the word inuksuk means

8/6/2019 The Word Inuksuk Means

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The word inuksuk means "something which acts for or performs the function of a person."The word comes from the morphemes inuk ("person") and -suk ("ersatz" or "substitute"). It is

pronounced inutsuk in Nunavik and the southern part of Baffin Island (see Inuit phonology for the linguistic reasons). In many of the central Nunavut dialects, it has the etymologically

related name inuksugaq (plural: inuksugait ).

Despite the predominant English spelling as inukshuk , both the Government of Nunavut[9] and the Government of Canada through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada[10] are promoting

the Inuit-preferred spelling inuksuk .

A structure similar to an inuksuk but meant to represent a human figure, called aninunnguaq

( , "imitation of a person", plural inunnguat ), has become widely familiar to non-

Inuit. However, it is not the most common type of inuksuk. It is distinguished from inuksuitin general.

The Hammer of Thor , located on the Ungava Peninsula, Quebec may be an inuksuk.

[edit] Modern usage

An inukshuk on the flag of Nunavut

Inuksuit continue to serve as an Inuit cultural symbol. For example, an inuksuk is shown onthe flag and Coat of Arms of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, and the flag of Nunatsiavut.

The high school in Iqaluit is named Inuksuk High School after the landmarks.

Inuksuit ² particularly, but not exclusively, of the inunnguaq variety ² also are increasingly

serving as a mainstream Canadian national symbol. In 1999 Inukshuk was the name for the

International Arctic Art & Music Project of ARBOS in the Canadian provinces of Québec,

Ontario, Nunavik, and Nunavut; and in Greenland, Austria, Denmark and Norway.[11]

On July 13, 2005 Canadian military personnel erected an inuksuk onHans Island, along with

a plaque and a Canadian flag, as part of Canada's longstanding dispute withDenmark over

the small Arctic island.[12]

The markers have been erected throughout the country, including a

nine-metre-high inuksuk that stands in Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario. Located inBattery Park, it commemorates the World Youth Day 2002 festival that was held in the city

in July 2002.

Officials in various wilderness parks throughout Canada are routinely forced to dismantle

inuksuit constructed by hikers and campers, for fear that they could misdirect park visitors

from the cairns and other markers that indicate hiking trails. The practice of erecting inuksuit

in parks has become so widespread that Killarney Provincial Park , on the north shore of



Ontario's Georgian Bay, issued a notice in 2007 urging visitors to ³stop the invasion´ of inuksuit.

[13]

In some areas, including Northern Ontario, individuals have built a large number of inuksuit

along the Trans-Canada Highway. In 2010, a journalist from Sudbury's Nor ther n Life counted93 inuksuit along Highway 69 between Sudbury andParry Sound.[14] The journalist

successfully tracked down a person who had built two inuksuit along the route; he attributedhis action to having had a "fill the dreams moment where I needed to stop and do it" while

driving home from a family funeral.[14]

"Ilanaaq", the mascot logo of the 2010 Winter Olympics, located onWhistler Mountain

An inunnguaq is the basis of the logo of the 2010 Winter Olympics designed by Vancouver

artist Elena Rivera MacGregor. Its use in this context has been controversial, both among the

Inuit and the First Nations of British Columbia. Although the design has been questioned,

people believe it pays tribute to the inuksuk that stands at Vancouver'sEnglish Bay.

This is a contemporary work created by artisan Alvin Kanak of Rankin Inlet, Northwest

Territories (which is now in the territory of Nunavut that separated from the Northwest

Territories in 1999). It was given as a gift to the city for Expo 86. The land has since been

donated to the city, and it is now a protected site. Friendship and the welcoming of the world

are the meanings of both the English Bay structure and the 2010 Winter Olympics emblem.

Kanak's work represents the strength of his people and the modes of communication and

technology before modern Canada.

The Vancouver 2010 logo and the construction of inuksuit around the world have led toincreasing recognition of them.[citation needed ] There are five authentic inuksuit which were

donated - wholly or in part - by the government of Canada: in Brisbane, Australia;

Monterrey, Mexico; Oslo, Norway; Washington D.C., United States; and Guatemala City.[15]



The M terrey Inukshuk is unveiled by C nada's ambassador to Mexi o and the governor of Nuevo León

The most recent Canadian-donated inuksuk was built in Monterrey in October 2007 by the

renowned Inuvialuit ar tist Bill Nasogaluak . The scul ture was presented to the people of the

nor thern state of Nuevo León as a gif t from the Monterrey Chapter of the Canadian Chamber

of Commerce in Mexico and the Government of Canada, to mark the Chamber¶s 10thanniversary in the city. The scul pture stands over the Santa Lucía Riverwalk . Nasogaluak, of

Tuk toyak tuk, NWT, personally chose the rocks for the structure from a local quarry near

Monterrey. The inuksuk contains two rocks which the ar tist took to Mexico from Canada, one

from the High Arctic and another from his home town of Toronto. Together they form the

inuksuk¶s hear t.

The inuksuk was also used as the symbol of the Summit of the Amer icas,[16]

because of its

connotations of fr iendshi p and cooperation.

On a commercial level, a local stone quarry built an inuksuk in Schomberg, Ontar io as an

attraction.[17]

It is the largest in the wor ld.[18]

the word inuksuk means

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