with rising water levels and melting permafrost. Global warming is an environmental injustice against the Inuit and poses one of the greatest threats their culture has ever faced. Here are quotes from Inuit residents of Baffin Island and the Northwest Territories, telling their experiences in their own words:

“Global warming is getting stronger every year. In the past, when lakes freeze over with ice some people would be jigging for fish. Now it takes longer for lakes to freeze. There used to be ice that never melted. Now there are more of them melting due to earth warming up. It is not like it used to be.” –Pauloosie Nakoolak, Coral Harbour (Northwest Territories, Canada)

“It’s usually in springtime before the ice breaks up that a seal spends time basking on the ice. At that time they are going through the moulting stage. But if the ice breaks up early, then the moulting is incomplete; therefore the hair will be old and brownish in colour. I will know right away that the moulting phase was disrupted by early ice breakup.” –Inusiq Nasalik, Pangnirtung (Baffin Island, Canada)

“Right now the weather is unpreductale. In the older days, the elders used to predict the weather and they were always right, but right now, when they try to predict the weather, it’s always something different.” –Z. Aqqiaruq, Iglulik (Baffin Island, Canada)

“Long ago, there was always ice all summer. You would see the [multiyear ice] all summer. Ice was moving back and forth this time of year. Now, no ice. Should be [multiyear]. You used to see that old ice coming from the west side of Sachs. No more. Now between Victoria Island and Banks Island, there is open water. Shouldn’t be that way.” –Frank Kudlak, Sachs Harbour (Northwest Territories, Canada)

“When there is lots of ice, you don’t worry too much about storms. You get out there and travel in between the ice [floes]. But last few years there has been no ice. So if it storms, you can’t get out…” –Andy Carpenter, Sachs Harbour (Northwest Territories, Canada)

Click here to view Inuit Observations on Climate Change, a documentary produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Sources:

"Traditional Knowledge," by Susan Sang, WWF Arctic Bulletin, No. 304
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

Who are the Inuit?

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous populations that inhabit the Arctic Circle. Until modern times, they lived almost exclusively on marine mammals and fish, and lived in skin tents and igloos.

Where do they live?

The traditional homelands of the Inuit include the Canadian Arctic -- most notably in the region called Nunavut, but also the Arctic coasts of Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and Labrador -- and the coastal areas of Greenland.

Are the Inuit the same as Eskimos?

No. "Eskimo" is an umbrella term used primarily by linguists and outsiders to refer to all people who call the Arctic home. The Inuit consider the term offensive, but it is sometimes used by indigenous populations residing in mainland Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. There is some debate surrounding the origin of the word "Eskimo." The most likely, and most recent, explanation for the word's origin is the Montagnais Cree phrase meaning "snowshoe-netter," which sounds similar to "Eskimo," and may have been used to describe the Montagnais' northern neighbors, the Mi'kmaq.

History

The Inuit people were the first people to make their home in the Arctic. 5,000 years ago their ancestors crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia to Alaska. Over the course of several centuries they made their way across northern Canada to Greenland, following the Arctic coast. It is here, based on their ability to adapt to the harsh Arctic environment and living resources of this geographic region, that their culture developed. "Inuit" refers to the people formerly called Eskimos, as described above. The name Inuit, which means 'the people' or 'real people', is the preferred term and comes from a language called Inuktitut.

Shelter

For thousands of years, Inuit people made their homes from natural materials native to their Arctic surroundings. They built snow shelters known as igloos to house entire families through the long winter. Igloos were complete with snow benches and beds, warm furs for blankets, and long entry tunnels to keep out the wind and cold. The inside of an igloo was often quite comfortable, with temperatures at or just above freezing. In the summer months many families built skin tents framed with whalebones for structure. The tents were easy to set up and take down as the Inuit lived nomadically, following the animals that provided their main food source. While modern day Inuit may still use an igloo for shelter during a winter hunt, pre-fabricated houses have replaced the igloo as permanent housing. These houses sit on the permafrost -- a layer of earth that remains permanently frozen throughout the Arctic year. Today's Arctic villages have elaborate systems adapted to the permafrost with water and sewage piped above ground. Global warming threatens to melt the permafrost and disrupt the very foundation on which the modern Arctic infrastructure rests.

Clothing

Traditional Inuit clothing was highly adapted to the Arctic environment. Caribou, polar bear, arctic fox, and musk oxen provided valuable material to make thick parkas, pants, and boots. This kind of clothing kept people warm at incredibly cold temperatures. The boots, known as kamuks, came up to the knee and were light and easy to run in, perfect for the deep Arctic snows and an active lifestyle. Tanning the hides provided durable skins to sew into cooler summer clothing. With the impacts of global warming, Inuit have recorded rain lasting into the early winter season, something their warm clothing is not adapted to. Furthermore, impacts of global warming on traditional food sources directly affect the availability of fur and leather.

Food

The traditional Inuit diet centered on meat and fat from sea mammals, an excellent source of energy. Berries and a few herbs were included in the diet, but made up a small portion of it. The Inuit also had a wealth of knowledge about medicinal plants that helped keep them healthy. Because the main fuel available for cooking, heating, and lighting was seal oil, most of these traditional foods were eaten raw, either frozen or aged. Due to global warming, ice crossings to traditional hunting grounds are frozen for shorter periods each year. The animals that continue to make up a large percentage of the modern day Inuit diet are encountering more competition for the scarce resources from other species encroaching from the south. Shrinking sea ice is having a dramatic effect on polar bear populations in particular -- so much so that they have recently been classified as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As traditional sources of food diminish, more and more Inuit families turn to imported store bought foods. The most affordable of these foods are highly processed and contribute to high rates of diabetes and other health concerns in the region.

