We cannot divide Inuit knowledge and make it become small segments here and there... We know that the Qablunaat tend to go by the non-holistic view. But we tend to view things as holistic when we deal with Inuit Qaujumajatuqangit. For example, learning, hunting, beliefs and child rearing are all looked upon as one holistic issue. They are all combined into one; they have not been separated in any way... this is the foundation. It came as a whole and it cannot be divided and broken up. Louis Tapardjuk1

Statistics Canada says that, as of 1996, Canada has 50 Aboriginal languages, belonging to 11 major language families. In the past 100 years or more, nearly ten once flourishing languages have become extinct. At least a dozen are on the brink of extinction.

Inuktitut is one of the strongest aboriginal languages. However use of Inuktitut is also declining. According to the Canada census of 1986, 92% of people whose mother tongue is Inuktitut could speak fluently. In 1996 this figure decreased to 84%. Inuinnaqtun, on the other hand, has been in a very rapid decline and is considered near extinction.

The Aboriginal languages were given by the Creator as an integral part of life. Embodied in Aboriginal languages is our unique relationship to the creator, our attitudes, beliefs, values, and the fundamental notion of what is truth. Aboriginal language is an asset to one’s own education, formal and informal. Aboriginal language contributes to greater pride in the history and culture of the community, greater involvement and interest of parents in the education of their children, and greater respect for Elders. Language is the principal means by which culture is accumulated, shared and transmitted from generation to generation. The key to identity and retention of culture is one’s ancestral language.2

Priscilla George, Anishnawbe educator and literacy consultant from Ontario, has developed The Rainbow or Holistic Approach to Aboriginal Literacy.

Our traditional teachings tell us that we are Spirit, Heart, Mind and Body. To have a life of balance, we must recognize and nurture all four parts of ourselves. That is, I suggest that Aboriginal literacy is about recognizing the symbols that come to us through Spirit, Heart, Mind and Body, interpreting them and acting upon them for the improvement of the quality of our lives.

Priscilla identities seven different aspects of literacy or ‘ways of knowing’ that are important in the lives of aboriginal people: