INSIDE STORIES: AGENCY AND IDENTITY THROUGH LANGUAGE LOSS NARRATIVES IN NUNATSIAVUT by © Martha MacDonald A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Interdisciplinary Program Memorial University of Newfoundland June 2015 ABSTRACT This thesis examines narratives told about language loss in the Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut in Northern Labrador, NL, based on forty-five interviews carried out in 2002/2003 and in 2013/2014. (These are narratives in the folkloristic sense of a text that tells a story.) Language shift in Nunatsiavut has progressed rapidly since the mid- twentieth century until the current population of active speakers is low enough to cause concern about the survival of Inuttitut. The following questions were addressed: what people think caused the decline of the language; what the effect of Inuttitut language retention or shift has been on Labrador Inuit identity; and how these narratives have changed in their character and use over time. Analysis of the interviews and accompanying research on Moravian education, literacy, and the use of narrative revealed that people’s explanations for language loss varied according to their age, and, accordingly, they had different ideas on the importance of Inuttitut retention as a part of Inuit identity. The oldest generation of people interviewed, most of them Inuttitut speakers, identified a combination of circumstances that arose from community decisions, but they retained their feeling that the language was a vital part of identity. The next generation felt that Inuttitut had been removed from their communities through the combined forces of school, church and government, and felt that it was possible to be Inuit without the language, but that it continues to be important. The youngest generation of informants, who saw the settling of land claims while in their teens, are still interested in the language but have begun to look beyond traditional symbols in identity formation for what it means to be Inuit. ii The set of narratives about language loss presents the dominant explanations of language loss, in an era when the collective Inuit identity of Canada informs popular conceptions of the trajectory of language loss, and the counter-narratives present the contrasting ones from the same group that are much less often shared now, but which have much to say about the autonomy Labrador Inuit had over language for most of their history. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I near completion of my thesis I realize anew that what can at times seem like a very solitary task is in fact one only possible with legions of supporters behind the writer. My thanks are due to many people who have made this project a real pleasure as well as a learning experience. The people of Nunatsiavut who spoke to me about their language over the years have been supportive and gracious, and I have benefitted greatly from their wisdom. My thesis incorporates forty-five interviews, but beyond those are years of reflection and conversation with people, and I am grateful for every one of those talks. All were helpful, but I would like particularly to thank Mrs. Miriam Lyall, Mrs. Hilda Lyall, Mrs. Fran Williams and the late Dr. Beatrice Watts for all they taught me. I would also like to thank the local interviewers, Mary Webb, Nancy Flowers and David Igloliorte, who collected information for me, no doubt connecting with people I might never have met. Carla Pamak and Michele Wood, who administer the ethics procedures of Nunatsiavut, were of great assistance in helping me obtain permission for my research, and I thank them as well. I owe a great debt to my university. Memorial is my employer as well as my institution of learning and has helped me in many ways. I would very much like to thank Dr. Noreen Golfman, who as Dean of Graduate Studies gave me permission to undertake my program entirely by distance from my home in Labrador. With my work and family commitments I could not have undertaken this if it had required a move, and I thank her iv for that vision which has now extended to other graduate students. I am also thankful for the generous financial assistance program for employees, which subsidized my program fees. The Interdisciplinary PhD program has proven to be the right fit for the way I wanted to approach my topic, and I would like to thank all those involved in setting it up and maintaining it, particularly Dr. Scott MacKinnon, who helped me a great deal in getting started. My sister-in-law Debby Andrews deserves much praise for finding me whatever I needed at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, and for extending her hospitality on my many trips to St. John’s. I have been extremely fortunate in the people I have worked with as my committee. My supervisor, Dr. Philip Hiscock, was supportive, quick to respond, helpful with advice and encouraging in every way. His understanding of language and folklore is vast and his generosity in sharing his knowledge made my task much easier than it would otherwise have been. It is impossible to imagine help beyond what I have received from him. Dr. Hans Rollmann has been my colleague for many years and has always been more than generous in his contributions to my work. As the acknowledged expert on the Moravians in Labrador, his knowledge of that compendium of archival sources and his interpretation of them are awe-inspiring. When I began my PhD program in 2011, he kindly gave me permission to use the interviews that we undertook during the 2002/2003 SSHRC research project for which he was principal investigator, and in addition supplied v me with the collection of excerpts on education from the Periodical Accounts which he compiled. I am also grateful for his translation of Bishop Martin’s curriculum from German, and for his support and encouragement. Dr. Doug Wharram taught me everything I have learned about Inuttitut, not least of which is an understanding of the meaning it carries for Nunatsiavut people. Our many conversations on language loss sharpened my interest in this topic, and his help with scholarly references has been invaluable. I would also like to thank Dr. Robin McGrath for her generosity in sharing resources on Inuttitut with me. As a student pursuing a degree by distance it might be thought that a scholarly community would have been absent from my life. This possible deficit was more than made up for by my colleagues at the Labrador Institute, and my good fortune in working with a group of people whose dedication to their jobs is only equalled by their extensive knowledge is a daily blessing. Dr. Keith Chaulk, Director of the Institute, has been unfailingly supportive since the beginning of the program, and without his initial encouragement I would never have begun the process. Hallway conversation with many of my colleagues inspired me with new thoughts and interpretations of my material, and their reflections have been immensely valuable. I would like to acknowledge Nathaniel Pollock, Dr. Andrea Procter, Dr. Ron Sparkes, Ruby Best, Dr. John Thistle, Dr. Sylvia Moore and Dr. Scott Neilsen, and would especially like to give my thanks to Beatrice Dickers, who accompanied me on some of the interviews, and to Morgon Mills, who not only gave me immense help in producing a finished product, but who amazed me daily with his insight and reflections. vi My previous colleagues have also provided much inspiration and encouragement; Dr. Mark Turner and Jennifer Butler were my hallway companions and champions early on and their support is much appreciated. I would also particularly like to thank Dr. Tim Borlase, previous Director of the Labrador Institute, who accompanied me on interviews, shared his thoughts on Labrador history and provided many references and ideas. Dr. John Kennedy and Dr. Larry Smith also contributed much through our correspondence on Labrador language and identity in the 1970s. The three examiners of my thesis, Dr. Amy Shuman, Dr. Martin Lovelace, and Dr. Angela Robinson, provided insightful comments and reflections that enhanced the final version of this thesis, and I would like to thank them for their generosity in sharing their expertise. I would very much like to thank my family for all their encouragement. My parents, Jessie Cameron MacDonald and the late Bob MacDonald, exemplify the values of the culture I grew up in: veneration for education, hospitality, and good works. I thank them for their excellent example and their unwavering support through all the years of my education. My children, Lucy, Tom and Ellen Niles, were all at university themselves during this process, and I thank them for their encouragement, their reflections on what it means to be a Labradorian, and the sheer delight they continue to bring to us. And finally, but of course first, last and always, I thank my husband, Al Niles, for every good thing. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iv Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Literature Review ..................................................................................... 13 Chapter Two: Language Shift in Nunatsiavut ...............................................................