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Editor-in-Chief: Sue Hamilton
Webmaster: Mark Hamilton
The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog, is published four times a year. It is available at no cost online at: https://thefanhitch.org.

The Fan Hitch
welcomes your letters, stories, comments and suggestions. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit submissions used for publication.


Contents of The Fan Hitch are protected by international copyright laws. No photo, drawing or text may be reproduced in any form without written consent. Webmasters please note: written consent is necessary before linking this site to yours! Please forward requests to Sue Hamilton, 55 Town Line Rd., Harwinton, Connecticut  06791, USA or mail@thefanhitch.org

This site is dedicated to the Inuit Dog as well as related Inuit culture and traditions. It is also home to The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog.

If you have an interest in Inuit Sled Dogs (ISDs) or Inuit culture as it relates to the history and a better understanding of the keeping and use of ISDs, the following resources will be of value. They have been gathered together to offer you a starting point for researching your needs. Most of the descriptions below each heading were taken directly from that resource’s web page, as we feel that each entity is in a better position to describe what it has to offer than if we were to interpret that. We periodically review this list to make sure that all the links are alive and well and that the basic content of each website continues to reflect the description offered here.

We enjoy hearing from you so please keep in mind that you're also welcome to contact us directly if you prefer a one-on-one dialog to help you find what you’re looking for!

This list may have overlooked other valuable sources of information and, if you are aware of some that ought to be included, by all means, please contact us with your suggestions.

Inuit Dog Specific


A Hunt for the Husky’s Soul

Greenland’s sled dog culture and technology are more than 4,000 years old. Without this dog the Greenlanders’ ancestors, the Thule people, would have found it difficult to colonise the new world in the Arctic region, and neither Robert Peary nor Roald Amundsen would have been able to conquer the North and South Poles. Today, the traditional knowledge of dog sleds, its technology and cosmology still exist in Greenlandic society. It can rightly be called the Greenlandic Sled Dog's Soul. But this knowledge has often not been written down, and now both the sled dog and the highly specialised knowledge are in danger of disappearing. That is why a new Danish/Greenlandic interdisciplinary research project has embarked upon a hunt for “The Sled Dogs’s Soul”. In close collaboration with the people of Greenland, researchers will chronicle the cultural significance of the Husky and chart its genetic history.

Arctic Nomads Workshop and Booklet

The purpose of the Arctic Nomads project is to raise awareness of sled dog culture and its importance for Arctic Inuit. With this in mind, an international workshop for dog sled builders took place in Sisimiut, West Greenland, in late 2016. The workshop was followed by two days of seminars and discussions about dog sledding. Dog sled builders from Russia, USA, Canada and Greenland participated in this event as did politicians, business people, researchers and other stake- holders. As the seminar concluded, participants drafted several suggestions and recommendations as to how the Arctic dog sledding culture can be preserved and developed. These are the suggestions for you to read.

The Dogs of the Inuit: Companions in Survival 
An excellent view of the Inuit Sled Dog by experienced Inuit Dog owner/musher, Canadian arctic resident Lynn Peplinski.

The Fan Hitch articles grouped by subject matter. Resources are abundant everywhere within a decade's worth of articles throughout the Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog International; for example under the publications "Health and Science" and "Media Reviews" headings.

The Canadian Inuit Dog: Icon of Canada’s North

Deeply researched and passionately written, The Canadian Inuit Dog: Icon of Canada’s North is a deft and respectful exploration of this ancient landrace's history, genetics, physiology, behavior and function that also chronicles the Inuit Dog's clashes with modernity which have threatened its traditional existence.

Ivakkak
Celebrating the Inuit culture - Promoting the traditional way of dogsledding and the return of pure bred Inuit Husky dogs in Nunavik.

The Inuit Dog: Its Provenance, Environment and History
Canadian arctic resident, ISD owner-breeder for more than 30 years, Ken MacRury wrote this thesis in completion of his 1991 Master of Philosophy in Polar Studies degree from Darwin College, the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. It remains timeless and relevant and is the most comprehensive scientific publication written about the oldest of all purebred polar dogs.

Nunavut Quest
To accompany the six-part Nunavut Quest documentary, Piksuk Media has produced a comprehensive and interactive website that brings visitors into the world of Inuit Dog culture and in the contemporary context of the Nunavut Quest annual race. There are sections on Inuit history, the traditional Inuit Dog, and an in-depth knowledge base that will equip visitors to become "real" mushers (or at least adept players) in the challenging video game that simulates what Inuit and their dogs confront in the Arctic wilderness.

