Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) and the climate of colonialism: pedagogy,intellectual emancipation,and decolonial futures

Abstract

This article critiques the role of education in perpetuating colonial-capitalist social and ecological systems by exploring Indigenous pedagogies, particularly those in Inuktitut (an Indigenous language spoken by Inuit (a circumpolar Arctic and sub-Arctic Indigenous people of Canada and Greenland) in northern Canada) speaking Inuit communities. It compares Inuit Elder teachings with Jacques Rancière’s ideas on universal education and intellectual emancipation, demonstrating that such ideals are not only possible but actively practiced in Indigenous communities outside the academy. This article highlights Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge) (IQ), a pedagogy emphasizing equality, trust, and respect between elders, students, and the natural world, as an alternative to Western, anthropocentric learning models. By examining Indigenous knowledge systems, this article critiques Rancière’s Eurocentric perspective and proposes that these pedagogies offer decolonizing potential, particularly in addressing climate change and environmental degradation.