Last year, I moved to Iqaluit to learn Inuktitut. Despite growing up in Yellowknife, absorbing my culture, I learned only fragments of our language. Then, in 2021, living and teaching in Fort Smith, I came across a social media story about the Pirurvik Centre.
Because of COVID‑19, the institution for Inuit well-being and culture — established in 2003 — had begun offering language classes online. I signed up for a few and enjoyed the material, which included studying pronunciation and internalizing syllabics. Inspired, I looked more deeply into the curriculum. I was delighted to discover that the centre provided a full-time program called Aurniarvik, designed for people like me: English-speaking Inuit who want to learn Inuktitut as a second language. I decided to go back to school.
Fort Smith lies on the border between...
Jamesie Taligvat Evaluardjuk Fournier is the author of the story collection The Other Ones, as well as the poetry collection Elements.
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