Travel Report: Tim Dueck

I am currently completing my doctoral studies in education and my dissertation is titled “Who am I to teach Indigenous Knowledge?: Instructor Identity and Curriculum.” This qualitative autoethnography includes my own journey of instructor identity as I explore the role of my mixed European and Inuit ancestries in post-secondary education and curriculum development.

I attended the 22nd Inuit Studies Conference: Auviqsaqtut [oo-vick-suk-took] at the University of Winnipeg from June 19 – 23 / 2022. Auviqsaqtut can roughly be translated as collectively constructing an iglu together, and the metaphor here refers to the co-construction and sharing of knowledge. The conference began with an opening ceremony of an elder lighting the qulliq, followed by a welcome session with Juno-award-winning Susan Aglukark sharing her stories and songs. Across the street, the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s astounding Qaumajuq museum houses the largest Inuit art collection in the world, and it welcomed participants throughout the conference.

One of the themes of the conference was Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), which loosely translates as not only Inuit knowledge, but also Inuit ways of knowing and being. I am including principles of IQ in my dissertation, and it was under this theme that I presented an overview of my research to date. As one of the first presenters, I spent much of the remainder of the conference attending other workshops and presentations on IQ. This proved extraordinarily helpful as I gained more insight and perspective on this concept, and this undoubtedly will continue to influence my current writing. Other highlights of the conference included listening to stories from the elders, and the opportunity to network with other Inuit colleagues from across Canada and Alaska.