Language

Traditional Inuit language is based in a rich history of oral tradition. It wasn't until the early 1900s, when Inuit people began to interact more regularly with Europeans, that a written language developed. The language has two written forms; one based on the Roman alphabet, and the other on syllabics. Though both written forms were developed by non-Inuit, the language itself reflects the close ties of the Inuit people to their land. An example of this is the number of words the Inuit have for snow. With a culture that depended on snow as an important building material for thousands of years, the Inuit know good snow from bad, wet from dry, grainy from fluffy, etc. The variety of dialects throughout the Arctic, reflecting differences in environment, further illustrates this point. Evidence of global warming is also illustrated by new words that must be added to the dialect. For instance, Inuit communities have reported seeing birds, such as finches and robins, that they have never seen before in their communities and have no words for. These birds are migrating north with milder temperature, thereby changing the Arctic ecosystem.

Inuit Today

Today's Inuit live in two worlds. Most Inuit villages are a blend of modern and traditional life, with winding gravel roads, pre-fabricated houses, schools, a small inn or two, a nursing station, government offices and churches. The traditional nomadic life has given way to a more community-based lifestyle complete with office jobs. Today's Inuit watch cable television, fly by jet, use cell phones, communicate by email, and travel in snowmobiles. Daily flights, weather permitting, ensure the communities have most modern necessities. Despite these changes, the Inuit's passion for the land perseveres. In the spring, entire communities empty as people return to the wilderness to embrace their traditional lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and sharing. Some Inuit still travel by dog sled while others prefer the snowmobile, all terrain vehicles, or powerboats.

Inuit communities have worked hard to bring their culture back from the edge of extinction. From the mid 1800s to the mid 1990s, with the arrival of European whalers, fur companies, and missionaries, and the Canadian government from the south, non-natives increasingly claimed the land. By the 1960s, the Inuit people had become renters in their own home. Something had to be done. Throughout the late twentieth century, Inuit communities across northern Canada began organizing to take ownership of their native lands and people. On April 1, 1999, the largest land claims agreement in Canadian history was signed in Iqaluit, Baffin Island, creating the territory of Nunavut, an area one-fifth the size of the country. The agreement gave power back to the Inuit to govern their own communities. Since then, Inuit pride has experienced a resurgence throughout the Arctic. But their culture has become endangered once more. Increased warming threatens the entire cultural survival of a people who have worked hard to retain their identity in a changing world.

1) Stay hydrated

It’s not easy to make yourself drink water when it’s really cold, but staying hydrated is crucial to surviving cold temperatures. When you’re well-hydrated, you have enough blood volume to keep warm blood pumping to your extremities.

2) Consume lots of calories and food high in fat.

Exercising in the cold burns a lot of energy. Global Warming 101 expedition members need to consume around 5000 calories per day including one stick of butter per person per day. Burning these calories produces much needed body heat.

3) Protect yourself from the wind.

Wind robs heat from your body as it sneaks into your clothing, replacing warm air with cold. Wind also dries and chills any exposed skin. At -20°F with a 30 mph wind, exposed skin will freeze in less than five minutes. A windproof outer layer and a fur ruff around the face are necessities. Inuit people always turn their back to the wind or take shelter behind a komatek sled when possible.

4) Insulate yourself from the cold.

The thicker the insulation in your clothing and the more air it traps, the warmer you’ll be. Any gaps in the insulation, for example between your coat and pants or between your sleeves and gloves, can let a lot of your heat escape. You can also lose a lot of heat by standing, sitting or kneeling on cold surfaces. Thick boots and foam pads can help retain your heat.

5) Protect extremities.

As your core temperature lowers, your body, in an attempt to maintain its core temperature, restricts blood flow to your extremities. Your body is basically sacrificing your non-essential parts to maintain vital organs. For this reason, hands and feet are often the first parts claimed by frostbite. If you feel your feet or hands getting cold, take aggressive action to re-warm them.

6) Stay dry.

Your body will lose heat 240 times more quickly to water than to air. If you let your insulation get wet from sweat, snow or water, your insulation will lose much of its ability to keep you warm. Try to adjust your layers before you start sweating and if clothing gets covered in snow, brush off the snow before it melts.

7) Don’t get lost.

Flat light conditions combined with blowing snow and sometimes featureless topography can make navigation difficult. In addition to a GPS and maps, bring enough food and gear with you when you travel on the land. If conditions deteriorate you can dig in and wait for the weather to clear instead of trying to travel in a whiteout.

8) Avoid weak ice.

A changing climate, warmer ocean currents and shifting winds can make ice conditions unpredictable. Even traditional travel routes may now be unsafe. Travel with caution. If you do fall through the ice, “swim” out and roll in the snow to get as much of the water off as possible, then change into dry clothes.

9) Practice with all gear before heading out.

In cold temperatures even small tasks like putting on skis, tying a knot or stuffing a sleeping bag take longer and are more difficult. Fumbling with unfamiliar gear or discovering that a crucial item is missing or broken could lead to injury or disaster.

10) Take care of each other.

In cold and windy conditions, always check your partners’ faces for frostbite and let them know so they can fix it. Try to notice if someone seems cold or low energy and help them get more food, water and warmth. To be a good safety-net for others, however, you must make sure you’re taking care of yourself as well.