“We must teach our children their mother tongue & our philosophies which go back beyond the memory of man. We must keep the embers burning so we may gather around (our ancestral fires) again.”

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Written by Blog Post Author

John Amagoalik (jahn ah-mah-gwah-leek)

negotiator, policy advisor

IMAGE SOURCE: “John Amagoalik.” arcticdefenders.ca | TEXT SOURCE: “Will Inuit Disappear from the Face of This Earth? “Unipkausivut Building Language and Literacy Skills Through Oral History.” Nunavut Literacy Council. 2004.

IMAGE SOURCE: “John Amagoalik.” arcticdefenders.ca | TEXT SOURCE: “Will Inuit Disappear from the Face of This Earth? “Unipkausivut Building Language and Literacy Skills Through Oral History.” Nunavut Literacy Council. 2004.

QUOTE CONTEXT: “It is this spirit we must keep alive so that it may guide us again in a new life in a changed world. Who is responsible for keeping this spirit alive? It is clearly the older people. We must have the leadership which they once provided us”

QUOTE QUESTION: What is your mother tongue and who speaks it today?

IMAGE CONTEXT: Cast member page for the documentary film, “Arctic Defenders. “He became the first of many to call for the creation of an Inuit homeland, to be called ‘Nunavut’. To help achieve this goal, he acted as head of the NWT Nunavut Land Claims Commission from 1977 to 1979.“

IMAGE QUESTION: Where do you choose to speak out in defense of your People?

MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote is from an oral history book. The photo is from the website of a documentary film.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: What are the media forms that support the continuation of your Peoples’ stories?

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