Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Monday, July 16, 2007

IQALUIT - Thanks to a big boost of federal money, the Inuit Heritage Trust (IHT) can now embark on two major new projects.

Bev Oda, federal minister of Canadian heritage, announced $190,000 in new funding for the IHT at the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum in Iqaluit on July 12.

Of this, $100,000 will go toward the development of Inuit Contact and Colonization: From Thule to RCMP, a website focusing on Inuit perspective and narrative.

The remaining $90,000 will facilitate a training program for 10 heritage sector workers from throughout the territory.

"It's great, because the website continues on from what we've done, and the training really builds on this momentum and meeting of the minds," said Ericka Chemko, project manager for IHT.

The website will be a collaborative project between IHT, the Department of Education in Arviat and Points North Design, she said. It will be accessible to the public.

Training for the heritage workers, who come from visitors' centres and "throughout the Nunavut heritage network" will take place in Ottawa, Chemko said.

"There's no one really trying to get them training, so they're usually out there on their own," she explained.

The new funding was made available through the Department of Canadian Heritage's arts and heritage sustainability program.

Inuit heritage "must not only be preserved, but it must be shared with all Canadians and the world," Oda said at the announcement ceremony.

IHT was established in 1994 through the land claims agreement, to deal with archaeology, ethnographic objects and archives pertaining to Inuit culture.

Past projects include a program to review traditional place names, and a travelling museum.

"It's been very difficult to find funding, and this funding is very important to our projects. This will be very useful to us," said IHT board member Louie Uttak, through translator Maaki Kakkik.

By enabling IHT to further their work of capturing the knowledge of Inuit elders, he said, "it's going to be useful to us, but also more for the children, their futures."