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The government of Nunavut has prioritized the application of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit - Inuit "traditional knowledge" - via a policy of consultation with Elders. While the substantial body of oral history that is being produced in Nunavut thus plays a role in the political life of the territory, it also represents a potential source of Inuit critical theory, as Elders convey and comment upon their history, geography, and storytelling/song traditions. This article provides an overview of oral history and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in Nunavut, and argues that publications such as Nunavut Arctic College's recent Interviewing Inuit Elders series deserve greater recognition in southern academic institutions - not only as historical and cultural artifacts, but as critical and theoretical texts.
Le gouvernement du Nunavut a priorisé l'application de l'Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (« connaissances traditionnelles » inuites) par le biais d'une politique de consultation des anciens. Bien que l'important ensemble d'histoires orales produites au Nunavut joue ainsi un rôle dans la vie politique du territoire, il représente également une source potentielle de théorie critique inuite, car les anciens transportent et commentent leur histoire, leur géographie et leurs traditions en matière de chansons et de contes. L'article offre un aperçu de l'histoire orale et de Ylnuit Qaujimajatuqangit au Nunavut et met de l'avant que des publications telles que la récente série Interviewing Inuit Eiders du Collège de l'Arctique du Nunavut méritent une meilleure reconnaissance de la part des établissements universitaires du sud du pays, non seulement à titre d'artefacts historiques et culturels, mais aussi à titre de textes critiques et théoriques.
In 2006, the RCMP filed a 725-page internal report to address allegations that police officers stationed in the Arctic between 1950 and 1970 had systematically slaughtered sled-dogs in an effort to force lnuit to move into permanent settlements. The report declared that "despite the thousands of pages reviewed, there is no documentary evidence, or any anecdotal or oral history other than that of certain lnuit Elders, to support these allegations" (RCMP 5, my emphasis). On December 6, one week after the report was tabled in the House of Commons, the Qikiqtani lnuit Association1 and the Makivik Corporation2 released a joint statement, expressing their frustration with the RCMP's self-exoneration. "'From Kuujjuarapik to the High Arctic, there is...