NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: knowledge transfer, traditional knowledge, language, education, public policy, northern community, literacy, planning processes

Objective(s): This study investigates traditional, historical, and contemporary forms of Aboriginal literacy in an Inuinnaqtun-speaking community using research methods derived from Inuinnaqtun ways of knowing. The research will examine relationships among the various forms of Inuinnaqtun and English literacy - traditional, historical, and contemporary, print-based and otherwise - and interactions among them over time. The project seeks to build capacity for research in northern organizations and communities by identifying, codifying and piloting a) ethical, culturally appropriate, locally based methods for conducting and communicating research, b) training for community-based Aboriginal researchers in appropriate research methods, both Western and Aboriginal and c) training for non-Aboriginal researchers on appropriate protocol and research methods for northern Aboriginal communities. The specific research objectives are to identify ways of learning, teaching and communicating appropriate for conducting research in specific Aboriginal communities; pilot Aboriginal-specific and locally-based research methods in an Inuvialuit community; document traditional, historical and contemporary literacy practices in depth; ascertain if, and how, traditional and historical forms of literacy, and ideas about literacy, are active and visible in contemporary literacy in the selected community; and ascertain differences between, as well as points of affinity among, English print-based literacy and various forms of (aural-image based) Aboriginal literacy.