Makivvik submitted a proposal to Heritage Canada for the project “Interacting with Inuit Place Names:  New Social Media for Making Journeys, Stories and Maps”.

The project’s main objective was to verify existing and collect new, Inuit traditional place names and related stories in the Nunavik Marine Region (NMR). The creation of this project would officially recognize these places and make them available online to the public.

The project is built on existing knowledge from previous projects conducted/completed by Avataq Cultural Institute (Nunatop Project and Gazetteer of Inuit Place Names). To build upon past work, and to meet the needs and spirit of the provisions of NILCA (i.e., the review of traditional names within the Nunavik Marine Region and official recognition of these names), the project was to:

1. Collect new information from elders
2. Update and verify existing information
3. Distribute the information through an interactive website and
4. Engage communities through a collaborative web application where registered users can add new content
   
   

The project was funded primarily by Heritage Canada (through the Canada Interactive Fund Program) and Makivvik Corporation and was conducted as a partnership between Makivvik, Avataq Cultural Institute and local Inuit communities.

Project Activities

Project activities were divided into three main work packages:

1. Phase 1 consisted of a review of the current state of knowledge including existing place-name data, historical photographs, audio and video material and identification of gaps and missing information. Preparation of workshop material for community consultations including group and individual interviews, involving preparation of maps for data collection and verification.
2. Phase 2 included information processing: scanning all field maps, digitizing place names, transcribing and digitizing/editing audio and video recordings, and translating content and voice recordings of place names (pronunciations).
3. The last phase was to publish the information on a web portal that would integrate interactive and participatory mapping with video, pictures and audio files. All information was linked to traditional place name locations on the map. The application was also to be made available on mobile devices.
   
   

Field maps included 221 topographic maps of the NMR at 1:50,000 scale and 19 maps of the interior at 1:250,000 scale.

Community consultations were conducted in 11 communities (Kangiqsualujjuaq, Kuujjuaq, Tasiujaq, Aupaluk, Kangirsuk, Quaqtaq, Kangiqsujuak, Salluit, Ivujivik, Akulivik and Puvirnituq) and included group and individual interviews. A total of 85 Inuit participated in the workshops, resulting in 126 hours of audio recordings.

Four communities have yet to be completed. Two communities, Ivujivik and Puvirnituq, have not been visited and two communities, Tasiujaq and Kangirsuk, have been partially completed.

Information Processing

1. Scanning of field maps: All field maps were scanned following the fieldwork. The scans are stored at Avataq. The original field maps for the coastal areas (1:50,000) are stored at Makivvik and the remaining maps (1:250,000) at Avataq. 
2. Digitizing of place names: All the scanned field maps were digitized and a new shapefile/geodatabase was created.

• The full dataset of Inuit place names contains 8,169 points
• 3,869 place names or 47% can be considered fully confirmed
• 4,300 place names or 53%, are not fully confirmed
  
  

As the project was primarily focused on the Inuit place names in the NMR, the verification of place names and data collection did not cover all of Nunavik. Here are some numbers on place name points that intersect the NMR (based on the NMR boundary based on non-LWIs and intermittent water and not the actual shoreline as the boundary, which would contain many more names).

• Total number of place names points in the NMR: 2,156
• 1,293 or 60% that can be considered confirmed
• 863 or 40% not fully confirmed
  
  

3. Transcribing and editing audio and video recordings, translations of content – Completed: This work resulted in 39 place name-related story recordings. These are from only 7 communities though. 
4. Voice recordings of place names (pronunciations): This work was not fully completed. There are 1,629 pronunciation recordings available out of the 8,133 place name points or approximately 20% of the total place name locations. 
5. Photos: There are currently 220 photographs in the database. 178 are related to 74 place name locations while 42 photos remain to be classified (81% classified photos). The photographic material was mainly sourced from Avataq, including Elsa Cencig’s personal pictures.