John Thompson
Northern News Services

Sanikiluaq (Aug 01/05) - When Dinah Kavik and her high school students began to learn traditional place names for the area surrounding Sanikiluaq, they felt more connected to the land, and their own culture.

It all started as a project for the class of 2002's yearbook, with students compiling Inuktitut names and adding them to a map. Today, that yearbook is still being used as a special reference for many students and residents, and the map continues to be used as a basis for class projects.

"I'm an advocate for not losing our language, and place names are an important part of it," Kavik said.

Language shapes how we understand the world, and few words do that more than place names, she said. Sometimes the name of a place reveals what might be around the area. For instance, Manimani, or exposed area, is where the waves are bigger and more dangerous.

Kavik herself doesn't go out on the land much, but she says it makes her feel better to understand where a place is when she hears the traditional name. And some names let her see the world a bit differently, like when she learned the names of the open channels leading from the main harbour: katak, kataaluk and kataapik, or door, big door and small door.

For her former Grade 12 student, Walter Meeko, using the old words lets him describe the landscape in a new way, and helps him communicate with an older generation.

"For a guy like him, the map is very useful. He can now refer to the map and say, I'm going there," Kavik said.