| "There are only very few Inuit, but millions of qallunaaq (white people) just like mosquitoes. It is something very special and wonderful to be an Inuk- we are
like the snow geese. If we abandon our Inuit ways, or no longer find it important to use our language, we will be nothing but just another mosquito."
We speak a language that is unique to our culture and although there are some differences in the way it is spoken from one region to the next, it is possible for individuals to understand each other from the coast of Russia to Greenland. This fact now provides a strong binding force that we as Canadian Inuit are using to develop a multinational and circumpolar Inuit voice.
We are very concerned with the need to maintain our
language, and not just as an expression of our cultural heritage. Our language can also be adapted to the work place and used as a powerful tool for helping to build our new political, economic and social systems through self-government. It has been said that our language is powerful and it must be used to give many great thoughts to the world. Our language must also be protected and provided with an opportunity to grow.
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