Inukshuk Symbol Welcomes the World to Vancouver and to Inuit culture

February 13, 2010 – Vancouver, British Columbia – National Inuit Leader Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the organization that represents Canada’s 55,000 Inuit, invites Canadians to discover the people behind the inukshuk during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and beyond.

 

“In Vancouver, the inukshuk welcomes the world to Canada,” said Simon. “Similarly, in the Arctic, this universal symbol of Inuit culture is a welcoming signpost to hunters, marking the path of migrating caribou or a lake with plentiful fish.”

 

At its most basic, an inukshuk is a pile of small rocks or larger slabs of stone, and, regardless of its size, shape and location, a sign of human presence in a remote, sparsely populated land.

 

Figures with arms might indicate direction. Legs might symbolize open navigation on nearby bodies of water.

 

In modern times, inuksuit (the plural form; the singular in the Inuit language is inuksuk, though English dictionaries have added an “h,” changing both spelling and pronunciation) serve a more ceremonial function – an introduction to new cultures. They have come to represent not just Inuit but all Canadians.

 

In Vancouver, a giant inukshuk, built for Expo ’86, still overlooks English Bay. A newer monument stands outside Northern House, a cultural venue hosted by Canada’s three territories.

 

A place known as Nukaugasait, or, more commonly, Inukshuk Point, in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, on the southern coast of Baffin Island, is home to more than 100 inuksuit and has been named a National Historic Site. It remains a sacred place for Inuit.

 

“The People Behind the Inukshuk” is also the name of an Inuit cultural performance hosted by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami at the 2010 Aboriginal Pavilion on Feb. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

“Inuit are immensely proud to lend this important cultural marker to the Vancouver Olympics, where it has become a sort of cultural ambassador, nicknamed ‘Ilanaaq,’ meaning ‘friend’ in the Inuit language,” said Simon.

 

“It will be the Inuit legacy of this international celebration of culture and sport.”