The Qimuksiq Network
The Qimuksiq Network regroups  various actors interested in sharing knowledge  studies and concerns about dogs in Aboriginal communities.  Its main objective is really to bring people together, to create an environment that will promote exchange and to stimulate the development of intersectorial and interdisciplinary research and intervention.

The Sirius Patrol
It is a defence unit that was created in 1950 under administration of the Danish Defence Command. In 1994 it was placed under control of the Admiral Danish Fleet. SIRIUS is comprised of 14 soldiers. Twelve are stationed in the patrol at Daneborg and 2 are located at the Defence guard in Mestersvig. For four months in the spring and for two months in the fall, 6 sledge teams, consisting of 2 men, 11 dogs and 1 sledge each, patrol North and North East Greenland.

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Animal Health, Veterinary Services

Canadian Animal Assistance Team
The Canadian Animal Assistance Team (CAAT) is a registered group of veterinary technologists, veterinary assistants, veterinarians, dedicated to providing veterinary medicine to communities in need, including those in the Canadian North.   Through CAAT’s Animal Health Care Clinics, they provide a variety of veterinary services including but not limited to sterilization, vaccination and parasite control,  all essential in the health and well-being of the animals.   The health of animals, the health of people and the health of a community are undeniably intertwined.  Providing care for the animals, can also have a direct effect on the health of the people and the health of the community as a whole.   

The Chinook Project

The Chinook Project, based at the Atlantic Veterinary College, Prince Edward Island, provides free veterinary care to one isolated community in Canada's north each summer.

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Cultural Organizations, Traditional Knowledge Sites and Museums


Avataq Cultural Institute: The Inuit Culture of Nunavik


Avataq Cultural Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the indigenous language and culture of Nunavik Inuit.

How to build a qamutiq (pdf)     
Of the very few web locations where you can learn how to build a traditional (post animal parts construction materials, though) wooden qamutiq. This one without a doubt is the best one so far.

Ilisaqsivik and their Qimmivut Program
Ilisaqsivik is a non-profit community initiated and community-based Inuit organization in Clyde River, Nunavut, dedicated to promoting community wellness. Ilisaqsivik provides space, resources, and programming that enable families and individuals to find healing and develop their strengths.

The Qimmivut (Our Dogs) workshop introduces Clyde River youth and young adults to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) through dog teaming and land-based hunting and camping trips facilitated by experienced mushers, hunters, and elders.  Musher instructors are paired with youth apprentices for several expeditions to traditional camps of historical and cultural importance.  Traveling by dog team provides an excellent opportunity to transfer IQ, including practical navigation, travel, camping, tool making and harvesting skills.  Participants learn specific skills such as caring for and working with dogs, commands, how to make dog harnesses, leads, whips, and backpacks, safe winter travel and camping, and hunting and fishing.  In the evening, the group stays in cabins, where lessons taught on the land during the day are reinforced through discussion, Inuktitut vocabulary review, and storytelling.  Instructors also talk about the history of dogs in the community, and the historical significance of dogs for Inuit culture and traditional livelihoods.  Through a combination of hands-on learning and informal social time, Inuit societal values including building a strong relationship with the land, the value of hard work and team work, and having respect for oneself and others, are reinforced.  Overall, the workshop helps reaffirm and teach IQ, as well as promote the development of mentoring relationships between Elders, adults and youth.

Inuit Heritage Trust 

The Inuit Heritage Trust is an Inuit organization established by and for the Inuit of Nunavut. The Trust is dedicated to the preservation, enrichment and protection of Inuit cultural heritage and identity embodied in Nunavut's archaeological sites, ethnographic resources and traditional place names. The Trust's activities are based on the principle of respect for the traditional knowledge and wisdom of our Elders.

Kitikmeot Heritage Society
The Kitikmeot Heritage Society preserves, promotes and celebrates the history, culture, language and diversity of the people of the Kitikmeot region.

Listening to Our Past
Knowledgeable elders from different regions of Nunavut were invited to Iqaluit where interviews with them were conducted in Inuktitut by Nunavut Arctic College students of the Language and Culture Program. Facilitators with relevant academic backgrounds guided the students in preparing questions and conducting research on the content of the interviews.

 Students and facilitators engaged in reconstructing Inuit concepts and practices from a time when their way of life had been less impacted by foreign influence. The elders being interviewed are some of the last witnesses of the nomadic lifestyle, when Inuit families lived in isolated encampments and travelled great distances with their sled dogs, by umiaq, or on foot.

Pauktuutit

Pauktuutit's vision is to be a "dynamic, visible, influential and prosperous organization, supporting Inuit women and providing leadership, voice and excellence for the betterment of Inuit women, their families and communities."

Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
Located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is dedicated to preserving the heritage and culture of the Inuit, Inuvialuit, Dene, Metis, and non-aboriginal peoples of the NWT. The Northern Heritage Centre houses the territorial museum, the NWT Archives, and heritage programs which extend beyond the walls of the Centre.

Peary MacMillan Museum and Arctic Studies Center

Bowdoin’s Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is dedicated entirely to all things Arctic. It  is named after Arctic explorers and Bowdoin graduates Robert E. Peary (Class of 1877) and Donald B. MacMillan (Class of 1898). Historic films available

Qikiqtani Inuit Associaton's Inuit Myths
QIA has developed Inuitmyths.com, to provide a resource for Nunavummiut and people from around the world who want to learn more about the Inuit storytelling tradition.

The Inuit Way, A Guide to Inuit Culture (printed and electronic publication)
The Inuit Way has helped a broad range of Canadians gain a better understanding and appreciation of our culture. The Inuit Way is much more than a simple introduction to traditional Inuit culture. It provides the reader a starting point for understanding the cultural underpinnings of modern Inuit. As a people, we have undergone immense changes in a generation. Despite the many changes our society has encountered, we retain strong ties to the land and our traditions. People coming to the north today see Inuit taking part in many aspects of modern life - working in an office environment, watching hockey on television, shopping at local stores, making political speeches. What they may not see at first is that Inuit continue to have a strong, unique culture that guides us in our everyday life - our close ties to the land, a dedication to community and a strong sense of self-reliance.

The Thule Atlas Project
and link to article in The Fan Hitch
Between 1921 and 1924, a Danish anthropological expedition led by the Inuktitut speaking anthropologist Knud Rasmussen completed the first comprehensive recording of traditional Inuit societies in Canada. The Fifth Thule Expedition collected vast amounts of Inuit knowledge in the form of oral traditions, traditional place names, linguistic information, Inuit drawn maps, photographs, and ethnographic objects. A select amount of this information was published in a series of scientific reports. A network of Danish institutions, including the National Museum of Denmark, currently cares for the ethnographic objects, field notes and associated records from the expedition. The Kitikmeot Heritage society has created this Atlas as a way to make invaluable Inuit knowledge accessible to the wider public, including Inuit whose ancestors were initially visited by the Expedition. It is our hope that this information can be used to both educate about the past, and revitalize important cultural traditions and knowledge. The Atlas is a multi-year project that will eventually cover the entire area visited by the Expedition in Nunavut.

The University of Guelph (Canada) Traditional Knowledge Page 
Given the reliance of their culture on the harvest of wildlife, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Inuit developed a deep understanding of polar life. They created a practical classification system for the organisms they encountered, and gained a detailed knowledge of their seasonal movements and behaviours. They also created a rich mythology, which often featured Arctic life and was passed down to each generation through oral tradition. In this section, we provide an introduction to both their classification system for life and to some Inuit legends.

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Government


Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth (Nunavut)
To preserve and enhance Nunavut's culture, heritage and languages, and to provide healthy active living opportunities for Nunavummiut.

Greenland Home Rule
Greenland gained Home Rule in 1979. This means that the Green­land Home Rule can legislate and administrate in almost all issues.  The only exceptions are as follows: the police and the judicial system, defence and foreign policy.

Kativik Regional Government
The Kativik Regional Government (KRG) is a public organization created in 1978 pursuant to the Act respecting Northern Villages and the Kativik Regional Government (Kativik Act) and the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement . The KRG has jurisdiction over all the territory of Québec located north of the 55th parallel, excluding the category IA and IB lands intended for the Cree community of Whapmagoustui. The KRG has its head office in Kuujjuaq and offices in each of the region's 13 other Northern villages. It is a non-ethnic organization governed by the Kativik Act.

Nunatsiavut Government
As a regional ethnic government in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Nunatsiavut Government has many of the responsibilities and rights of other governments, such as planning for sustainable economic development, protecting and preserving our Inuit culture and implementing social programs on behalf of our beneficiaries.

