“Sovereignty begins at home. When you have permanent people living in communities which have been their homes for thousands of years, there will never be any question of them belonging there.”

InuitInuit - PR

May 21

Mary Simon (may-ree seye-mun)

chair National Committee on Inuit Education

IMAGE SOURCE: Photo by Sean Kilpatrick. Levon Sevunts. “Canadian Inuit leader Mary Simon presented with High North Hero award in Norway.” Radio Canada International. 19 Apr. 2018. | TEXT SOURCE: “Mary Simon: Cultural Identity And Education.” Lesson Plan. Speak Truth to Power Canada.

QUOTE CONTEXT: “It’s not about me or you. It’s just about finally having some kind of recognition that our people are a people…Let’s build healthy, safe communities for our people.”

QUOTE QUESTION: Where does sovereignty begin for you?

IMAGE CONTEXT: “National Inuit leader Mary Simon speaks during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, Ont., on Wednesday November 25, 2009.”

IMAGE QUESTION: What lands are your constant background?

MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote is from a lesson plan. The photo is from a press conference.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: Who are the people you want to reach and what media channels help you to to connect with them?

“Sovereignty begins at home. When you have permanent people living in communities which have been their homes for thousands of years, there will never be any question of them belonging there.”

Mary Simon (may-ree seye-mun)

“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.”

“Respect for our Elders stems from the understanding that their lived experience and survival is something that we have to admire and replicate if we are to keep our culture strong.”