Ilitaqsiniq will create, coordinate and deliver the Niqitsialiuq program for 12-15 out of school and/or out of work participants in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. The content of this 4-month embedded literacy pilot program will focus on traditional and contemporary food preparation. In this program, participants will develop skills for employment in the food service industry and for certificate-level training in the food service industry. The program will also work to increase the literacy, language and other essential skills of participants. A local chef will support Ilitaqsiniq staff to develop and deliver aspects of the program that are related to contemporary industrial food preparation including content related health and safety standards. Skilled local Elders will instruct program content related to traditional harvesting and food preparation. Ilitaqsiniq staff will embed literacy, language and essential skills into the content of the program. Through this program, participants will develop current marketable skills for employment, literacy skills and other transferable work and life skills.
The program will support the development and launch of a sustainable soup kitchen for the community of Rankin Inlet. This soup kitchen will serve as a training venue for participants while providing a much needed community support service.
This program will prepare local participants to access food preparation related employment at two regional mines, in local businesses or for self-employment. The program will also serve as a pre-cursor for entry into a certificate-level culinary arts program being developed by the Nunavut Trades Training Centre in Rankin Inlet. Ultimately, this non-formal context-based program will work to increase participants’ confidence in learning and risk taking – all of which lead to greater personal, familial, cultural and community connectivity, health, development and well-being .
The primary goal of the Niqitsialiuq Program is to develop and pilot an Inuit traditional food preparation program for unemployed, underemployed and out-of-school youth and young adults that will be taught by Inuit Elders in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. With support from a program coordinator and chef, 2 Inuit Elders will work to plan and guide skill development related to harvesting, butchering, preservation, storage, cooking and nutrition of country foods (for example, caribou, char, maktaaq). The Elder instructors are highly skilled in traditional food preparation and will be the primary instructors of the program. Elders also support the creation of an immersion environment in which youth are encouraged and supported to develop Inuktitut language and literacy skills. Elders will also help create and participate in additional embedded LLES activities related to the content of the program that support further skill development. Participants will demonstrate and celebrate their learning by hosting and preparing a feast of country foods for Elders of the community.
This program will support intergenerational learning, the passing on of important and relevant cultural knowledge and work to strengthen relationships between Elders and youth in the community. It is an opportunity to re-engage youth in learning in a safe and positive environment that values Inuit ways of knowing and doing. The program model will support Elders to share their knowledge, values, advice, skills and experience in a rich cultural and linguistic environment. In addition, participants will learn how to prepare healthy, locally available food, which supports increased food security for families. Non-formal community-based cultural programs with LLES in which Elders have a key and meaningful role can work to bridge traditional skills associated with the land-based economy and contemporary skills associated with the cash economy. In this way, participants develop pride, confidence and skills related to their cultural heritage which supports engagement or increased engagement in learning and employment more closely associated with the wage economy.