Nunavut Government

Embracing both traditional knowledge and values and the new opportunities presented by technologies like the Internet, the Government of Nunavut now provides a wide range of services tailored to the unique needs of approximately 29,500 residents.

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Official reports regarding Canadian Federal Government vis-a-vis Inuit social/cultural issues, including sled dogs


Nunavik

Regarding the Slaughtering of Nunavik "Qimmiit" (Inuit Dogs) from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s
Submitted by Makivik Corporation
January, 2005 (24 pages – 916 kb)
(Note: image on report's cover - from the private collection of Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, held in the Avataq Cultural Institute's archives)

Interim Report: Allegations Concerning the Slaughter of Sled Dogs
Submitted by Jean-Jacques Croteau to the Makivik Corporation and the Government of Quebec.
April 15, 2009 (22 pages - 292 kb)

Final Report of the Honorable jean-Jacques Croteau Retired Judge of the Superior Court Regarding the Allegations Concerning the Slaughter of Inuit Sled Dogs in Nunavik (1950-1970)
March 3, 2010 (141 pages - 1.7 MB)

Press release: An agreement signed between the Gouvernement du Québec and the Makivik Corporation

August 8, 2011 (1 page - 74 KB)

Text of speech by Premier Jean Charest, August 4, 2011, Kangiqsualujjuaq

Delivered at the signing of the agreement through which Québec recognized the effect the historic slaughter of sled dogs had on Inuit society and their way of life.

Nunavut

Interim Report: RCMP Review of Allegations Concerning Inuit Sled Dogs
Submitted by RCMP Operational Policy Section National Contract Policing Branch Community, Contract and Aboriginal Policing Services.
September 22, 2005 (26 pages – 1.2 MB)

Final Report: RCMP Review of Allegations Concerning Inuit Sled Dogs
Submitted by RCMP Operational Policy Section National Contract Policing Branch Community, Contract and Aboriginal Policing Services.
May 30, 2006 (27 pages – 1.4 MB)

Qikiqtai Truth Commission Preliminary Reports: Updates & Executive Summaries
Prepared for the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s Annual General Meeting
October 21, 2009 (71 pages – 796 kb)

Qikiqtani Truth Commission: NUUTAUNIQ: MOBILITY AND INUIT LIFE, 1950 TO 1975

Presented at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s October 20, 2010 annual general meeting, this paper discusses the relocation, migration, dislocation and evacuation of Inuit within a framework of moved groups, moved individuals and the closing of communities.

Qikiqtani Truth Commission Interview and Testimony Summaries
Presented at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s October 20, 2010 annual general meeting, this document is a "compilation of summaries generated from interviews conducted by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association between 2004 and 2006 and testimonies provided to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission (QTC) between January 2008 and January 2009."

Qikiqtani Truth Commission Final Report: Achieving Saimaqatigiigniq

Presented at the Qikiqtani Inuit Association’s October 20, 2010 annual general meeting, Judge James Igloliorte’s report "summarizes what has been learned from listening to Inuit testimonies, and from the Commission‘s archival research", presents an "overview of recommendations" and offers a "detailed discussion of opportunities for change that will help heal the wounds that remain from this period of cultural, social and economic transformation, promote recognition of the worth of Inuit culture and reconciliation with Qallunaat institutions, and contribute to numerous efforts being made by Inuit to take control of their futures from now on."

Qikiqtani Truth Commission Media Lines

This document has been prepared to assist the media in providing an overview of the results of the Truth Commission’s purpose, work and findings. A number of issues are discussed.

The Official Mind
"Official Mind is a contextual report commissioned by QTC, however, the views and opinions expressed in this report belong to that of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission.  Issue and contextual reports commissioned assisted the Commission to better understand the various issues Inuit testified to and are a more in depth analysis on the particular issue."

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Regional, National, and International Inuit Organizations

Inuit Circumpolar Conference
Founded in 1977 by the late Eben Hopson of Barrow, Alaska, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) has flourished and grown into a major international non-government organization representing approximately 150,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia). The organization holds Consultative Status II at the United Nations. The principal goals of ICC are: 
 
• strengthen unity among Inuit of the circumpolar region; 
 
• promote Inuit rights and interests on an international level; 
 
• develop and encourage long-term policies that safeguard the Arctic environment
• seek full and active partnership in the political, economic, and social development of    circumpolar regions.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), formerly Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, is the national Inuit organization in Canada, representing four Inuit regions - Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Nunavik (northern Quebec), Nunavut, and the Inuvialuit region in the Northwest Territories. 


