Iqaluit resident spurred to action as Inuktitut falters – The Record

February 26, 2024

“We are the first residents of Iqaluit,” says Bernice Clarke, recalling her family history and her grandparents’ move from Kimmirut to Apex. “As I get older, I get more proud of that. Being a first resident is a pretty big deal.”

Clarke vigorously promotes and puts Inuit culture first in everything she does, such as teaching Inuktitut, government work, soap-making and TikTok creation. It’s her mission to fight what she calls “the virus” — the subtle erasure of Inuit language and culture by mainstream media and the English language.

Being of mixed-race but raised in Inuktitut and her mother’s culture on the land, Clarke wanted to raise her children the same way.

“It was so very hard,” she recalls, “because I had no support other than my husband encouraging me.”

Read More: https://www.therecord.com/news/canada/iqaluit-resident-spurred-to-action-as-inuktitut-falters/article_e392ad3c-3bb4-5c37-be5e-a2ff81ee5a0b.html