Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories

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Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories is a 2011, two-volume DVD boxset, website and educational resource from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), bringing together films by and about the Inuit of Canada. The collection traces the development of filmmaking in Northern Canada, from the ethnographic films by NFB filmmakers in the 1940s, to contemporary work by Elisapie Isaac and other Inuit filmmakers. [1]

Contents

In November 2011, the Government of Nunavut and the NFB jointly announced the launch of the DVD and online collection, which will eventually comprise more than 100 NFB films by and about Inuit available in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and other Inuit languages, as well as English and French. The boxed set is being distributed to over 50 communities across Northern Canada, with Nunavut's Department of Education supplying Unikkausivut (ᐅᓂᒃᑲᓯᕗᑦ [u.nik.ka.u.si.vut] ) to every school and library in its territory. [2] [3] [4]

The film collection premiered in Ottawa on November 2, 2011, as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, followed by community events across Inuit territories (Inuit Nunangat) in Iqaluit, Nunavut on November 7; Kuujjuaq, Nunavik on November 8; Nain, Nunatsiavut on November 17; and Inuvik in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories on November 23. [5] [6]

In 2015, the collection was expanded with six films from Nunatsiavut, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Labrador Inuit Lands Claims Agreement. In 2016, the NFB launched a new educational initiative based on Unikkausivut. [7]

Conception

Unikkausivut was partly inspired by the then-federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq. An Inuk from the Inuvik Region, Aglukkaq had enjoyed watching the NFB's series of short films about the Netsilik, called The Netsilik Eskimos, in her youth and felt that it would be worthwhile to make these older films about Northern Canada widely available. The NFB, which was already working to make its archival films available on new platforms, reviewed its Inuit film archives and determined that it had over 100 works worth rereleasing. [8]

Production

It cost over $1 million and took two years for the NFB to get the first 24 films digitized and ready in all languages; getting all of the films translated for northern communities could cost an additional $2 million. [2] This work involves restoring original film prints where necessary, digitization, remixing sound and obtaining rights clearances for new digital formats. Each film must also be dubbed in Inuktitut, the language of one of Canada's four Inuit regions—a challenge in itself, since Inuktitut narrations often run longer than their French or English equivalents. The conversion of all these films is expected to be completed by 2015. [8]

Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories was created by the NFB in collaboration with the Inuit Relations Secretariat of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Government of Nunavut's Department of Education. [9] An advisory committee included Inuit elders such as Peter Irniq. [2] [10]

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The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and the adjacent subarctic regions as far south as Labrador. The Inuit languages are one of the two branches of the Eskimoan language family, the other being the Yupik languages, which are spoken in Alaska and the Russian Far East. Most Inuit people live in one of three countries: Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark; Canada, specifically in Nunavut, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories, the Nunavik region of Quebec, and the Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut regions of Labrador; and the United States, specifically in northern and western Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuit religion</span>

Inuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an indigenous people from Alaska, northern Canada, parts of Siberia, and Greenland. Their religion shares many similarities with some Alaska Native religions. Traditional Inuit religious practices include animism and shamanism, in which spiritual healers mediate with spirits. Today many Inuit follow Christianity ; however, traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living, oral tradition and part of contemporary Inuit society. Inuit who balance indigenous and Christian theology practice religious syncretism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qikiqtaaluk Region</span> Region of Nunavut, Canada

The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region or the Baffin Region is the easternmost, northernmost, and southernmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut name for Baffin Island. Although the Qikiqtaaluk Region is the most commonly used name in official contexts, several notable public organizations, including Statistics Canada prior to the 2021 Canadian census, use the older term Baffin Region.

Inuvialuktun comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves Inuvialuit. Some dialects and sub-dialects are also spoken in Nunavut.

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Inuktitut, also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, to some extent in northeastern Manitoba as well as the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It is one of the aboriginal languages written with Canadian Aboriginal syllabics.

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Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, previously known as the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, is a nonprofit organization in Canada that represents over 65,000 Inuit across Inuit Nunangat and the rest of Canada. Their mission is to "serve as a national voice protecting and advancing the rights and interests of Inuit in Canada."

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References

  1. Dixon, Guy (30 December 2011). "Out in the cold: the struggle of Inuit film". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Inuit films move online and into northern communities". CBC News . 2 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  3. "New NFB collection includes 24 films on or by Inuit". Nunatsiaq News . 4 November 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  4. "GN and NFB launch Unikkausivut: Sharing our Stories film collection". Nunavut Echo. Government of Nunavut News. 1 February 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  5. "NFB AND INUIT PARTNERS LAUNCH UNIKKAUSIVUT: SHARING OUR STORIES" (PDF). Press release. National Film Board of Canada . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  6. "23 November 2011" (Audio interview with Johannes Lampe, Minister of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Nunatsiavut Government). Weekend Arts Magazine. CBC Radio . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  7. Sevunts, Levon (19 September 2016). "National Film Board shares its treasure trove of Inuit stories". Radio Canada International . Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 Lougheed, Tim (July–August 2011). "Restoring Cultural Treasures: NFB Project Resurrects Inuit Film Archive". Above&Beyond . Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  9. "The Project". National Film Board of Canada website. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  10. "Collaborators". National Film Board of Canada website. Retrieved 2 January 2012.