Founded in 1971, ITK represents and promotes the interests of Inuit. In its history, ITK has been effective and successful at advancing Inuit interests by forging constructive and co-operative relationships with different levels of government in Canada, notably in the area of comprehensive land claim settlements, and representing Inuit during the constitutional talks of the 1980s.
 
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
The mandate of Inuvialuit Regional Corporation is to continually improve the economic, social and cultural well-being of the Inuvialuit through the implementation of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement and by all other available means.

Kitikmeot Inuit Association
The objectives of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA), under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA) is to defend, preserve and promote social, cultural and economic benefits to Inuit of the Kitikmeot Region.

Makivik Corporation 
 
Makivik is the development corporation mandated to manage the heritage funds of the Inuit of Nunavik provided for in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA). Makivik's role includes the administering and investment of these funds, and in promoting economic growth through the assistance of the creation of businesses run by Inuit in Nunavik. Makivik promotes the preservation of Inuit culture and language as well as the health, welfare, relief of poverty, and education of Inuit in the communities.

Nunavut Tungavik Incorporated
NTI is responsible for the management of all Inuit-Owned Lands in Nunavut and acts as the advocate of Inuit interests in Nunavut. The organization also provides a number of programs to Inuit, including support to Inuit development corporations and community economic development organizations, an Elders pension plan, a harvester support program, and a bereavement travel program.

Qikiqtani Inuit Association
Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) was formed as a non-profit land claim and community organization in 1996 and registered as a society in 1997. The QIA is aimed at representing the interests of the Inuit of the Baffin Region, High Arctic and Belcher Islands in a fair and democratic way. QIA does not take the roles of the federal or territorial government, but works with them and other partners to ensure that Inuit are being adequately served by these governments.

The Qikiqtani Truth Commission
The Qikiqtani Truth Commission (QTC) was created by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) in October 2007. The QIA manages land and other interests of Inuit of the Baffin Region, High Arctic and Belcher Islands. It created the QTC to investigate facts, interview witnesses, hold public hearings and to report to the members of QIA and to the public, the truth surrounding the alleged dog slaughter, relocations, and other decision-making of the governments up until 1980, and to consider the effects of these decisions on Inuit culture, economy and way of life.

The main objective of the Commission is to ensure an accurate history of the events referred to above. The broader truth and reconciliation process seeks to promote healing for those who suffered wrongdoings, as well as to heal relations between Inuit and the Government by providing an opportunity for uncovering all pertinent facts and allowing for acknowledgement and forgiveness.

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Language

Innirvik Translation Services
There are a number of local dialects of Inuktitut across Nunavut in terms of the spoken language. For any kind of written translation there are really only two considerations that are essential: east or west. East is written in syllabics and West is written in Roman orthography. Words can be different or 'spelt' differently but both sides would generally understand each other. It's the writing that causes the major problem. (This description was provided by mb.)

Inuktitut Living Dictionary
The term "Living Dictionary" came from Dave Smith, former Chief Information Officer of Nunavut and Jim Howse of Multilingual E-Data Solutions, the company that conceived of the project and presented it, in 1999, to a group of interested parties drawn from the Nunavut government and from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Tusaalanga Inuktitut
Tusaalanga is a dynamic website that brings Inuktitut learning to the world wide web. It was created by the Pirurvik Centre, an Iqaluit-based company dedicated to enhancing Inuit language, culture and well-being. Pirurvik's Inuktitut as a Second Language programs offer an innovative approach to mastering the Inuit language. We focus on teaching Inuktitut as it is spoken in everyday situations. The Tusaalanga website contains many of the materials used in our training programs. The soundfiles it includes are a valuable tool to help learners master correct pronunciation.

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Media


Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is the first and only national Aboriginal broadcaster in the world, with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples, to share with all Canadians as well as viewers around the world. Through documentaries, news magazines, dramas, entertainment specials, childrens' series, cooking shows and education programs, APTN offers all Canadians a window into the remarkably diverse worlds of Indigenous peoples in Canada and throughout the world.

CBC North
Features, programs, news, weather, community in printed, audio and video formats

Free Northern Periodicals Online (electronic print)

Houston North Gallery
The Houston North Gallery is almost exclusively devoted to showing, selling and educating the public on Inuit art and culture.

