Culture (including indigenous culture) and Social Change

This paper by Greg O’Neill discusses, among other things, the commonalities between Inuit traditional knowledge (or Inuit Quajimajatuqangit (IQ), similar to other indigenous traditions) and the co-operative movement’s values and principles.  It begins:

“One of the most significant recent developments in redrawing the geo-political map of Canada was the creation of the Nunavut Territory. I am fortunate enough to have been involved in the Co-operative Movement in Arctic Canada for some time and have had the chance to work with the remarkable people of Nunavut.

As the Inuit of Nunavut have moved towards establishing their identity as a separate territory in Canada, they have looked to the elders of their society to provide guidance in how that should be done. A truly remarkable piece of work has been completed recently in Nunavut that is the collection, through interviews with elders, of Inuit traditional knowledge or Inuit Quajimajatuqangit (IQ). This term has been translated as “things that we have always known”.

IQ is a living technology. It is a means of rationalizing thought and action, a means of organizing tasks and resources, a means of organizing family and society into coherent wholes. There are 6 principles that incorporate the body of knowledge collected. …” IntegratingCulture_and_SocialChangeFNL