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URL
for this page: http://www.pinnaclefarms.ca/ORIANAsite/AboutNameandLogo/InuksukNew.html
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Inuksuk,
Inuksuit
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Inuksuks
(the actual plural is inuksuit) are stone figures created by
the first inhabitants of the Canadian north, the Inuit. The
Inuit have lived in the areas now called Canada, Alaska, and
Greenland for thousands of years and inuksuit can be found
in all these regions.
The
word "inuksuk" is an Inuktitut word meaning "to
act in the capacity of a human" and comes from the word "inuk" which
can be translated as "human being". |
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Popularity
of the Inuksuk
 In
the last decade, the inuksuk has captured the imagination of Canadians
from coast to coast and human-like stone figures can be found along
roadsides everywhere. Wear a T-shirt with an inuksuk on it and Canadians
anywhere on the planet recognize it and smile.
On April
1, 1999, Canada's geographical and political map changed when a new
jurisdiction, Nunavut, was created. Nunavut was formed from the eastern
part of the Northwest Territories and was officially named Canada's
third territory.
Nunavut, "our
land" in Inuktitut, was created by an agreement between the Inuit
of the Eastern and Central Arctic and the Canadian government. Amongst
other things, the agreement gives Inuit the right to self-government
and self-determination.
Not only
has Nunavut made Inuit culture, concerns, and aspirations more visible,
it has brought much more attention to the inuksuk, as you can see
from the Nunavut flag.
Popular appeal
combined with official recognition has expanded the inuksuk's realm
from the cold Canadian north to the warmth of Canadian hearts and
hearths everywhere.
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What
Do They Mean?
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Do
Other Places Have Inuksuit?
There are
other inuksuit-like structures in the world. For examples, the apashektas
of the Andes, the chortens of Nepal, the seite of Lapland, and the
dorazy chaloveka of Siberia. And, of course, there is the Chinese
tower. Here at ORIANA we can't tell you much about these other structures
but we would like to know more. If you investigate them and would
like to share your findings, let us know at oriana@magma.ca.
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 Is
the Chinese Tower an Inuksuk?
Whatever
their individual function, one thing is true of all inuksuit: they
were built with the intent that the information they represented
would be available not just to the builders and their people, but
for all people and for many generations to come. In the same vein,
the builders of the Chinese towers had a vision that went beyond
their own time.
Also, inuksuit
serve both as landmarks and signposts, just as the Chinese towers
did. Maybe the towers weren't the only structures that the ancient
Chinese built.
So, can we
say that the Chinese towers and the inuksuit were the same? To answer
this would require more investigation. If you undertake this investigation
and would like to share your findings, let us know at oriana@magma.ca.
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Page
Credits
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 www.arctictravel.com
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 http://www.avonmaitland.on.ca/North/Welcome.html
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 http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/
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 http://www.gov.nu.ca/symbols.htm
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 Inuksuit:
Semalithic Figures by Inuit in the Canadian Arctic by
Norman Hallendy; published in Threads of Arctic Prehistory:
Papers in honour of William E. Taylor, Jr.; Archaeological
Survey of Canada, Mercury Series, Paper 149, ISSN 0317-2244,
no. 149; published by Canadian Museum of Civilization, P.O.
Box 3100, Station B, Hull, Quebec, J8X 4H2, Canada.
Source
for "Inuksuk, Inuksuit", "What Do They Mean" and "Do
Other Places Have Inuksuit".
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