The Houston Family has more than 60 years of artistic collaboration with the Inuit of Canada, beginning in the 1950s when John’s father, James Houston brought world recognition to the art of the Inuit people. For nine years, the Houston Family lived in Cape Dorset on Baffin Island and helped establish a strong market for their art.

Through the Houston North Gallery, this legacy has continued while providing an educational outlet to help others learn more about Canada’s North and the people who have populated it for thousands of years.

The gallery currently carries John Houston’s Award-Winning Arctic Trilogy Songs in Stone: An Arctic Journey Home, Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts, and Diet of Souls. The gallery also offers Kiviuq and The Most Interesting Group of People You’ll Ever Meet, John’s celebration of the life of his late father. John's most recent film, The White Archer, is inspired by the children’s book written by his father. All six films have won awards both in Canada and internationally.

Inhabit Media
An Inuit-owned publishing company, with head office located in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Inhabit Media is the only independent publishing company located in the Canadian Arctic. Its aim is to preserve and promote the stories, knowledge and talent of Inuit and northern Canada.

Since 2006, Inhabit Media has been working to encourage Inuit and non-Inuit Arctic residence to share their stories and their knowledge, and to record the oral history of the Canadian North. Inhabit Media’s aim is to ensure that Arctic voices are heard and that they have the opportunity to contribute to Canadian literature. Inhabit Media has been working with Elders and storytellers to ensure that the rich story-telling culture of the Inuit is preserved and passed on. As well, it has been working with Elders, hunters and knowledgeable residence to ensure that the rich traditional knowledge about the environment is not lost.

Inhabit Media’s authors, storytellers and artists bring stories and knowledge to life in a way that is accessible to readers in both North and the South.

Inuktitut Magazine
Published by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Inuktitut Magazine is distributed to 52 Inuit communities in Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Nunavik (northern Quebec), Nunavut and the Inuvialuit area of the Northwest Territories.The magazine appears in Inuktitut – both syllabics and Roman orthography – as well as English and French. In fact, since 1959, Inuktitut has been Canada's longest-publishing Inuktitut-language periodical.


For centuries, we have read stories written by explorers, missionaries, scientists and writers from Europe and America who speak in their own way of the Arctic, where the Inuit live. These are stories from the outside. Inuit themselves have been writing for two centuries in Inuktut (with variations depending on the territory), Danish, English and French. Their texts, from within the Arctic, are often little known, but they allow us to hear the voices of those who live in the Inuit world.
 
The objective of this site is to allow better knowledge of the Inuit men and women who have written on their culture, their territory and their vision of the world, to discover their works and to grasp their perception of history. This site contains biographies of writers from Nunavik, Nunavut, Nunatsiavut and Greenland; a presentation of works written by the Inuit of these territories; documents to better understand the cultural Inuit history; and finally a cultural chronology taken from their own works.

IQQAUMAVARA
The IQQAUMAVARA (I remember in Inuktitut) project began after the 2009 release of the documentary feature Martha of the North. The film tells the story of Martha Flaherty’s family’s forced relocation from Inukjuak, Nunavik to Grise Fiord, Nunavut in the Canadian High North.

That film inspired several people to share some of their childhood memories, as well as open up about the traumatic events of their own relocation. Shaken by all those revelations, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) created a website where people and families involved in the relocations of 1953 and 1955 could open up about their suffering, where their descendants could learn about their family’s history, a site to collectively remember this human tragedy.

Isuma TV
www.isuma.tv is an internet video portal for indigenous filmmakers, with unique indigenous-language content available 24/7. Our goal is to help films and filmmakers reach a wider audience; help audiences see themselves in their own languages; help communities connect around common concerns; and help worldwide viewers see indigenous reality from its own point of view. Isuma.tv is founded by Igloolik Isuma Productions, independent producers of Atanarjuat The Fast Runner and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen.

The National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB), a government agency, was established in 1938. "The overarching objective of the National Film Board is to produce and distribute audio-visual works which provoke discussion and debate on subjects of interest to Canadian audiences and foreign markets;" The NFB is a repository for a large collection of outstanding historical productions documenting Inuit hunter/gatherer existence. Many of these films are for sale and some are even available for free online viewing.

Nunatsiaq News
Nunavut's leading newspaper, Nunatsiaq News is read by most residents every week for its insightful editorials and hard-hitting news coverage. Its popular web site contains the full weekly newspaper and archives dating back to 1995. News from Nunavik is also covered.

