Inuit Day

Durham College (DC) recognizes Inuit Day, a celebration of the language, culture, and resilience of Inuit peoples in Canada and beyond. While many associate Inuit communities with Canada’s North, Inuit populations also live in Greenland, Alaska, and Russia.

In Canada, about 70% of Inuit reside in Inuit Nunangat, which includes Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Québec), Nunatsiavut (Labrador), and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Northwest Territories). Around 70,000 Inuit speak one of five dialects of Inuktitut (ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ), a language deeply tied to Inuit identity and worldview.

Greenland is home to the largest Inuit population outside Canada. With a total population of 56,500, about 89% identify as Inuit or Danish-Inuit, including the Kalaallit (West Greenland), Tunumiit (East Greenland), and Inughuit (North Greenland). The capital city, Nuuk, houses nearly a quarter of Greenland’s Inuit population. Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic Inuit language, holds official status and is widely spoken, taught in schools, and used in media. It incorporates loanwords from Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, English, and Faroese due to historical contact.

In Alaska, two Inuit groups are recognized: the Iñupiat and the Alaskan Yupik. The Iñupiat share close cultural ties with Inuit in Canada, Greenland, and Russia. The Yupik of St. Lawrence Island speak Siberian Yupik, reflecting their connection to Russian Inuit. Many Alaskan Inuit communities are accessible only by air, boat, or seasonal ice roads. Utqiaġvik, the largest Iñupiaq settlement, is the northernmost community in the U.S., located at 71˚ North, far above Oshawa’s 43˚ North.

In Russia, Inuit populations include the Chukchi and Siberian Yupik. The name “Chukchi” comes from Chauchu, meaning “a man rich in reindeer.” The Chukchi are divided into Reindeer Chukchi and Maritime Chukchi, or Anqallyt (“sea people”), who live in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug along the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Summer temperatures in this region rarely rise above freezing. Sadly, the Chukchi language is now considered endangered.

Inuit Day is an opportunity to honour the diverse cultures, languages, and histories of Inuit peoples across the circumpolar world, and to recognize their enduring contributions to global Indigenous heritage.