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At the invitation of CERPECA and its director, Prof. Jacques-Guy Petit, representatives of the Avataq Cultural Institute participated in an international symposium (Cree and Inuit in northern Quebec – land, economy, society and culture), held from October 21 to 24 at Université d’Angers, in France. The Institute was represented by Rhodia Kokiapik and Daniel Gendron, who presented papers; genealogist Martha Palliser; and Robert Fréchette and Élodie Parriaux, who presented a photographic exhibition on the 2008 whale hunt and unveiled the Institute’s new website.

Other attendees from Nunavik included the president of Makivik, Mr. Pita Aatami; Mr. Jean-François Arteau and a large delegation of Kativik School Board employees, who in addition to participating in the symposium also provided simultaneous interpretation (Inuttitut/French/English), acquitting themselves admirably despite difficult conditions. Last but not least, Lydia Etok and Sarah Beaulne performed at the conference’s opening reception.

The symposium’s primary aim was to provide an opportunity for French researchers to meet individuals from northern Quebec’s two indigenous peoples, the Cree and the Inuit. It provided a forum for both sides of the research process, but it would have been preferable if the panels had been mixed rather than separate. The first part was almost entirely non-native, while the second was almost exclusively Cree and Inuit. Combining the two sections would have highlighted the shared objectives of symposium participants, rather than creating the impression that the two perspectives are independent of one another. Nevertheless, the conference achieved its goal of assembling researchers and aboriginal people under the same roof so that everyone could gain an appreciation for each other’s perspective.