Inuit Childrearing Practices

Interviewing the Elders, Vol 3

Naqi Ekho and Uqsuralik Ottokie, Nunavut Arctic College, 2000

“Each society lives on through its children. Children have to become responsible adults, who can take care of themselves as well as their relatives. In this book Inuit childrearing practices are described by two elders from South Baffin Island, Naqi Ekho and Uqsuralik Ottokie, who showed great wisdom in their recollections of the past. Childrearing practices are rapidly changing in the modern communities of Nunavut. Day care, nursery schools and primary schools have become part and parcel of everyday life. Yet many features of traditional childrearing can still be observed. Most young Inuit women still carry their babies in the amauti, providing them with an emotional and physical comfort no stroller can provide…”

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