Piksuk Media
Piksuk Media is a Baffin Island production company and service provider working in the video and multi-media industry of Arctic Canada. Our mission is to promote Inuit history and culture and to train Inuit in all aspects of media work.

Polarworld

Polarworld is a fabulous multi-media website where you can find all manner of North and South Pole and other cold region-related knowledge – books, photography, fine art – on many subjects: exploration, travel, adventure including mountaineering, biographies of individual polar travelers, culture of arctic people. Although very broad in subject matter, there is also a focus on the life and times and fabulous artwork of Sir Wally Herbert who lead the 1968-1969 British Trans-Arctic Expedition with three other men each with a team of ten Greenland Inuit Dogs. An archive of his fifty-years of polar travel and work is being established.
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Selected Travel and Tourism Sites

Greenland Guide
This is the travel guide to Greenland: Know how, travel information, ideas and offers; 2,400 pages about visiting Greenland.

Mahoosuc Guide Service
Mahoosuc Guide Service in Newry, Maine, USA is a small family run business with over twenty years of experience. Owners Kevin Slater and Polly Mahoney have for over a decade traveled extensively in the Canadian north, enjoying the company of many Inuit friends, and they are eager to share this cultural experience with their clients. When the very last Inuit Sled Dogs were ordered to leave Antarctica back in 1994, Kevin and Polly were honored to be selected as the facilitators for the dogs' relocation/"repatriation" to Inukjuaq, Nunavik, Arctic Quebec.

North Winds
North Winds is owned and operated by Matty McNair who, with her kids Sarah and Eric, has made her home in Iqaluit, Nunavut on south Baffin Island, since 1990. Matty contributed to polar history in 1997 when she led the first commercial polar expedition, guiding the first women’s expedition to the Geographic North Pole. She has since guided three expeditions to the South Pole and a dog sledding expedition to the North Pole. North Winds offers polar training, kiting and dogsled expeditions and multimedia presentations.

Nunavik - A Land and Its People
This site is meant to be a respectful homage to a people and the land they inhabit...The site does not claim to be exhaustive but rather an evocative patchwork of facts and images, endeavouring to bring people closer to one another by highlighting the Nunavimmiut's respect for the environment and everything that lives there, the richness of their culture and their deep sense of community.... wisdom of the elders to the aspirations of children, are presented here....

Nunavik Tourism Association
Nunavik is Quebec's arctic region. An immense, pristine territory lying north of the 55th parallel and bordered by Hudson Bay to the west, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay to the north and Labrador to the east. Imagine 507,000 square kilometres of truly wild tundra, taiga forest, scenic mountains, majestic rivers and countless lakes! This unspoiled region is home to a rich array of plants, fish and other wildlife, each species uniquely adapted to the North.

Nunavut Tourism

The official tourism web site of Nunavut.

The Nunavut Handbook

"The bible of Arctic travel" is also a comprehensive guide to the Nunavut territory, with over 300 pages of accurate information by Nunavut's most expert writers. More than a guidebook, it describes each community, parks, activities, culture, government and the Inuit language.

Polar Sea Adventures
    
Established in 1989 and based in Pond Inlet, Nunavut in the North Baffin Island region of Arctic Canada, Polar Sea is one of the world's most northerly and experienced Arctic operators. The company organizes special projects and customized trips for clients from all over the world. In addition to trips and expeditions, Polar Sea provides consulting, logistics and planning assistance for adventurers, film and television production companies, photographers and southern based adventure companies. All of Polar Sea's projects and services are planned and delivered with the intention of being safe, environmentally, socially and economically responsible.

Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge
With about sixty dogs, Wintergreen's owner, renown polar adventurer Paul Schurke’s kennel in Ely, Minnesota, USA represents the largest single population of pure Inuit Sled Dogs in North America and perhaps the world. If you're looking for hands-on experience with the breed, Wintergreen, with its mushing journeys of varying length around the boundary waters region of Minnesota is the place! Wintergreen also offers clients cultural dogsledding adventures with Inuit in Northwest Greenland.

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Miscellaneous

Sled Dog Central
Media inquiries about the Inuit Sled Dog often benefit by exploring some of the basics of mushing. Sled Dog Central is a portal into this world and provides "access to sled dog products and information for all levels of mushing experience, across the spectrum of mushing activities". Sled Dog Central is your on-line sled dog advertising & information source.

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