Artifact #2: Tape Recording of Abe Okpik on the Significance of Inuit Names

Citation: 0005 - Miner's Mess Story Time Thurs. Mar 15/90 Tape Two. Tape record. NWT Archives, Department of Culture and Communications, number G-2005-018. https://gnwt.accesstomemory.org/g-2005-018-0005 

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The following consists of snippets of Abe Okpik’s first-hand account of the disc number system, as well as his assessment as to the traditional importance of names in Inuit culture. As Okpik came to learn from his time spent in the High North, the erasure of traditional names from public life carried far more significance in Inuit culture than the government ever understood.  To the Inuit, one’s name was inextricably tied to their personality and very being; for example, if one were named after a deceased family member then the life force associated with that name was thought a way of returning a loved one to the community.  Appropriately, naming a newborn was often an incredibly sacred undertaking of the entire community which strengthened community bonds. Thus, to the Inuit, the replacement of traditional names with disc numbers was more than an individual insult, but an erasure of their culture and beliefs.  Therefore, aside from the government’s lack of common humanity towards the Inuit, they were equally culpable of a general apathy towards understanding Inuit culture.  This indifference towards the Inuit’s way of life would prove disastrous during the relocation, as we will soon see.

Bibliography:

Felice, Michelle. “Project Surname” The Canadian Encyclopaedia. Historica Canada. May 18, 2023. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/project-surname#:~:text=Inuit%20names%20reflected%20what%20was,and%20who%20they%20will%20become.