Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Clyde River (Mar 20/00) - If self-help books are written in English only, how will a unilingual Inuk be able to use them?

Many people in the communities who turn to that material looking for help speak only Inuktitut.

The problem, however, has not gone unrecognized by the Ilisaqsivik Society in Clyde River.

They have put a lot of work into a translation project which has already resulted in 20 books and booklets being produced in Inuktitut.

With the aid of a $30,000 grant from the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth last fall, six translators have been working long hours under the guidance of Sarah Killiktee, an addictions councillor for the society, and Beverly Ilauq, the society's co-ordinator.

"I've been told by people in the community that they are not only reading the books once, but twice," said Killiktee.

"They tell me they feel uncomfortable the first time they read them because they haven't read any healing materials before, but the second time they read it they are more comfortable."

Killiktee says careful thought goes into the selection of what materials will be translated. The main focus is on issues that have affected people not only in Clyde River, but also in most Nunavut communities: dealing with alcohol, drugs, sexual and emotional abuses, coping with grief and even things such as parenting.

"One book we translated was Choice Theory, which looks at parenting and ways to raise your children," she said.

"We are very proud and happy that people in the community are healing because of the translations. They are telling me they have learned things they didn't know existed until they read them in translation."

Having started only two months ago, the translators are expected to complete the project by the end of this month.

The process involved in translating a booklet or book is lengthy at best. Material has to be selected, read, translated, proofread, typed, copied and bound and then distributed.

"We are hoping to get at least 10 more translations done by the end of March, some of the translators can do 60 pages in two weeks, but it is very demanding," said Killiktee.

An unexpected aspect of the process is that they are not only helping those who pick up the materials, they are also helping themselves.

Many afternoons have passed during which either an individual translator or the entire crew has found themselves in Killiktee's office discussing how certain pieces have helped them in their quest to help others.

"Someone will bring their translations in and we talk about what they have learned and what we have learned," she said.

"By doing the translations we realize that maybe we should have dealt with things differently, or in this way or that way."

The translation project is just one of many being undertaken by the Ilisaqsivik Society.